Rob

Forget grading and slabbing as it is damaged from being in the ground and so you would be wasting your money doing so. Wash it in soapy water with a soft brush to remove the crud from the surface and see what transpires. You may rest assured that cleaning this will not harm its value. You don't have to buff it up, just remove any material sticking to it.

Looks like a halfcrown from the hair curls below the truncation. It was quite a decent coin before it was lost. It looks better than VF, but not good enough for EF and the damage from being in the ground for a few hundred years hasn't done it any favours. It is probably only worth tens of pounds as opposed to hundreds. High grade with environmental damage will reduce it to probably say somewhere between £50 and £100 if it cleans up to give a reasonable coin. Here is a better example struck from a rusty obverse die which is not quite EF for wear, but the die was quite worn and on its last legs.

Large shields, later harp, stops in the reverse legend and it certainly isn't a proof! So S3488, ESC543. They are all effectively 1st bust given the 2nd bust halfcrown is unique. No idea on the mintage figures, but it isn't rare.

Not a mule for me either. Generally speaking, a mule is an anachronistic die pairing, or one from completely different or unrelated, but contemporary, issues.

Yes, and very recently. I put in a bid at the last Warwick & Warwick for a 1953 proof set, which given the amount I was prepared to pay, was surprised to win. When it turned up, it was just the exhumed contents of a plastic packed uncirculated set put in what looked like a mint case. It went straight back and I've now received a refund. To be honest though, this is absolutely basic - it's like putting in a bid for a horse and receiving a donkey. As Peckris says this is not a mistake that professional auction houses should be making. Which is precisely the point I have been making for the last 4 or 5 years about them. You can point out catalogue errors but they just ignore what you say. I almost get the impression that they catalogue them as the vendor describes, whether it is right or wrong. It's a fundamental reason why you would be very foolish to bid blind. Sure you can send it back, but that just enriches the Royal Mail. I've pointed out maybe half a dozen things in the past, all of which resulted in no auction notices being issued. Peck is right when he says it isn't a mistake that professionals should be making, but I don't consider they are. The description has to be particularly esoteric for me to consider potentially wasting a day.

If you are able to come across two examples, it seems likely that they are going to be rare (not) like the undated 20p, i.e. once people are aware of their existence, this stimulates the general population to look for other examples. It may be that they have a localised distribution having been part of a batch that was shipped to a specific region. It might be a good time to sell one while there are relatively few examples known, because the price will stabilise at a realistic level once there is a feeling for ballpark numbers. The question you have to ask is 'Do I win the lottery?' If you believe that you are the only person finding these coins, then I suggest you buy a lottery ticket too because you really are luckier than other punters.

I don't think so. Just very elaborate lettering giving it an odd appearance. I'm going to have to remember to take a better look on the laptop tomorrow, it looks really N like on my phone screen! Bloody thing! Well, if you will use an eye phone when most people apply them to the mouth and ear, don't be too disappointed when Ls look like Ns and the world is square. As regards the blood, I suggest you check yourself rather than the phone. Regards Peregrine R Clyde-Brown

In view of what you've said, the upright does seem far enough left to allow an F...also there does appear to be a small triangle that could represent the end serif of the top bar of an F, plus a faint crease where the lower crossbar might be? Maybe another block, as in the 1700 NO STOP after DEI?? This doesn't mean that it 'isn't' the IRA for FRA that's described in Spink's, of course, just that Spink's may not yet have resolved for themselves the issue of the genuine existence of the variety or not, or whether it is instead a block that produced a run of I for F looking coins! It's a great period, and great looking coins, especially the halfcrowns! That's why I am sceptical about the so called GVLIEIMVS coins. Blocked lower bar Ls with the upright too far left is the order of the day, but that's because people see what they want to see and we all know a listed rarity commands a higher price, just like all those proofs on eBay which appears to have a monopoly.

Get a full image of the reverse up so the I of HIB can be compared with this one. Same defective serifs would be a good start as the same punch would probably be used. Another consideration is the spacing of the legend. Was there room for the F in the first place? You can use the E as a template for the F. If an I, you would expect the letter to be central whereas a defective F upright would be off to the left.

I wonder if IRB could sue for use of his design or for using his initials on a readily identifiable product? There must be some copyright legislation that would cover things made/sold in the EU. It might be a tad late for Pistrucci to get involved, but a living person could possibly reduce the flow of these copycat products.

Not sure that processed Chum is any different whether it's passed through a terrier or a lurcher. I suspect that someone thought it might be a good way to get the garden cleaned up.

If you want good portrait Lizzies sell your house now.(I have a few nice ones under wraps) Being at the right place at the right time helps. It is not a subject you would race into unless you had 5 bullets in each of your Colts and several years study. I know Tom (Richard) goes for Ch1 1/- and Stewart (Coinery) love Liz 1. I'm 10 years behind both. We all have our Nr 1 subjects Georges 3 and 5 do it for me The odd ones?

Which particular item on that page were you talking about Rob - the large quantity of free soil??? It's been taken down. The original item offered for free was this ad. 100% free dog manure mixture of terrier and lurcher Salford, Manchester lee on 07760930418 100% FREE dog manure i have a garden full of dog manure free to a good home its a mixture of terrier and lurcher collectoin only I copied it as I thought it might not survive very long.

Any takers? Collection only

Interesting, thanks Nick. A normal distribution curve suggests that a large deflection is not an unusual event which happens suddenly, rather a reading at either extreme as part of the normal spread. For the mean to be 8 degrees off to one side, this position can reasonably be assumed as the intended one for a 'perfect' strike working on the basis that most of the time, things would be done correctly. With a spread of 19 on one side and 14 the other, that isn't wildly skewed, and the sample size of 65 is large enough to be considered statistically significant. If there had been a clear lump in the distribtion at one extremity (which I was hoping for) then you could say this was a significant event, but a normal distribution rules that out. I don't think we can infer anything from this survey other than some engravers needed an eye test. Back to the drawing board.

He didn't get that message in time it seems. But equally, we should perhaps avoid "quoting" a post that includes the same information? (I've fallen into that trap too ). Happier?

on its way. You might like to remove your address from public view to avoid spammers. Send a PM or email next time to save giving out the info.

PM me your email address and I'll send a larger greyscale image to you rather than the black and white.

It is in focus. I rested it on the scanner bed. i.e. I can't do better.

Looks ok, but only you can say if it is a true representation of the colours.

This is what you are asking for. Personally, I would use the Nightingale sale catalogue which also has this list, but with an extra added. I have also found a previously unlisted reverse die paired with obv.G, but that assumes the lists don't contain a misprunt and that I have not missed a blocked die. I haven't had time to confirm this..

I thought the same. In the end I forgot to bid anyway.

That's two errors.

Mmmmm.

So, 20 slabs of MS67s per box, 3 boxes available. I hope someone isn't trying to charge a premium for these things because that's a lot of coins to shift. I guess this is where it helps to have people who collect by number and who couldn't care less about the contents.