Rob

Make the most of its good looks now, because Whitman folders aren't made of acid free paper, so being a nice tight fit gives perfect edge corrosion in time, particularly if it is a copper or bronze piece. Whitmans should be banned like slabs. I don't have a slab insert to hand, but think it is probably silicone sealant (bath sealant). If that is the case, the smelly vapour present is usually acetic acid. Not so good if the insert is freshly made prior to slabbing, but if left to cure long enough in a heated environment it should outgas sufficiently to eliminate the acetic acid.

I've only ever seen one and that was 40 years ago. As a 6 or 7 year old, I remember asking my father why it was called that. It didn't seem to be any slower than other worms, just a lot bigger.

Pass the buck and give them a fiver

I'd say it was halfpenny numerals. If you check the ratio of the two heights, on my screen 12.1 to 10.7 and those on a real penny and halfpenny 2mm and marginally over 1.7mm, the two ratios are 1.13 and 1.17. Scanning in a couple of uncirculated examples of each denomination without changing any scanner parameters gave a ratio of 1.16. That's quite a close match and reasonably within the margin of error you could expect from different punches as the ratio varies by around 3%. If it was worn digits, you would need about a 15% reduction in size. Not impossible, but it favours the 1/2d digits. The only problem is that both sets of digits in the picture are worn

Like this you mean. The brown one was PCGS MS64BN! (overgraded IMHO). The red one is NGC MS65BN (bigger !! as the colour is graded incorrectly with only the purple patches showing light toning. The obverse incidentally has nearly 90% lustre). Two allegedly close grades separated by a bigger gulf than the differences between English english and American english. Sorry I had to chop a picture, but the file size was too big. Second image to follow this posting And again. It's actually a bit redder.

Like this you mean. The brown one was PCGS MS64BN! (overgraded IMHO). The red one is NGC MS65BN (bigger !! as the colour is graded incorrectly with only the purple patches showing light toning. The obverse incidentally has nearly 90% lustre). Two allegedly close grades separated by a bigger gulf than the differences between English english and American english. Sorry I had to chop a picture, but the file size was too big. Second image to follow this posting

Get a pair of heavy duty pincers, the ones that form a complete outer curve with a broad blade and cut the corner off. Then work your way down the inside rims of the slab a bit at a time. Eventually it will come apart. You need a heavy duty pair to make a cut at one point rather than shatter the plastic and potentially damage the coin. The plastic is quite workable if you do in steps of a few mms. In case you were thinking of it, a hammer or a bigger hammer is not appropriate.

Given that the obverse is dire although the reverse looks a bit better, I wouldn't go as far as £100. I'd leave it as there are much better examples out there without rim marks. It's probably worth £100-125 as it the obv. struggles to get to fine although the rev is probably good fine IMHO. The pictures could be better.

PCGS is one of a number of companies that offer a grading service, mostly they are based in America. PCGS, NGC & ANACS are all such bodies. They inspect the coin and assign a grade to it. There are a lot of people who don't have that much confidence in the grades applied and this is discussed elsewhere on this forum. Essentially, people submit their coin for assessment regarding the amount of wear to these companies. They will then give an opinion on grade. All pieces will be given a number of 70 or less. It will have a prefix of F, VF, EF, AU, MS for currency and PF or PR for proofs and patterns. In the case of copper and bronze coins there will be a RD, RB or B®N to distinguish how much if any of the original colour is present. Roughly speaking, M(int)S(tate)63 is a British uncirculated. Coins are submitted by individuals for grading. If someone wants to know why it hasn't been certified, it suggests that they know nothing about coins and are looking to buy them as an investment rather than as a collector. Some people, particularly in America only trust certified coins and I suspect haven't got a clue how to grade accurately. Unfortunately, the grades applied to some pieces in the eyes of collectors, me included, are somewhat suspect. Anyone who takes the grading as gospel without personally assessing the grade is rather deluded. They don't even get the date right all the time! Have you applied a grade based on the American system to the coin?

They were struck at Matthew Boulton's Soho mint in 1797 to a design by Conrad Kuechler and along with the penny were the first currency pieces struck using steam power designed by James Watt to drive the machinery. The penny and twopence contained 1 and 2 ounces of copper respectively, as the coinage to that date was based on an intrinsic value of metal. It was not popular due to the weight and both issues were only struck dated that year. The initial contract to produce the coins was for 500 tons of copper into 20 tons of 2d and 480 tons of 1d, the copper provided by Boulton at £108/ton. They were legal tender up to 1 shilling. A similar contract was agreed the following year with possibly others subsequent to this. So at least 1000 tons of cartwheel currency pieces were produced. That's a lot of copper. They are not rare except in top grade as currency pieces. Also, there are between 15 and 20 pattern and proof varieties of this design, but they are all at least very scarce, tend to be found in perfect or near perfect condition and are quite expensive. Values are always dependent on condition and can range from a few pounds to upwards of £500 for a top grade coin. The proofs and patterns start at about £500 or maybe just under if you are lucky. If you post a picture, we can give an idea of grade.

There are no signs of it being cast

I initially thought medal because of the different beading to the two sides, but the presence of a milled edge is not what you would associate with a medal. The double filleted bust is definitely wyonesque, just a marginally different profile. The shape of the 1s in the date are not right for mint output either. The base is too thin.

Help please. Brass, 21.7mm diameter, 1.4mm thick and weighs 3.54g. It has a milled rim. There could be an A on the truncation where WW would normally be and possibly something else but it is indistinct. I don't have a copy of Hocking, so if anyone does could they please have a look. The legend screams medal or colonial, but 1861 doesn't seem to tie in with any colonial issues. Thoughts please anybody.

On the whole, most people in this world are honest - even on ebay. With only 2 exceptions, when a coin has not been as described or the picture misleading, I have always had a full refund when requested whether the seller offered it or not in his listing.

The completely OTT prices aren't a problem. The problem is the dodgy photos, the slightly fuzzy ones which appear to show the features of the rarity you're looking for, but in reality are just the bog standard version. People seeing what they want to see is the problem when paying over the odds. On this piece, one must presume the elevated price is just a reflection of the additional work he has put in to make sure you can see the whole coin and on both sides. Usually, he only gives you a picture of 60% of the coin, and fuzzy at that, so I automatically ignore his listings.

Sorry, I should have said discerning collector.

I've got a super-duper mega UNC love token at a bargain price of only £249.99 if anybody is interested. A must for the discening collector.

Hi Peter. I keep all mine in trays, but I'm getting to the point where I refuse to buy any more storage space. A clear out is necessary!! As regards information in the event of my demise, I have put it all in a database including pictures of all the rare or EF or better bits which tie in with the tickets and should provide Mrs. Rob or the kids to sort out what is what so that provenances don't get lost and rare varieties don't get sold for a quid. It gets a bit bulky in terms of storage space on the computer, but at least you can keep all the info, more than you could write on a 2x2 space.

Surely if you wouldn't use 100% plastic flips, you wouldn't choose to use cardboard/plastic window types either. Self sealing flips have the added disadvantage of solvent vapours being present, which incidentally should improve the mobility of the plasticiser if used and help it leach out. Sorry, that was me.

Plasticisers are added to virtually all man made polymers in order to make them flexible as they are quite brittle and inflexible otherwise. It is this that leaches out over time and can react with the metal and is why all plastic should be avoided.

It depends on whether you like to look at them or not. If they are just going to be stored in a box in a safe, then 2x2 acid free paper envelopes for coins are fine. If you enjoy looking at them, use coin storage trays as you then avoid the potential problem of dropping them when you get them out of the envelopes and they look nicer like this. Either way they must be stored such that they don't come into contact with each other.

Thanks Kuhli, that isn't a million miles from Burma so could explain how he acquired it. Now for my next question. What does all the inscription mean?

I thought it could be Burmese or Singalese although 4 armed women and lotus flowers strongly suggests India. It belonged to my father and he probably picked it up in the far east after the war. When he was released from a POW camp in Thailand at the end of the war, he returned home via Rangoon and Columbo hence the above assumption. The other thing that struck me is that it could be a railway token of some sort. NR - Northern Railway or National Railway. There is or was a Northern Railway in India. Burma used Indian coins until full independence in 1948, Ceylon used regal issues.

And the other side. thanks.

help please. what is it?