Rob

I'm not convinced it is a beard from the image. The nose and forehead look reasonable, but the mushy centre could indicate die blockage or damage

If 20mm dia then it is a farthing, not a halfpenny. There are no bearded coins, but a better picture would help establish what you have. If it is really a beard then it would have to be a forgery (there were many around in the 1770s), however, the reverse lettering doesn't look bad from the (too small) image. A picture as close to 500kB as possible would be good.

Clearly with your wallet.

You looked at it a month or so ago, but here it is anyway. https://www.rpcoins.co.uk/

As for the verdigris, I would personally bin it given the number of scratches from previous attempts to remove the mess and upgrade to one that's only a midge's off unc from yours truly

To test out the die - presumably before they are hardened as they are almost invariably uniface. I means you can see what it looks like in real life as opposed to a mirror image. It is also easier to examine the detail in relief compared to incuse.

Yes, there are two 9/8 dies if I remember correctly

In the Spink catalogue of the sale. It should be on their website. 23rd July 2003 lot 365.

The field is polished, but the frosting is on the incuse detail. If you have a proof issue such as the 1970 with multiple dies used it would be easy to get one worn out/broken die replaced with the other worn but serviceable. We all know that frosting requires sharp fresh dies and the level of frosting decreases with use, so loss of this feature is not surprising, nor is the existence of frosting on one side only.

I know marketing is a tough game, but the following phrase 'Spink 2017 values at £375 in UNC condition no value given for Choice UNC-BU' is drivel. Spink don't list a value for choice unc-BU because there is no column with said description against which to post a value, and in any case, one man's choice BU is another man's ok or even a dog. The world expends and wastes vast amounts of energy trying to polish turds. Cut it out and you could reduce global warming.

Only ships within the US. Phew. A somewhat rhetorical question, but why do so many descriptions contain both the phrases 'We are not experts, so don't ask any technical questions' and 'Choice Uncirculated' ? A description of British coin - denomination and date would be far more accurate.

The portrait looks to be cameo, but as has been said before, it is entirely in the eyes of the beholder. It isn't beyond the wit of man (or the collector) to make that attribution personally and accordingly pay what he or she thinks is a reasonable price. After all, every collector does an eye-appeal appraisal before making a purchase whether raw or slabbed, even when it is so rare that buying is a no-brainer in any grade. I personally think the need for a comforting label is superfluous, whether it is a cameo designation, or a grade as this is ultimately the decision of an individual on the day. There is a greater case to be made for authentication given the diarrhoeic output of copies from China particularly, but to focus solely on that would be very detrimental to the TPGs' business models, so ain't gonna happen.

It still doesn't offer a quantitative assessment of cameo which should be present if you are to offer an opinion on it and simultaneously take on the mantle of 'God'. Given the willingness of people to cough up large amounts of additional cash for a person's thoughts on a thin sliver of paper, I stand by my argument that there should be some measurable quality used to substantiate the attribution.

Somewhat unhelpfully, the seller notes that PCGS have only slabbed 4 at MS65RD (which obviously can't include this coin). Can't wait to get me one of those super duper British rarities - the 1953 QE2 1st issue farthing with the woodcock reverse. Actually, I have one, but it looks like Liz overindulged on a trip to the Guinness brewery.

I suppose that when you are 9 you have to be content with only puffing up the lips, or so it looks.

It's somewhere else on the forum, but to save looking...

It's always nice if you can get it, but only one in a few hundred at best have multi-hued toning. The Edward the Confessor Pointed Helmet from Dorchester in Hulett part 1 was the best offering of late, with the pictures in the catalogue not doing the coin justice. A superb coin that JH was over the moon with when it arrived. Best I can do is my Cnut Crewkerne, but that is just predominantly pink to red.

The higher the grades, the more likely it is to be dealers. The lower grade bulk goes on eBay. Lotting is a difficult one. You obviously can't combine lots from different vendors, so a single person's submission will really depend on the overall value of the consignment. You don't want lots with an estimate of a fiver, otherwise you would be all day making not a lot of money. That can easily lead to diverse lots. I still don't see how any one person can cherry pick at lower prices in a free and fair auction. If somebody wants a lot then they will continue bidding, and if a collector, they can pay more than a dealer because the latter needs to make a margin. Virtually every collector I have known has pushed the boat out on a bulk lot to get a particular coin of interest. Whether it is a bulk lot or a complete collection you are buying, in my experience the initial outlay is nearly always covered with interest when the unwanteds are sold, so on balance worth pursuing.

For every dealer there are literally hundreds of collectors, so surely the prices realised are a reflection of collectors' unwillingness to pay 'a fair price' at auction. Time and time again, you encounter people whose sole reference point for prices is eBay, and in consequence are always working on the expectation of picking up something for 99p. No auction excludes people because they aren't a dealer, so with a level playing field in terms of access to bidding, it boils down to the collector's willingness to pay. The auctioneer is never going to knock things down for less rather than more, as his commission is usually a percentage of hammer.

By that do you mean too high or too low and ultimately what constitutes the real value given none of the references are definitive?

Or stored in less than desirable conditions.

Looking at the contact marks it has circulated, so the proof surfaces have been lost.

They can pay for their own honeymoon. A month trekking in the Himalayas in the autumn is a bit too much. Anyway, I have number two to sort out soon.

I was in Devon this weekend. My eldest got married, so a farmhouse and barns was hired for a few days for the ceremony and celebrations. Just short of a hundred guests including a couple dozen from as far away as New Zealand and a good time was had by all. Seriously hot though. I can report that the M5 was freer than expected today.

Use the Maundy sets for reference. They are 925 silver and the portrait agrees with the 1970 issue. Although there is a slight difference in colour between Ag and Cu-Ni, it isn't mind blowing, so any pre 1970 proofs will do if they have frosting.