VickySilver

How on earth did they determine that the 1839 was currency? Both prices seem high, are they real and I wonder who purchased them.

Also refresh our memories as to the putative grades on the 1839 and 1841 2/6s please.

Hey, can azda be blackmailed - I'll settle for the penny and not tell anybody..

Ouch, evidently and according to the US coin magazine Coin World, Mark Rasmussen and Steve Fenton seem to have brokered this deal along with Goldbergs in Beverly Hills, California. Anybody know the buyer? To think how we fuss and fight over 20 quid purchases!Perhaps the ultimate in sets?

Yes, in fact there are a number of coins struck only on one side, either on purpose or after having been stuck in the collar with another planchet (each receiving the die impression of only the adjacent striking die). The fact that weight is normal, although a weight in grams and their fractions would be useful, is evidence of the coin possibly NOT having been altered. Are there any marks on the "smooth" unstruck side under a scope? I have a number of such QE II pieces. Some were struck to model format and generally have that designation on the "smooth" side. A study which I do not recall was done by a collector on one of the numismatic forums that by recall measured the weight metal loss to deface to smooth one side of a coin. I do not recall the figures but on a 1/2d I would imagine this to be at least 0.5 gm or so off the original spec 5.7 gm planchet. Thickness is generally NOT a good characteristic to compare.

I can go with G-VG for the original post coins. As far as dozens of nice Heaton mint coins, please post pics of some of the best if you are able. In my experience the average specimens do not come much better than these shown.

I can not speak for all, but as an AVID collector of Victorian silver minors I have little added value for die numbers. It just simply not of interest and there has been no complete listing with no doubt many undiscovered combinations. In general I have seen through private sales, auctions, dealer listings, etc. that seem support this notion being widespread. That having been said, if I have two or more of a particular date and die combination that I will be more enthusiastic at keeping the excess pieces if possessing different die numbers.

I am with Rob, toothed border & toothed border and not the mule. This is just from the picture but I feel this the case - IMO do not pay that money for it. This is not because I collect the occasional farthing but rather from conviction.

Well, I think Chris has shown himself to be a reliable person. Me, you would not know, and this would be true of other board members even though I suspect most would be quite reliable and respectable. I am NOT in the market for such as I have two superior specimens, one a proof from Spink from many years past. If Peckris thinks this not EF then I had better look at his coins for sale because that would be very high standard true "old school" grading like I have seen in the old Glens and Baldwin catalogues. If you need the sale, IMO he (Chris) would not be a bad place to go though you could shoot Spink a line or perhaps even Northeast Coin in the USA (www.northeastcoin.com) as they seem to be enthusiastic buyers of later milled bits and I have never heard a complaint with them. Have you asked Noble there in Aussieland?

Yes, I did forget to mention the rim ding, but as Chris said, that should be the number with the usual caveat of seeing it in hand. A shame that someone could look you straight in the face and offer such a ridiculously low amount. Krause is always a good starting point to get at least some relative idea. Not meaning to pirate the posting, but Spink seems a bit enthusiastic on some of the pricing of 19th and 20th C. milled but have yet to see it in its entirety.

Yes, thanks Aard for the pictures to at least get some idea. Afraid I can not pitch in with any meaningful opinion based solely on the picture. This coin has its analog in the US series with the 1870 S Half Dime that was found in a dealer tray but grades MS 63 now in a TPG and is priced at over a million dollars US. I would be pressed to guess a reasonable price for this coin if genuine, and could get ugly at auction. The 1848/7 6d seems quite scarce and although they must exist, have not seen above gF or so. Even the 1848/6 relatively languishes as the series seems a bit unloved.

Coin looks to be EF and then a bit, can not quite get myself to say GEF without it in hand. Unfortunate ding at Georgie's brow. Still this coin is every bit of 2500-3k pounds, two just closed that were the equivalent of GEF at Heritage NYINC auction for a bit under 3600 pounds yesterday (which is a slight decline over some recent prices gotten at auction). Price quoted is retail, not a dealer price offer.

I have often wondered about that 1847 6d. Is that the one reported in ESC? Does anybody have a picture of this coin, esp. the reverse? Well rarities are discovered all the time and mercifully forgotten, and have to confess that IMO some of these varietals need to stay in their pens (ie narrow and wide dates, thin dates, etc.). Others just get more publicity and seem to stay popular.

This will not give off the amount of oxidants that pine will but still will, and your experience along with that just given by Peckris unsuprisingly support that. Wood = problems unless you have a well patinated coin.

That would not just be humidity as with the mahogony there would likely be organics being emitted by the wood that may contain sulfa compounds or groups.Humidity and heat would be accelerants to the reactions at coin surfaces. I think this is a real issue for wood cabinet storage. This reminds me that even with inert storage containers that the coin holders themselves can be a source of problem for the same reason, and I am thiinking of the common cardboard sandwiched 2x2s which are not unreactive.

Gary, do get back to us once you get the coin in hand and have a look at the edge. Very nice pickup if it is proof, even if mishandled.

That is just not enough different from an especially well struck & preserved specimen crown of the date for me. I mean really, SLIGHTLY finer lettering less fully impressed command prices 10,000 % higher? I think not (at least for me), and this is coming for someone who for some reason loves the 20th C. crown series & even has an ESC 377. This would require a specific gravity test to confirm 377 vs. 377A status. Provenance? Who cares? I mean is there HRH DNA on it? Picture with him holding it. It would be interesting to see the text of the catalogue on this lot, Rob are you with us?

Rob, you no doubt have kept track of his (Freeman's) coins but it seems that he has through relatively recent times had coins from possibly his collection on ebay. I seem to recall corresponding with him about one before I knew it was him & don't remember his ebay nomen.

Ouch, that is a big number to start with! Good luck to whomever wins it...Wonder if there is any valuable commentary bits in the margins?

By all means, chck the edge as Peckris has said - there are other edge variants, some not listed. I have the "hip hop" version but also one with about 2/3 of the edge overstruck with rotated lettering. Probably the common varieties but always worth the check.

The "5" shows similar spread, if that is what it is, as well as the first "8". Not too good at posting pictures but recall that I may have one of these with date issues, just have to figure out what I did with it...

Yes, certainly in hand viewing in the best; for example, it certaily looks like there is "leftover" stigmata of the numeral 1 to the left of upper and lower serifs. As it is generally the case, at least to the best of my understanding, these are not recarvings but rather repunching of the die (or perhaps die matrix) with numerals either grouped or singly and that there is a great deal of variability with these "overdates" (I use the quotation marks because I am not certain that is what they are, or because a term may be rather inexact but is many times used) where somtimes but a single digit appears to be reentered and other times groups of them. My point really is that the top datal may not necessarily be a smaller type as metal is pushed around by the impacts to die or matrix. Although I know there is great interest in these date punches as evidenced by the earlier discussion on another post about wide and narrow spaced dates, I just can not get personally to excited by them; certainly technology was not then what it is now and a bit of imperfection even as these are milled coins would be expected. I could cite the many legend corrections in the Maundy series that are unpublished, not to mention in the farthing series. The type I believe have much more significance would be demonstrated by the 1848/7 sixpence or the 1847/6 Britannia groat wherein dies were converted for another date altogether. With the former it would be the only way to get a die for the 1847 sixpence as the single confirmed specimen would be prohibitively rare.

I am not so certain about a "small over large date". The second set of datals appear to be set slightly to the North-Northeast or toward 1 - 2 o'clock with a bit of counterclockwise rotation. The second set of datals may have spread the imprint of the first set with a bit of metal creep on the die.

Possibly, however Peckris you did fail to counter my point about WHY this is a relatively insignificant rarity, at least technically.

I was thinking of Gothic florins where arc numbers are counted, and even though I have an extensive collection have to confess to NEVER counting arc numbers. These are certainly more of a notable varietal (arc numbers) than wide or narrow space datals. I would say the equivalent to arc count with regards to date varieties would be large or small dates which, although not exciting, are certainly more noteworthy as it is not simple spacing of puncheons.