Gary D

The jury is still out as to whether there are 3 or 4 types. Freeman quotes 2 reverse types only. My coin at the beginning of this post is the narrow rim reverse not listed by Freeman. The narrow rim and wide rim are the same as the 1967 in that along with the rim width differences the narrow rim has the stroke of the D to a gap whereas the wider rim has the stroke of the D to bead. The wide rim variety seems to be by far the more common, but now the cat is out of the bag I'm sure they will appear more readily. Now the remaining question is; does the 1970 as with the 1967 appear in all 4 type combinations. Gary I should have said the coin at the start of this post is a narrow rimmed obverse not reverse. 495A and 495B are wide rim. If 2.& 4 are narrow rim. I believe mine is the 21.7mm ship reverse K but that could change. I'm having serious problems trying to edit tonight. 495A and 495B are wide rim. 2 & 4 are narrow rim with D to gap. I believe mine is the 21.7mm ship reverse K but that could change.

I think the only possible ray of light in all this is with coins on ebay, at least they will be within a grade or so if slabbed unlike some of the wildly optimistic offering we get now.

Here is the unlisted, by Freeman, normal rim 1970 proof 1/2d. I don't now how scare it is but it has taken me a year to find one. I'm sure its scarcity will drop once people start to look for it.

My salary

You may be right. For about 2 years prior to decimalisation and during the changeover period, I worked in my father's grocery shop and persuaded him to order some £10 of pennies every week. I duly went through all these, and do you know what I found? Virtually nothing. No KNs, no 1950-53 pennies, no MEs, nothing. The KNs are most significant as I don't believe they were ever that rare, the inference being that they had all been withdrawn from circulation by collectors. 12Hs were quite common and 18 and 19Hs would come in from time to time, but no more than half a dozen each during the whole period - and usually horrid. So yes, I think the rarer coins have survived in disproportionally high numbers. I do not however agree with your assertion that 1967 pennies could ever be sought after in any shape or form! Yes perhaps 1967 was not the best example to make my point but trying fill the Elizabeth II gaps is not easy as most dealers don't bother to deal with them. Too new at decimalisation, even given that tonnes were probably tucked away it must still be insignificant compared to the amount melted.

A supplementary question. Do mintage figures have any baring now. You see low minage coins like the 1912H, 18 and 19 H/KN pennies, the 1930 2/6, 1952 6d and 1946/49 3d by the bucket on ebay but how often do you see high mintages like the 1967 penny. Perhaps the 1967 penny is the rare one now as all the others were collected over the years

Slightly OT but when my wife first moved here from the Far East I kept finding small coins in a corners of rooms in the house. Apparently it's a custom in her culture.

An interesting story about the coin. My understanding of events during the death march were that the prisoners were systematically robbed of any possessions and if any Japanesse articals such as occupational currency were found on them they were executed on the spot. I keep meaning to look more into the history of the event after I first saw a sign marking the route of the march outside the church where I was married comming up to 11 years ago.

The best I've got to offer is this 1967 penny. If you look into the split you can see that both upper and low parts have some obverse, the top being incuse. Does anything like this have any value? Gary

Amazon has a couple of copies at approx £6.50 each. Just do a search for Burton Hobson Gary D

What you need is a copy of, Picture Guide to Coin Condition by Burton Hobson. Mind you, I've no idea where you will find one. So perhaps not so helpfull.

It looks to be there to me, you can plainly see the bottom serif just above Britannia's head

Not being and expert on vicky coins I'd go for 11+J F321.

The 3d was sold as a normal proof and the cameo effect although present may have been unintentionally enhanced by the photography, althought there was never any intention to deceive. The 3d in my own collection is very similar if slightly better. Checking the other coins in the set they all exhibit some cameo more so the silver.

Just a suggestion, what's yours. As there are suddenly two of different dates seven years apart on ebay I just thought someone would have a explanation. Are they for colonial uses and quite common somewhere in the world or did it just so happen that there was a colonial piece with a shilling sized osverse and someone put the two together for a lark? Both pieces show signs of circulation, one considerable.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...:MEWA:IT&ih=004 There are a couple on ebay at the moment. It has a shilling reverse with what looks to be a farthing obverse. A farthin is much smaller and 1/2d much too large so the reverse die must have been especially made. Is it trial oor toy money ?

Yes and it was one or perhaps 2 containers full of coinage.

I would suggest that that is a reputable source, but I would also be interested to know what attributes make it a proof.

I believe I read or heard somewhere that London Coin are gearing up to offer a grading service that I assume will include slabbing. Not being interested in slabbing as I own a very nice mahogany coin cabinet, I can see a benifit with slabbing a coin after grading in that it locks the coin to the grading.

A 1st class site for varieties is Michael Gouby www.michael-coins.co.uk

Welcome Josie, there are in fact six varieties of the 1908 penny, 2 different reverses which can be told apart by the position of the E in penny. The the vertical strock of he E either aligns with a tooth or a gap between teeth, coupled with this are 3 obverse. These are I of IND to tooth, I of IMP to tooth. I of IND to tooth, I of IMP to gap and finally I of IND to gap, : after BRITT to tooth.

I do wonder how many collect slabs because of what is written on the label rather than what is inside. All of the slabs I have purchased have been opened so that I can keep the coins in my coin cabinet. The first slab I bought was a 1902 penny ACG slab MS-64 Red which I got from ebay for $50 Buy it now. Now I guess $50 is a bit high for a 1902 penny but what was inside was a 1902 Low Tide which I guess is pretty cheap for $50. Out of interest how does MS64 compare to British grades.

Dave,King George V Maundy coins are actually very difficult to find,not only because of their low mintages,but because the coins are still being retained for sentimental reasons by the descendants of the recipients. Aidan. Not impossible to get hold of. Spink have nearly the whole George V run on ebay at this moment. PS if anyone has a spare 1910 1d laying around I have a good home for it.

I probably would have been interested... but how would you have avoided copyright issues? Copyright is a very grey area, just changing it a bit can do the trick. In this case the book has been out of print for some years. The original publishers are gone, taken over, amalgamated, i.e. not around to ask permission. Again the book was printed over 20 years ago. I certainly was not aware of the where abouts of Michael Freeman so I incorrectly assumed his demise. This all being the case the way was open to publish. As part of my final preparation I made a final search for Michael, something that needs to be documented. You have to show that you have at least tried. In my search I found that michael was still around and contacted him to seek permission but obviously in his answer he confirmed the imminant reprinting of his book. Maybe I have done enough by adding two whole new chapters but I'm not about to put it to the test as I'm sure Spink can afford some pretty cute lawyers. One thing though that has got me wondering is why the 1985 edition is being reprinted as is, apart from the 1985 values. See my first point?