1949threepence

Don't know, Terry. Time goes so fast. Those that were dealers when you were a kid will now be retired or passed away. Fantastic. I have volunteered on the Great Central, which isn't too far away from where I live - mostly for track maintenance. Lot of work going on there at the moment as they try and combine the Leicester to Loughborough end with the Loughborough to Nottingham end. Much of the work is done, but still a fair bit to do. Massive shame that the old Nottingham Victoria station isn't still around. What a job could have been made in restoring that. 45 years and 29 a driver is amazing. I stand and applaud that achievement. Well done that man !

Terry, thanks very much for that really interesting account.

Reply received as follows:- Hello there, I note you have a coin and medal e auction commencing 12th June and ending on 25th June. How do I view the lots on this auction, or when will they be available to view? The title in "19005", which you'd normally click on to view the lots, is greyed out. The auction is due to start on 12th June, which is only 2 weeks away, so surely we should be able to view the lots at this stage? I've downloaded the app, but still no further forward. Thanks, Kind Regards, Michael Sent from Outlook Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been automatically archived by Mimecast Ltd, an innovator in Software as a Service (SaaS) for business. Providing a safer and more useful place for your human generated data. Specializing in; Security, archiving and compliance. To find out more Click Here. By the way, the app is also on Google Play if, like me, you have an android device.

That sounds interesting and useful.

I'll keep an eye on it, and if I don't receive a reply from Spink by Friday, and the lots are still not appearing, I'll call them and find out what the hell is going on.

It's now 2nd June and the auction commences at 11am on Wednesday 12th June, just 10 days time. But the lots aren't visible. The bidding instructions advise that the lots may be viewable beforehand, (but obviously not biddable before the commencement time). I did e mail Spink about this last week, asking when the lots would be viewable, but received no reply. Maybe it's me not "managing my expectations" properly, but I would have thought, not unreasonably in my opinion, that a) they'd be visible by now, or that b) that Spink would give a date and time when they will be visible. link to Spink auctions

Probably the changeover from copper to bronze in 1860, and all the patterns/variants for that year. Including an 1860/59 copper penny, now very rare and much sought after.

Take a look at this letter issued to a bank by the Royal Mint in January 2016. It seems you can exchange them at the Royal Mint in their original packaging and with proof of purchase - so if it's an old Crown, you're most likely going to be completely snookered. I'm surprised the Royal Mint hold the kind of executive power to be able to issue such decrees, without referral to parliament. On this occasion it seems to compromise the test of reasonableness.

The one pictured in your profile is the best of the lot IMO. The Rocking Horse Crown isn't bad either.

It's really up to Chris and Eric to discuss further if they wish. Not anybody else's call.

Looked this up, as I thought the same as you Chris. I've certainly never seen one in circulation (as a 25p piece, as it were). Also called my parents who confirmed they never had - period. Halfcrowns, yes, abundantly, but not crowns. In any case, surely if they'd been intended for circulation, more would have been minted, and in many more years than was actually the case. Although whilst looking this up, it did surprise me that banks are no longer accepting them at face value - link to story

Cheers Chris.

Thanks Ian. There is a bit of a back story to this one. I noticed this coin on Michael & Rendel Ingram's website a few weeks ago. I wasn't prepared to buy it at that stage though, because whilst it had potential, the photograph was appalling. As a former customer and enquirer, I then received a "how are you, is there anything else you are interested in?" type e mail from them. To which my reply was possibly, but could you send me a better pic. I received the pics below - still awful and they couldn't even be bothered to take it out of the plastic wallet. As a result I then asked if I could have the coin on approval, without paying the money up front. This was agreed to, and having then received the coin, decided to buy it. In hand it was good, but their photography is dreadful.

Well after a protracted search, I've finally managed to locate and buy a 1918H with probably slightly better detail than most. At any rate, I think it's the best one I'm going to manage. The breastplate isn't fully struck up, but is not absent either, and there is some reasonable hair detail, which give the King's bald appearance on most 1918H pennies is a bit of an improvement.

Thanks - that vindicates what I thought.

I wouldn't mind, but we pay for them via the licence fee. We don't pay for them to display manifest left wing political bias as though they speak for everyone who holds a licence. That's wrong on every level.

I don't trust the BBC one millimetre. They no longer make any pretence of impartiality.

Can anybody find the stats showing the actual number of votes cast in the UK for each party? I've searched and searched and come up with zilch. All I can find is percentages, which I'm not certain I trust without the precise figures to back them up. I say that because someone said that based on actual votes cast, it was still 52% to 48% in favour of leave.

As I see it, Theresa May's successor is completely snookered if they attempt to push for any re-negotiation, as the EU have tonight made it "crystal clear" they will not be re-opening the deal. Secondly parliament is trapped in a complete double bind, if, as seems probable, they refuse to accept a no deal brexit. Either they eat humble pie and accept the current deal, or they rescind article 50. The first option will make them look weak and vacuous, and the second will result in complete uproar both among brexiteers in parliament and in the country as a whole. A routine request for a further extension beyond 31st October will probably be refused, as the EU will probably want to see the back of Farage and his mates, stirring up trouble for them as MEP's. The face saving way forward, for the entire parliament, is obviously (and inevitably in my view), a second referendum, for which a further extension would probably be granted. Then will come the huge row about how many questions will be on the ballot paper.

I suppose it could be die fill or a die clash on an otherwise flawless strike. It would still be a faulty striking, although the die itself would not be worn.

Thanks Terry. Valuable knowledge.

Absolutely. Starting with the number of numbers the last 8 can be over !

There are (seemingly) endless variations in the pre 1860 Victoria pennies.

beautiful coin.

Precisely. For instance, from being in hand I know that the first picture below is a F160, and the second a F161. But I'm not convinced from the pic in this e bay link that the coin is a 160 as stated by the vendor. The non enlarged pic appears to suggest that it is, but once enlarged it looks like the upright E of penny is to a tooth, as per a 161, and not to a gap.