1949threepence

I've seen them, and sometimes wondered precisely what criteria NGC use in determining whether a coin is MS65. I know they reject them if they've got verdigris, but fingerprints? who knows. Of course, there's fingerprints and fingerprints. Some are much more obvious than others. I always assume they were made shortly after minting. But of course, they might be the result of more recent careless handling.

It was always amusing the way cashiers used to hold notes up to the light to check their veracity, but at the same time would accept and pass the commoner fake £1 coins without so much as a second glance.

I think you may be right Jerry. At any rate, I think I might keep out of it from now on. At least until something definite begins to happen. Can I just say, if I've had any disagreements with anybody, I don't think they've been too sharp, and it's definitely nothing personal. I like and respect everybody on here. If we were meeting in real life, we'd have a bit of a discussion about it, say how racked off we were with the entire thing, then have a drink and a laugh, and talk about coins or something else. Face to face never seems to get as personalised as it does in writing on a forum.

They were supposed to be uncrackable. Any fake £2 coins about?

Not quite "penny acquisition of the week" territory. But still I'm very pleased with this 1921 F191. Zero ghosting, very good breastplate detail, and very good hair detail to the King's head as well. Great value GEF completely issue free bargain for just £5.00 from e bay seller hollingtonmoss. A well above average specimen from the poorly struck ghosting period of George V.

Most people are saying "get on with it". They want closure, and I'd lay odds that the majority would have accepted May's deal as a reasonable compromise if it had gone through. At least we'd all see a way forward, and it would be delivering brexit. Albeit, not in its purest form.

I think it goes way beyond party politics. The public (on both sides) just want to see completion and an end to this farce. If Corbyn can be instrumental in achieving that, then he is likely to get kudos. Don;t forget a very sizeable chunk of Labour voters also voted leave. They're not satisfied at the moment, but they would have been if the deal had gone through and we were purring along towards a smooth brexit in 2020.

When you think about it, if Corbyn facilitates a soft deal going through, then he will look like the saviour, and May will have played right into his hands - whether by default or otherwise. I thought Rees-Mogg was at least an intelligent guy, but listening to what he said today about deliberately trying to sabotage EU initiatives if we do stand in the EU elections, I couldn't help thinking he was a bit of an idiot. Especially as he and his ilk have blown it as far as the original deal was concerned, which could have gone though to the relative satisfaction of the public, and possibly blown it for the conservative party as well

I'm no lawyer, but it sounds like a fair point, worthy of consideration. Or to look at it from a slightly different angle - if we had left on 29th March without a deal, nobody could have said that democratic principles had not been scrupulously observed. Parliament were unable to endorse the deal, so we leave without one, in accordance with the democratic will of the electorate.

No. I'm not referring to Chris or indeed to the vast majority of remain voters. Most people who voted remain would bow to the majority will. Such is the basis of democracy. I'm referring to a certain cohort on the left in this country, who almost from Day 1 of the referendum result, have persistently referred to leave voters in very derogatory terms. Intellectually challenged, typically. But also add on racist, extreme right wing, fascist scum etc etc. Not nice, extremely provocative, and definitely not accurate for the overwhelming majority. Surely you must have noticed? I'm not guilty of the same as I'm giving my opinion of their ideas, not of the people themselves, who I know nothing about. I make no pretence about that, unlike them, who claim to know the collective IQ of the 17.4 million leave voters. 100% agree with your last paragraph.

Did you receive a reply, Paddy? I note the coin is still advertised an F112.

It's a ludicrous accusation anyway, which, in line with much of the tripe spouted these days, makes zero logical sense. I'd say it was an attempt by the hard left to paint all brexiters in a certain light - you know the same old tired score, white, middle aged/elderly and male, with extreme right wing views, racist and of low intelligence. A lazy caricature so idiotic as to be unworthy of even the Beano.

Absolutely. There are so many shades of grey. Far more than 40 in fact. On the one hand, if you are in business, it would be insanity not to take advantage of major price rises. On the other you don't want to alienate your customers through transparently obvious sharp practice. So it's a matter of flexibility. Recognising market movements, but also not unreasonably inflating your prices to rip off levels. Not deliberately trying to take advantage of newbie collectors and so forth. Not lying about a variety or exaggerating a grade. If it was me, I might be open to offers, free with technical advice or pointing in the right direction if I didn't know, and maybe throw in the odd freebie extra now and again, especially for long standing customers. Like you, I'd want my customers to see me as a friend, as much as a trading contact. At the end of the day though, honesty and integrity aces all.

...and yet they have items on there which are - in my opinion at any rate - quite reasonably priced. Also, they are open to offers, which is sound business practice, especially for coins which aren't shifting...

I haven't done so far, but would do so if the ideal opportunity arose. As far as slabbing and slabbed coins, I buy the coin. If it comes slabbed I smash the slab open and free the coin. It's a shame that you have to pay a premium for the slab, but if you want the coin then you have to accept that.

If there is a long delay, and we have to field candidates for the European parliament, I can foresee a very low turnout. I know it's traditionally already low, but extraordinarily low this time. Same as the next general election.

The Cooper - Letwin not leaving without a deal bill. "Order....... The aye's to the right 315, the No's to the left 310, so the aye's have it, the aye's have it, unlock" What a surprise.

Perhaps not, but it would in due course. In any case the situation is extremely complex and full of uncertainty. However, now that May is in bed with Corbyn, so to speak, we are obviously going to see Brexit watered down much further, in order to secure Labour backing and finally get something agreed. This was the day Brexit was lost - mark it in your diaries. 3rd April 2019.

TM's deal means we would fully leave on 31.12.20 after a period of adjustment, assuming the backstop situation had been resolved. Sure, we could leave without a deal on 12th April, but the results would be unpleasant in the short term. The way things are headed now, means the brexiteers actually end up with a far worse situation from their point of view than if they had accepted her deal. If we stay part of the customs union it will strongly inhibit our ability to form new trading partnerships with third party countries outside the EU. The majority of parliament were never going to accept a no deal exit - ergo: May's deal was the nearest thing to a perfect compromise, which her side, including the DUP, could have got through despite Labour, had certain elements not been so bloody minded. Their call though, and this is now a perfect demonstration of the law of unintended consequences as far as they are concerned.

Actually it's good that May is now meeting with Corbyn. No time for the arch brexiteers within conservative ranks who are criticising her for doing so, as they should have voted for her deal. She's been left with no option as there is no agreement for any of the proposals so far. If we have a permanent customs union, then we know exactly which stubborn parties to blame. Their fault and theirs entirely, as we could have been leaving with a deal - not a perfect one, but an exit deal nonetheless. Blind unyielding idiots.

Because in this country it's far more usual to leave things until the last possible minute.

They'd been re-elected the previous year with a working majority. There was no real need to hold the referendum so early.

I agree with you on that one. It would have been sensible to wait a little longer as there was never any extreme urgency. Another thing - partially lost in the mists of time - that I've never quite understood, is this: If you remember, back on 22nd January 2013, Cameron said that if the Tories won the next election, (which under the Fixed term parliaments Act would be in 2015, which it was) there would be a referendum before the end of 2017. Yet it was actually called surprisingly early in mid 2016. If usual form had followed, the actual referendum would have been delayed until virtually the last minute. Maybe October or November 2017. I've often wondered why that was.

Except R. Ingram.

But that's what a referendum is - and some huge issues can only be decided by referendum.