1949threepence

Just returning to this topic, and in particular 1926 ME pennies. I do think that a certain amount of possibly exaggerated myth or mystique have entered the numismatic lexicon when it comes to the 1926 ME penny, given that they are touted as rarer than what they actually are, even in high grade. A trip onto the LCA website for 1926 pennies was very enlightening in this respect. Not exactly in short supply. The 1860 Freeman 14 (LCW under foot) changes hands at about the same amount in top grade - maybe slightly less. But they are many orders of magnitude rarer. Seems to be that old charismatic price enhancer at work, as with the 1869 to some extent. Rarity doesn't dictate popularity.

Indeed. Although by logical extension, since melts would be totally random, the ratios calculated by Court should still be roughly the same on the remaining population.

This stamping of "votes for women" on pennies has turned into a bit of an industry.

Just as a footnote to this topic, I found this January 2016 incredibly useful post from @davidrj quoting estimates from V.R.Court in this regard.

Of course, if that is the case, then theoretically at least, there may be some decent specimens to be had.

The entire case raises a number of disturbing questions, the answers to which are vague at best:- 1/ How were the drones identified as such in the first place? - given that doubts are now expressed as to whether they were drones at all. Somebody must have first reported this - who was it, and precisely what evidence did they hold? 2/ Was any official daylight verification of the sightings made by police/intelligence/airport management, before the decision was made to completely shutdown the airport? If not, why not? 3/ Since the suspects concerned have now been released without charge and had cast iron alibis, exactly what evidence caused the police to arrest them in the first place? Personally I'm left with the distinct impression that there was an almost hysterical, unthinking reaction to the initial sightings, then further knee jerk actions in arresting the suspects concerned. All part of the really worrying trend of downgrading the importance of actual evidence, and seemingly placing more reliance on "some bloke down the pub told me". Even more concerning is that Paul Gait's employer contacted the police early on to verify that he was at work at the time, but nobody got back to him or seemingly followed up this piece of highly relevant information.

The drones, not the culprits Anyway the entire episode is now taking on a bizarre twist.

Incidentally, of all the 4 1918 - 1919 , H's and KN's, it appears to me that the most difficult to get with any decent hair detail is the 1918H. I wonder if maybe the Heaton mint were handed worn out dies to fulfill their contract.

I don't know what the issue is. I have noticed that when you tilt the camera, the shading changes. But on this occasion, I held it in the same position (or what I thought was the same position). Most peculiar. The hair detail, along with a complete breastplate, is the clincher on the pre 1926 dates. If one is there, the other is often absent.

Actually available on Amazon right now. I've just ordered a copy. link

Not life. That would probably be too harsh. But they do deserve the maximum sentence of 5 years with no early parole. Irresponsible idiots. The massive inconvenience that have caused to so many thousands is incalculable. Plus, if they hadn't been spotted in time and had been sucked into a jet engine, it would have been instant curtains for everyone on board.

Although not on the RM site, it does appear they will be available from early January - link

Yes....I should have said "which Freeman 5?"

Most likely a Freeman 16 or 26 then. Possible.

Yes, absolutely. I noticed the variation immediately and took 4 more obverse photos, with exactly the same effect.

Managed to pick up a quite decent 1919H. Nice crisp strike to the reverse, with breast plate complete, and although not brilliant hair detail on the obverse, not absent either. Minor marking to the obverse devices at 2 o' clock and 8 o' clock, but that apart completely problem free. About GEF both sides. Still got that annoying problem with colour variation, although only slight this time. Reverse colour spot on. Left hand fingers not present, unfortunately.

In fairness, you do pretty much need a magnifying glass to see this one, as it's quite subtle. But if you then compare the 8 to a normal 8, you'll see the difference. Richard's specimen above is excellent.

Agreed - and to complement that I've got Snelling's 1763 original "A view of the gold coin and coinage of England". Like your's, a great read and a real slice of history. They did the lower case "s" like an "f" back then.

Trench art? It would have been better if a couple of 1913 pennies in near EF condition had been used. Not that expensive and far more convincing. link

Having used the two different mediums, as well as a kindle, I have to say that I much prefer an actual hard copy, hard back book. It will never mysteriously vanish or become corrupted, and you can just pick it up and look at it whenever you choose. Not to mention scrawl notes in the margin.

Neat capture, Terry.

Well, Jezza's really shot himself in the nether regions today. Not so much with what he said in the heat of the moment, but lying about it afterwards. I'm no lipreader but he clearly mouthed "woman" not "people".

"Faith and truth I will bear unto you" - or not as in the case of this seller.

It doesn't, except in the sense that you are normally paying a lot less than you bid. For me, this is the method to more or less guarantee success when there is a coin you really want.

Sort of. Although in a literal sense, what you said above is absolutely correct. Sniping on e bay is waiting until the last few seconds of an auction and making a bid at an unrealistically high level, safe in the knowledge that you will most likely win as no-one else has bid such a high amount, and that you won't pay that amount, only the next bid point beyond the highest bidder behind you. Given that in the "confirm bid" box you see other late bids in real time, you know where you stand up until those last few seconds. I will admit that on occasions this can backfire when somebody else has the same idea as you, and you will either be pipped at the post, or else win at a higher amount than you would ideally have paid. But this is rare. Most of the time it works very effectively. Of course, you have to make a strong mental note of the time and date of the auction end, or set your phone to remind you at the time (best practice), as it's very easy to forget on the day, and only remember a few hours later when it's too late. Also arrange to be in at the time. ETA: I should just add that the above is how I snipe - manually. There are other methods involving software and proxy bids. This link explains all.