1949threepence

Quite a few years ago (2009) I couldn't help noticing the amount of scuffing in the obverse field of the newly minted BU Darwin £2 coins. Wasn't just one, they were all the same.

No, I can't. For comparison, here's another one I've looked up:-

Richard, are the scratches definitely on the coins themselves, and not on the casing? Sorry, I'm probably trying to teach my Grandmother to suck eggs here, but just thought I'd mention it to eliminate the remote possibility. If on the actual coins, then yes, it's an utter disgrace.

Wondered where you'd been, Pete. Hope you are now feeling better.

I'd say that cabinet friction or, as in this case, "folder friction", on an otherwise uncirculated coin, would be negligible in terms of actual wear - given they're not actually circulating and continually getting wear from constant exposure/friction with other coins, frequent handling, being drawn across surfaces before pick up etc. That's true wear criteria. Pictures would obviously help, but in their absence, I'd say aUNC.

If it were the 1934 Crown..........you'd be talking.

Yep, you have my sympathies. Communicating with some of these individuals is like trying to walk through treacle. Often I think how nice it would be to just have a normal conversation with someone who spoke the standard Queen's English, hadn't got a weird, difficult to understand foreign accent and they could actually comprehend what you were talking about - and you them !!!

I'd imagine it is. Did fakers ever bother going down as low as 10p?

Of course, it has to also be remembered that not every package from the States, or wherever, actually gets checked at all. Many if not most, just get delivered (eventually) in the normal way, with no additional cost. In fact I think all my coins from abroad have just been pushed through the door.

It reached the stage for me where if I wanted anything printing off, I was consigned to e mailing it to work, and printing it off there. I have finally got one to work. It's supposed to be wireless, but in the end I had to connect it with wires to my main PC. That's the only way the sodding thing will work.

Same here. I was perfectly OK with Windows XP to be honest, but when that was no longer supported I replaced with Windows 7, which is a slightly enhanced version of XP. We've got Windows 10 at work, the adverse experiences of which made me decide on the Windows 7 route.

I agree that much of it is distinctly not user friendly. There are so many different variations on a theme out there, and so many incompatibilities, that seemingly simple things like say, installing a wireless printer, can be rendered time consuming and complex, even for those with prior knowledge. It doesn't help that guidance often seems to be written by those whose first language is not English. Even at best you can be confounded by a step by step guide, as the item referred to in a drop down menu is no longer there because of a recent change, with the guidance left as it was for the old system. Those in the industry seem to have lost sight of attempting to make life easy for the end user

and If you want Peter Nichols himself, as opposed to just the firm, his number is (01424) 436682. Still listed as Peter Nichols Stamp and Coin shop, at the Norman Road, St Leonards on Sea premises. Out of interest, a June 2017 Google Streetview shot of the shop, can be seen here Peter retired from cabinet making in October 2010, and his cabinet making business was taken over and is now run from Nottinghamshire.

Hmm, interesting. The Saleroom accepted a DC from me over the phone last August. Not sure what they mean by "not secure". In what precise way not secure? I wonder. I can pay by credit transfer, but only £500 at a time, as my account is not a business one. So for more expensive purchases, I have to split the payments, and send several lots of £500 plus a balancing amount, which is an inconvenience, though jnot an insurmountable obstacle. Could send a cheque, but that's a bit of a long winded process when you're eagerly awaiting your purchase. I've only used 9 cheques since 2006, when my last cheque book started.

I think the word "jerk" is virtually the US equivalent of our "wanker" or "tosser".

The chances of most ordinary collectors actually being affected by CGT for selling on coins they've previously bought, are negligible.

Coming into the topic late - I did notice it was a bit slower then usual over the weekend, but it seems OK now.

Did we ever call Autumn "Fall"? Never realised that before.

Very true. Although I think there are two distinct dialects in Essex. The one is a kind of subdued cockney, the other - when you get to places like Colchester - is very East Anglian. In fact, even in the short distance from Chelmsford to Witham, you notice the change in accent to more rural.

Ill gotten gains?

Then Belgium says "leave me out of all this", to which England, Germany and France reply that they're already in it up to their eyeballs, like it or not.

Possibly, although maybe there was a rush at the end, to get the premium ahead of demonetisation. Perhaps that is a factor in the scarcity of the early years.

According to Gouby:- It makes logical sense that there would have been very few high grade copper coins extant after demonetisation, for the early years, such as George IV's reign - the readily available high grade copper specimens gradually increasing for subsequent years up to 1859, which would have had only 10 years circulation at the end of 1869.This is based on an assumption, as you rightly point out, that they weren't too high up on the average coin collector's priorities at that time, and hence not too many early high grade examples hanging around in collections. The ones that did turn up being down to random chance findings of coins equally randomly deposited in various places.

Me too, Richard !

1861 die combinations can be very tricky, Mick. I've been trying to get my head round them for some time. Some are more obvious than others. But trying to determine, for example, whether a penny is a Freeman 21 from a worn specimen, is really difficult.