1949threepence

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.

Sent this e mail off to dnw yesterday:- and received this reply:- I'm therefore assuming that the Hiram Brown buns will not be listed until the next dnw coin auction after June.

100% agreed. There are more and more of those infernal "retro souvenir" pennies on e bay. Anybody with experience can spot them instantly as fakes, but a novice might fall for it. Especially if artificially toned and touted as real. I'm sure some of the sellers will start passing them off as real before long. Depressing thought.

I think 4 is the "commonest", as it were, of the die No under date 1863's, Pete.

Good point.

Richard - I think you're right with the respective obverses, but the reverses I'm having slight difficulty with. It's one of those situations where ideally you're fully familiar with all the variants before you can feel authoritative enough to comment on one, purely based on Freeman's individual description. Unfortunately I'm not. I believe @Michael-Roo is a halfpenny guy, and he might be well placed to help you ID.

Some further pages been added since 21st April, but still not onto the bronze yet. Mostly Victoria copper.

The number of times I've agonised back and forth over an e bay pic, wondering whether or not it's a rare variety, and then almost invariably deciding it isn't. Pictures are often not good enough on worn specimens, Richard.

Incidentally, nothing to really spark my interest in the LCA. Massive pity the 1863 die No 4 under date, isn't at least fair. I might have gone for it - but a clear date washer? Not really.

Couldn't agree more. Plus with live internet bidding, you are the master of your own destiny in a sense. E mail bids are reliant on others not beating you to the draw. Obviously you can always attend in person, and make a room bid. But that isn't always a practical proposition for everybody, given distance, travel costs, other home/work commitments etc.

They're so difficult to get in high grade.

@terrysoldpennies Terry, was the 1937 sold to you as a proof?