1949threepence

Cheers Matt. That and the F76 I also recently got off e bay, are offsetting the disappointment of drawing a complete blank at the March LCA.

Here it is anyway - in what I would estimate to be NEF/EF. In hand there is a trace of lustre in the devices. Freeman 78 reverse Freeman 78 obverse As I don't seem to have a lot of luck posting actual images, I have posted image shack links again

...and it's a great thought, Peter. But unfortunately I've agreed to do overtime to try and clear a huge work arrears backlog. So won't be able to attend. That said, I believe the June fair is one of the "big four", so I'll make a special effort to attend that one.

Dave rang me this morning, Pete, after I e mailed him last night. I'd asked if he could send a pic, but he said he wasn't much good at that, so he's sending the coin I want, which was the best of his Freeman 78's, on approval. Hope he has sent it signed for. Forgot to mention that in our conversation.

Well he's got one I'm very interested in.........

Just as good - cheers Pete. Much appreciated. He's got some good stuff by the looks.

Do you have a link, Pete?

Indeed, it's this case Scott. But their definition still has them as legal tender. To most people, legal tender means it is a coin of the realm which can be tendered in exchange for goods and services. Whilst I can understand shops refusing or being uncertain when offered the coins, the same should not apply to a bank. It appears to me that goalposts are beig artificially moved to accommodate the convenience of banks and others, as opposed to the convenience of customers.

Yet they make the absolute statement of fact pronouncement that Crowns are legal tender. The statement is totally clear cut and without any degree of ambiguity. So if they back pedal and say that actually, no, they're not acceptable by banks or for use as currency, then to my way of thinking they are deliberately misrepresenting a material fact by stating that they are. Could lead to a very interesting legal argument if tested in court. Are there two separate definitions for "legal tender"? - not that I've seen.

As others have said, definitely a Freeman 6, by far the commonest of the BB's. Grade? - for me, NVF.

You're perhaps right, Prax, although I haven't seen any diminution on demand for rare varieties at auction. Quite the reverse in fact. Although, somewhat paradoxically, some real pearlers do seem to sail right under the radar. As far as 1861, it's an area I'll be turning my personal attention to, quite shortly. Another year with numerous varieties. Many of then not nearly as well known as their 1860 counterparts.

The only thing I can assume is maybe an extremely worn die. Maybe at one time the letters were faintly visible, but have since worn away completely, leaving just the normally struck letters visible. Of course, the Y of PENNY is also absent.

Thanks for the heads up. Are they the ones already on his website (they're nice enough), or some new ones he's yet to add?

They do, but to be honest, if I was sending a coin off for slabbing, I'd enclose a detailed description of precisely what it was, and ask them not to slab it if they disagreed with my findings. Surely it's a bit of a no brainer leaving it to chance? Or am I being hypercritical?

Completed for you.

Thanks for the list, Richard. Useful.

I'm astounded it was unsold at the conclusion of the auction. I was toying with the idea of placing a £1750 bid on it, but decided on other coins instead on the grounds I'd be outbid !!!. Had I known it would not go in the auction, I'd definitely have bid.

I was probably thinking it's extremely difficult to find a decent small date 1862, and this was one of the very best I've seen. But having looked again, I do take your point about the obverse flaws.

I don't recall any corrosion on the coin, which looked a pretty much flawless VF to me.

Does anybody know what happened to the really choice 1862 date from halfpenny dies, penny, ex Freeman ex Bamford that was on offer in the original catalogue - from the Elstree/David Reissner collection? I can't see any trace of it in the auction realised prices, and it also seems to have vanished from the original catalogue. Both of them have now merged the once separately listed collection, into the main body.

Beautiful coin, but I don't think it's a proof, unfortunately, Matt. Might be a specimen strike, however.

Thanks for all the contributions, guys. I haven't been on for a couple of days, and was quite surprised to see so many replies. Some really helpful and useful posts from both perspectives. It seems to me that there are two main issues which concern people the most - the first of these is the economy. How wold we be affected if we voted out? The consensus seems to be that we wouldn't be as well off as we are inside the EU. The second issue is the very obvious one of migration. This, I know, worries many people a lot. Especially as it pertains to the hundreds of thousands of migrants who arrived in Germany last year, and who may eventually all get visas to travel here as part of the free movement of people. Would their behaviour be a cause for concern? would there be pressure on people to dress or behave modestly/sensitively in areas of high migration numbers, so as not to upset the migrants? Are there ISIS sleepers within the migrant group? What's going to happen to all the migrants backing up in Greece and Turkey, now that the rest of Europe are fencing themelves off - that's so ironic. Pre 1989 the fences sealing off Eastern Europe were to keep people in. The fences now dividing Central from Southern Europe, are to keep people out I don't know - I truly don't. It's almost impossible to predict. As others have said we do need migrant labour, especially seasonal migrant labour for work on farms, and I do like Cameron's idea of just accepting 20,000 migrants from the camps in Turkey, over 5 years. Many more than this and we could find ourselves in real crisis, give the already extreme shortage of accommodation. In my area, for example, even very ordinary 2 bed terraced houses in rough and ready areas, are becoming like gold dust, both to buy or rent. So I'm still undecided, although if anything, I'm beginning to come down more on the staying in side - on balance, this may be better.

I got pipped to the post on all 4 that I bid on, this time. Disappointing. Might have to consider going in person next time, or next time there's something decent on offer.

Well done !

Damn - I bid £1200........oh well, never mind.