1949threepence

Thanks Bob, that's incredibly useful correspondence.

Well yes and no. Firstly I totally agree with Jerry's remarks above regarding this specific point. I'd also say that "die errors" arguably include such worthy items as the 1862 penny from halfpenny dies, the 1860 beaded border/toothed border mules, and certainly include the 1861 and 1862 8 over 6, plus 6 over 8 types, which were doubtless a result of the die repairer forgetting that the figures should be the other way round on the die. They may be errors, but they are very obvious and tangible errors, which have attracted a huge premium. Conversely, differences arising from worn and filled/clogged dies, have not - one exception being the 1897 dot between the O and N of ONE PENNY. Freeman lists this as a unique variety (No 147), and as such, it too, attracts a premium, despite the fact there is evidence to show that it was the result of a die problem, and that some specimens show only the merest trace of a blemish in that area.

Theoretically it could have have been either scenario. When such a penny - from a worn or filled die - was first minted, it might have shown faint traces of the H which did, as you say, wear out completely over time. Or, less likely, there was literally no trace at all to the naked eye. At any rate, I think we can safely assume that it was never the intention to produce the 1876 penny minus the H, as no 1876 pennies were struck at the London mint. They were all struck at the Heaton mint.

Just as a rider to the above. In his book "The Bronze coinage of Great Britain", Michael Freeman says that the lighthouse is believed to represent the Eddystone Lighthouse (which is about 12 miles SSW of Plymouth Sound), and the ship is thought to represent "The Golden Hind" (Drake's 16th century ship which circumnavigated the globe).

"Britannia rules the waves" - in the Victorian era the British empire was truly at its height, and we actually did "rule the waves". The reverse design of the bun penny features Britannia seated and the accompanying ship and lighthouse reflect the ruling the waves sentiment (fact as well). That would be my theory at any rate, although I must confess I can't find too much written down about it.

It was listed as a curiosity. A tooled ordinary narrow date I suspect. This is how London Coins described it:- 01/06/2014 Auction 145 English Coins Lot 1921 Penny 1875 Freeman 80 dies 8+H a curious piece with an H mintmark skilfully added below the date (the Heaton mint coins were all produced with Reverse J, the wider date spacing) , EF and lustrous, the obverse with uneven tone £46

I agree with both of those gentlemen. Of course, the nearest we get to a filled or worn die on the higher grade 1876, is an unbarred H. The only examples I've seen of those are on the commoner narrow date specimens.

I can now - displaying fine.

....but issues on my Sony Xperia M4 phone. Can't see the link on there at all....

The link to Catawiki on this site, and the Catawiki site itself, both display perfectly on my Android powered 2013 Nexus 7 tablet, now operating on Android v6 - Marshmallow.

Well done Matt, it's the same as that 2007, and therefore obviously a fake. But unlike the usual types, it's clearly imprinted and not an obvious botch job like most.

Can't see it

Not sure. I received a 2008 pound coin today, with what appears to be a sort of patterned border on the obverse. Whilst I have seen one before - which I carelessly spent almost immediately - this is only the second I have seen. I've taken a photo of it, not a brilliant one, but the type is clear enough, together with a photo of a "normal" 2008 obverse lifted from e bay as I hadn't got one in my pocket. Normal first, patterned border second. Both obverse pics are the new "Shield of arms" type I'm pretty sure someone's immediately going to recognise it and tell me what it is, although I did do some research and can't find any reference to it. Thoughts? Of course it could be a fake as there are other obvious differences, although if it is, it's a good one.

Nice one - well done !!!

I reckon Cliff's probably is a Bb, as is mine, pictured here, although the diagonal stroke of the three from the top of the five, is pretty much absent from mine.

Congratulations on your new role, Matt - well deserved

Yep, and thanks to David RJ for adding me. I'll have a proper look tomorrow

I'd go for GEF/UNC - disappointing carbon spot in the O of FLORIN. Nice coin generally, though

That doesn't surprise me at all. It's a superb item, and I doubt a better one exists. Far from a lunatic, more a very wise investment. Not to mention the kudos of holding such a high end piece.

Not a problem, just sound business sense and exactly what I would do if I was him.

It's obviously (and understandably) causing confusion, so hopefully it will be better signposted in the near future so that the difference between the two functions is crystal clear and hits you in the eye as soon as you see them.

Thanks - I never realised that

Unfortunately, the coins don't seem to be on the Coin Cooke website yet, and I don't get the PDF from them. But I've taken a quick snap of the front cover 1919KN.

I think the idea of the feed is a sort of halfway house between a totally private message and a normal post on the forum. It's obviously still between you and the person you are communicating with, but is available for all to see if they click on your profile. Maybe an item that might be of common interest, which you could refer to on the forum, possibly in a topic related thread, viewable by all. A totally private message is sent by clicking on the dark blue "message" bar at the top of the page, which you see when you click on someone else's profile, and will send a totally private message to that individual - unviewable to all except you and that person. Obviously you can't see the message bar on your own profile as you won't be sending a private message to yourself.

Somewhere I've seen a whole list emerge of who liked my posts - this is under the new forum arrangements - but can I remember how I saw it? Can I hell. ETA: Found it - just me being a thickie