1949threepence

Thing is, who is making these decisions and giving the orders ? Privacy is still possible by communicating face to face or by ordinary letters/notes, all offline. It's not difficult to sidestep any monitoring if you use a bit of nous. Not that anybody would actually be interested in 99% of the drivel peddled via electronic communication. As for opinion, you're definitely right on that, Chris. The internet is full of opinions, many of them quite brutal.

EF - VF - GEF - Fair to near fine Would be my assessment

Yes, mine's a Peter Nichols mahogany cabinet. Very pleased with it too. Was actually made by him as well. Can thoroughly recommend.

Nevertheless, it's true. I've looked at it very closely, and I cannot see any fingerprints when the coin is held in hand ~ and I have extremely acute eyesight. Don't forget the pic is considerably enlarged. When unclicked on it is exactly the size of a penny (on my screen anyway), can you see any fingerprints then ? errr, no You mean they're actually in it ? Crikey I think you missed my joke there Mike - you were talking about a fingerprint that was invisible in hand ... oh, never mind. No, the Jocks aren't in it. That's the one advantage they have over us I'm missing pretty much everything today, Chris. The constant rain is addling my brain

Nevertheless, it's true. I've looked at it very closely, and I cannot see any fingerprints when the coin is held in hand ~ and I have extremely acute eyesight. Don't forget the pic is considerably enlarged. When unclicked on it is exactly the size of a penny (on my screen anyway), can you see any fingerprints then ? errr, no You mean they're actually in it ? Crikey

There are fingerprints on the reverse though, which will count against it. Let me have a go at that Rob! I need to practice... Is the finger print at the top left, between the head and the E? Yes, and also between the N & Y of penny, but they only show up on the photo. In hand they are completely invisible, even through a magnifying glass.

No worries, Mongo. Pleased you've found it helpful

There are fingerprints on the reverse though, which will count against it. Very minor, and they don't negate the point I'm making. Moreover, they're not visible to the naked eye.

About Fair for me too.

An example of a near unc coin with superb natural toning and smooth unblemished fields:- An example of an UNC coin where the reverse shows considerably subdued lustre, whilst the obverse is BU. Presumably a result of multi decadal storing in the same position:-

An example of an otherwise really nice coin being ruined by a huge and obtrusive carbon spot or other stain:-

To a great extent, grading is an art, but one which becomes almost instinctive second nature after you've been collecting for a time. That said, grading points to look for will differ from monarch to monarch and denomination to denomination. There will always be grading disagreements between numismatists, but as a rule, this will be no more than half a grade ~ eg: the difference between EF and GEF. It's far from an exact science. Also, dealers will usually up the grade to the higher acceptable limit when selling, yet be more critical on grading when they are buying coins from sellers. That's business, and you can't blame them for that. As others have pointed out, there is also the subjective "eye" appeal factor, which might mean that a lower grade coin will sell for more than a slightly higher grade coin, simply because it looks better, maybe with more even toning. Such things as carbon spots, edge knocks, lack of field smoothness and score marks, can adversely affect an otherwise superb coin, to a very significant extent. These will all differ in their severity. Some are hardly noticeable, whilst others hit you hard in the eye. Bit like blemishes on a person's face. Moreover, different parts of the coin will receive wear, depending on the individual coin. Although there are common areas of wear, such as hair detail, there is some variability within any given grade. Another factor that very often occurs, is that the obverse grade will be different to the reverse grade. Maybe the obverse is GEF and the reverse, just EF. In which case the coin might reasonably be described as GEF/EF. A final point to consider is lustre or lack of it. Generally, but not exclusively, if a coin has lustre it will be at least NEF or above. Nonetheless, it is eminently possible for a coin to have no visible lustre, yet still be classed as EF or above. I can thoroughly recommend Derek's book "Grading British coins", especially if you are collecting British coins. It's a really excellent publication and covers pretty much all aspects of grading for all the different milled coin types. I've found it very useful.

Same law as in the States - you can't melt coins that are or have been currency (though for pre-1816 it doesn't apply). It's not policed very thoughly though as far as I can tell. Witness the number of dealers advertising to buy pre-47 and pre-20 silver coins. Exactly ~ and in fairness, it would be exceedingly difficult to police. Was I dreaming, or was something posted on here a few months ago about the 1864 penny being rumoured to have gold in it ?

You're lucky, I've not seen one as yet.

Looks artificially induced, and awful. Like it might have been dropped in a can of paraffin.

I agree, and if she makes it to 10th September 2015, she will have achieved that, and beaten Victoria's reign. Just 3 years and 3 months away.

Yep, my mistake. I was thinking of the James Workman penny and other wholly on line auctions, in which bidders were informed of higher bids during the progress of the auction. Obviously not possible where there is actual bidding on the floor of the auction house. As you were chaps. Excuse my thick moment

This was the e mail I received from London Coins on 10th May:- The bit I've put in italics didn't happen, unless they are referring to post auction, in which case they failed to make that bit clear.

Oh, after the auction is over, I wouldn't disagree with that. But my point is that had I known whilst the auction was still on, that I'd been outbid, I might have made a higher bid. But there was no information relating to that, as far as I can tell. You would have thought that they would have posted the latest highest bid on the auction site. But no, nothing.

Left 2 bids and got an acknowledgement back. Not heard any results yet. Results have just gone online Just checked them. Was outbid on both the ones I was interested in. But never informed, nor could I find anywhere in which the superior bids were posted. Dunno, maybe it's me being a bit dense, but I'm not sure I could have made a higher bid without actually knowing I'd been outbid in the first place

Well apparently all over now, but I've not heard a single solitary thing. Don;t know how many bids there were for anything, how much was bid, whether my bids were successful or otherwise, or even where to find the results. Anybody else heard anything ?

Copper 1849 penny Bronze Pennies 1860 "mule": beaded border on one side, toothed on the other 1862 8 over 6 1863 with die No below date 1864 (plain or crosslet) in EF or above. Common in lower grades, exceedingly scarce in higher. 1865 5 over 3, again in EF or above. Not that scarce in lower to mid grade (fantastic example on this site) 1869 once again in EF or above. Although considered the "Holy Grail" of pennies, in truth it's not too scarce in lower grades. 1871 in high grade 1875H in high grade 1876H wide date in high grade 1877 narrow date 1879 narrow date 1881 (quite difficult to get in any grade, took me a long time) 1895 with trident 2mm from "P" of penny, in high grade 1918KN & 1919KN in high grade 1926 modfied effigy in mid to high grade. Incidentally, Tony Clayton's site may be a bit out of date for prices, but he has some fantastic coins pictured. See here

Very, very nice ~ and much higher grade than fine. Look at the hair detail on the King's head. That would grade as NEF or EF. Good start to your collection.

Take a look at some of the prices here Not sure if this is the auction referred to, as the prices are at variance with those quoted, but they give you some idea. The Americans seem very keen on proofs as well. Possibly much more so than we are.

Very good thing. Can you imagine coins in circulation with the heads of Heath, Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown & Cameron on them ? Not a nice thought. Just so. He certainly fits the bill on that score