1949threepence

From the condition of those offered for sale, it's absolutely clear that a fair few entered general circulation, so I did wonder if it was possible that some had been sent to banks in various parts of the country. Apparently not.

I noticed this facility when trawling through the Royal Mint website recently, and thought I would punt some reasonably standard questions to see what the response was. Lo and behold within just a couple of days, I got a response. here is a copy and paste of the e mail exchange, minus my details:- Think up some useful questions guys. It appears the world is your oyster !!! Freedom of information link

There are pictures of his body and a video of his burial. However he was not an active commander and he wasn't doing much - killing him just got AQ very pissed off. Apparently the pictures of his dead body (head) are so gruesome that they can't show them in the media, plus it might inflame tensions. One radio interviewee said they should make them available to the media at a separate showing so the media can verify the matter, but wouldn't be allowed to publish. Yeah, allegedly they shot him in the eye first before shooting him through the heart. But I think he's still alive ~ probably in a top secret military facility somewhere.

You might need to put in a late snipe. The auction finishes on Sunday night, and it's already at £101.00. I wouldn't be surprised to see it finish at well over £200, despite its rather worn state. But that's rarity for you !!! Ha ~ £510 in the end !!!

Indeed, the post is 7½ years old & the poster has de-registered by the look of things.

The one bit of that link that I like is this:- Actually now £1.67. Could be a good time to buy e bay coins from the States.

They're red hot on security in the States. Obviously much more so with incoming packages, than outgoing ones.

There are marks all along the exergue. What appears to be the foot of an underlying "1" is most likely just another mark. Interesting though.

He certainly doesn't like full stops, does he.

Just as a matter of interest, the 1881H I ordered from Colin Cooke, arrived yesterday while I was down town. £5.50 special delivery item, just chucked in the porch and the "signed for" delivery strips all intact !!!

You might need to put in a late snipe. The auction finishes on Sunday night, and it's already at £101.00. I wouldn't be surprised to see it finish at well over £200, despite its rather worn state. But that's rarity for you !!!

You might want to take a punt at this one

Definitely an open "3", and as Peck says, one of the better examples. A really nice specimen would fetch well into 4 figures, I'd imagine. But it's finding one in the first place. Anybody ever seen one above VF ?

Whilst I would agree with Rob in most cases, I'd also say that if you are looking at pre 1920 halfcrowns, some are prohibitively expensive ~ the 1905 halfcrown, for example. As a general rule I go for at least EF, but settle for VF in the case of the rarer coins. Even some of these are woth a lot of money. For example a 1903 halfcrown is worth about £450 in VF. It's even worth about £150 in fine. Just as a final note, with this series, do beware of fakes. If it looks too good to be true, then it may well be just that

I seem to remember them being offered at a low price via adverts in the papers around 1997 to 1999. Forget who was selling them, but the ads were full page size. You could get more or less any date you wanted. It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out in the end.

When the price of gold crashes, as it inevitably will in time and with significant economic recovery, forming a collection of sovereigns is high on my list of priorities. It's a waiting game.

Have been doing as you advise and looking out for threepenny pieces, and saw this on fleabay. He's offering dates from 1952 - 1971. Were any produced in 1971 just a few months before they ceased to be legal tender? If so, that's a tad short sighted I would have thought. As the others have said, Phil, the Elizabeth II threepences, run from 1953, continuously, up to and including 1967, with a 1970 proof version. None were minted in 1968, 1969 or 1971. Personally, I wouldn't touch the particular set offered in your link. They're unlikely to be in especially good nick, and aren't shown. You're better off buying single pieces where you can inspect the individual item offered, in greater detail. Some of those 1950's date can be surprisingly tricky to locate in uncirculated condition, especially the 1957 & 1958 in my view.

Thanks for that link 1949 - though the webpage is very poorly written! Interestingly, they don't mention the Edward VIII 3d bits, nor the 1952 halfcrown or 1954 penny, which are famously rare too. It is poorly written. I thought that as well.

Whatever speculative theories are propounded in an attempt to address this question, the truth is, we will never ever really know the answer. Maybe the question should be approached from the angle of why the monarch of the day opened buildings before 1933 and subsequently, without (necessarily)a full set of coins, or indeed any coins, being buried under the foundation stone. Whose idea was it in 1933 ? ~ the King himself, his advisors, or the Royal Mint ? According to this link it was the King himself ~ although how they presume to know that is anybody's guess.

Maybe, like so many things, it was just a fad which arose in that year, never to be repeated. A sort of Royal Mint "one hit wonder".

It is fishy, I agree. The fact they have exactly the same text, definitely implies some connection between the two. Precisely what that is, has yet to be determined. Weirdly, the only item "dsrasiah" currently has for sale, is that sovereign. Maybe, as John indicates, the account has been compromised in some way. The feedback shown indicates that he normally sells computer parts. Yep, very pleased with it as well. Nice item. Have you posted an in hand pic Mike? No Dave, I haven't ~ unfortunately, not being a seller, I don't have the wherewithal to take coin pics.

It certainly makes them look greedy. On "Countryfile" recently, they featured a piece about "night hawkers". These are detectorists who roam private land in the dead of night, without the permission of the landowner, in the hope that they will find something valuable enough to take away and not have to share with the landowner. Something else that's giving them a bad name.

Another point ~ when you do sign for them, either at the door or Post Office, I don't much like those hand held devices in which you sign on the screen. It's never a proper signature, and just comes out like an illegible squiggle. There isn't even enough room to fit a reasonably sized signature into. Even the use of the hand held device is inconsistent, as some of the time, they still produce a paper pad to sign on, at the side of the sticker.

I actually posted a thread about this self same topic a year or so back. My service has been mixed. Some recorded and special delivery items are just shoved through the door, even with the delivery strips intact. Others are treated properly and taken back to the Post Office for me to collect. I did have a word with one of the more reliable postmen a few months back, and he told me that if posties were happy with the security of the item ~ ie: posted through a locked and secure door ~ they will sometimes sign for it themselves and post the item through the door. Notwithstanding that, there is no way that the "signed for" strips should all be left intact. If they are all still there, then the unscrupulous buyer has an open goal in claiming they have not received the item.

It is fishy, I agree. The fact they have exactly the same text, definitely implies some connection between the two. Precisely what that is, has yet to be determined. Weirdly, the only item "dsrasiah" currently has for sale, is that sovereign. Maybe, as John indicates, the account has been compromised in some way. The feedback shown indicates that he normally sells computer parts. Yep, very pleased with it as well. Nice item.