1949threepence

I think that in 50-75 years time we will have seen a catastrophic failure of a sovereign nation, so a question such as the one you pose, probably will get lost in the wider scheme of things. From an economists point of view, I thought the most fascinating act in the first round of the credit crunch a couple of years ago, was Russia's genuine offer to buy Iceland. It was rejected by the international community, but it does illustrate the way the future superpowers of the world are thinking. Can you imagine the implications of the UK going bust and being bought by, say, India ? You would have to say that we are sitting ducks - we must be quite attractive in terms of potential savings/profit that a competent regime could bring just by running the country efficiently and effectively in a way which we are no longer able to do ourselves. What a horrendous future shock scenario. I sincerely hope that never happens and that we never ever lose the pound.

What a pity they're not all shown on the website. Although I'm not desperately far from the location of the auction, I really wouldn't fancy travelling there in this crap weather.

There's always one !!!

I agree with you in terms of WW1 silver strikes being relatively weak. When I was in the midst of assembling my shilling collection, I found it literally impossible to get specimens from 1915 and 1916, with decent hair detail ~ despite the fact they were otherwise totally BU. Yet I have BU 1912 & 1919 (either side of WW1), with fantastic hair detail. I'm sure there are examples from those two years with good hair detail, but I never encountered them. There are some very honest dealers on e bay as well. Indeed, many double up as non internet dealers, and/or internet dealers totally independent of e bay. That said, you're right in that dealing with e bay sellers, can be like dealing with pirates on the high seas. Some absolute gems exist out there, which can be bought for next to nothing. Conversely, there are those who will employ all manner of trickery to sell you a coin that is much poorer than made out. The point you make about a no quibble money back guarantee is a very valid one. We must be especially wary of the traders who have a "no returns" policy. You will actually get to learn quite quickly, Rob, the pitfalls you need to look out for. This is particularly the case with a series you have been collecting for some time. Occasionally, you will get burned, but with experience, the bargains you get will more than compensate for the losses.

It's possible, yes. Unlikely, I admit, but possible. Maybe I'm too much of a "dream on" type of guy

Very interesting. Thanks for that. Who knows what delights might be discovered in such a box.

Thanks for that, Rob. I'd bet the vast majority of people had absolutely no problem at all with the changeover. Obviously the media then, as now, honed in on the few that did, to make it look like a potential problem area. No scanners in the supermarket then, I noticed. Just the girl on the till ringing up each item on a cash register.

As far as I know Scott the Royal Mint started to circulate the new 2012 Olympic Commemorative 50p issues in the past month or two for us all to collect from our change. As for the 2011 date, I think.- Although I'm not exactly sure on this - That they are all dated 2011. Very interesting. First time I've ever known the Royal Mint to issue coins of a given year, in advance of that year.

Yes please peeps I have many thousands of coin I wood luv to sale.Email me at benttwat.com Best reply I've seen in sometime, Peter

Welcome to the forum, Jay. Sorry to hear you had to sell your original collection. From what you say, it sounds as though you are looking to collect coins from each reign, rather than a date run ?

Absolutely fascinating insight. Thanks Hussulo

I have managed to obtain three of them in my change to date. I have also noticed that on each of them that they all have the 'Scuff Marks' that you mentioned 1949. In particular on either side of the Queen's head, but also above and below the Rev design image. They do seem to follow a pattern and I'm glad I'm not the only one that has noticed this. I'm wondering if this is something to do with the minting process itself? Or perhaps it is to do with the way that the coins are transported? Maybe they are 'Rubbing' against each other in the rolls? I have enclosed some images for comparison. Thanks for that confirmatory info, Rob. Until I read your post, I wasn't sure whether it was just my individual coin, or a pattern. I had half suspected there might be a pattern, but now I've seen yours, I'm certain there is. Indeed, the scuff marks are in exactly the same positions, sort of North East and South West. As to what's causing it, well I'm tending towards the cause being due to transportation ~ "rubbing" as you indicate. I don't think it's the minting process, as such marks obviously won't be present on 2009 BU or proof sets. No marks on the reverse of mine.

They seem to be don't they. I received one, which looks like it might have been busted out of a proof set. Not sure. It also has scuff marks to either side of the Queen's head. I'm looking forward to knowing what the mintage actually is. Unfortunate.

In addition to the excellent & very comprehensive reply supplied by Peck, I'd also add that die problems lead to some coins showing evidence of a poor strike in certain areas of the coin. For example, I've got a near uncriculated 1885 penny, which shows Britannia's fingers as a worn down blur (ie: no fingers visible) and an 1891 penny, in which the "9" in the date appears to taper off to nothing, long before it should. See pics.

Anybody received a 2009 Darwin £2 coin in their change yet ?

Sorry Rob, I misread your original post and must have edited mine, just at the time that you were replying to the original version. Very well done on that. I never managed to get one at all !!! Prior to the 1997 & later issues, the only £2 coins I ever got, were the very occasional 1986 commonwealth games ones. Never saw a 1989 Bill of Rights.

As my grandmother used to say "I'm as old as my tongue, and a little bit older than my teeth" Don't think I can beat 13 David (OAP) The only other time I've seen that phrase was in an Enid Blyton Famous Five book, which I read as a kid. Never heard it said. I'm 32, by the way.

I wish I'd been around when £sd was circulating, but in the absence of that, £2 coins seem to be the route to go down, as the Royal Mint are regularly issuing business strike £2 coins, of less than a million. In future these will become sought after. Of that I'm sure. I'd only seen the 1p & 2p's before today, but oddly enough, I did receive my first 2010 5p in change today Thanks for that, Josie.

Incredibly, I got Welsh and English flag ones within a few days of each other, from our staff canteen.

Have you got the 1992 single market 50p (mintage only 109,000) ?

Hi Beth ~ in addition to the excellent information advice given above, you might also be interested in looking at my thread on collecting £2 coins ~ here

I've never failed to receive anything from Royal Mail. Although as documented on here a few months ago, I have had numerous instances of recorded and even special next day delivery items, being shoved through the door, unsigned for. This, of course, is an opportunity for unscrupulous buyers to pretend they've never received the item. At the moment I am waiting for an 1872 penny from the States. I opted for a $20 tracked option which was despatched on 13.11.10.

I agree, and considering your contributions and excellent book, Derek, I'd also say you'd more than earned it. As I said in your "Members only" thread, an excellent site.

The fair is organised by Mike Veissid who ran the shop in Shrewsbury and whose business was taken over by Spink. There is a waiting list and if you do manage to get a table it will only be on an occasional basis - say once every few months. Ideally you want a regular table so that people know you will be there every month, but this isn't an option. I know of a few people who would take a regular table, but don't bother give the uncertainty. If you do get a table, you might not know until the day before. Not ideal. I too find it a bit unethical to hijack someone else's forum to advertise my wares. Nothing wrong in having ethics. Isn't it also the case that although the Midland has monthly fairs, it has much larger quarterly fairs in March, June, September & December ?

I bought that book back in May of last year, and it has proved absolutely invaluable (no exaggeration) to me in assessing the grades of potential coin buys surveyed by me on e bay and other sites.