1949threepence

There's certainly a mark of some description under the date. But whether this is co-incidental slight staining or evidence of tooling, is difficult to say. I certainly can't see an "H".

Take a look here Decent size image:- What do you think ?

Yeah, Hi Dave. Hope you're keeping well

Luck of the draw ~ good for him. I'd probably find a few old tin cans.

The man is a complete twat. With a name like styx collectables, it is entirely appropriate that he likes holes. You've got to hand it to him though:- I've heard spin before, but that recommendation of holes in coins, takes it to a whole new level !!!

Definitely looks fake to me. I wouldn't go anywhere near it.

I'm not sure about that, but if you look at the bids, there was what looks like some shill bidding yesterday ~ although the eventual winner made their snipe on the 5th. I definitely agree with you about the 1868.

My maximum snipe is the amount I would happily pay....anything less is a bonus. Sensible Peter. I usually go to a bit above what I think will be the maximum snipe from elsewhere. For example, if the current bid is £40 and the approximate value of the coin is £75, then I might bid £100. Typically, I might then get it for £55 to £60.

Mind, you would be an idiot to snipe 2,200% of the actual value

You're only an idiot when you get burnt. All other times you're a smart, high risk operator with a successful track record Down to perception & I've got about 20 successful hits and no burns Just so

Well, this has been addressed already, but as an aside, I would agree that you're not going to get too many coin collectors in the average football ground. I'm an Ipswich Town supporter by the way ~ cultivated by my upbringing in Essex. That makes 2 of us Keano COYB Just seen this ~ well said, Peter !!! Hopefully under Roy Keane, the blues should come on.

I've done that, Colin. On one occasion I was disappointed to have missed out on a really good coin because I got distracted by something on the telly, and forgot to bid. When I realised what was happening, the time had gone and the bidding had ended. Easily done, and quite recently my concentration again wandered, and I made the bid just in time ~ dead on the end time of 19:24:23 !!! It is a strategy that has 100% worked for me up to now, and I have obtained some great coins at bargain basement prices, as a result. If at some point I do lose out in the way Peck suggests, then I'll take the hit and view it as an occupational hazard, more than made up for by all the previous successes.

I must get myself a Peck as soon as I can afford one. There are just two available on Amazon, both later editions than the original offered by argentum, and both more expensive.

Whilst I can understand the annoyance that cartoon might cause, banning it would really be censorship. It's on trivia like this, that the concept of political correctness lends itself to ridicule. Yes. If the economic conditions had been more favourable in Germany post World War 1, Hitler would have been seen for the psycho nutter he was, and the fascist movement would never have emerged in any meaningful way.

"Die Schwarze Shande" meaning "the black disgrace". Without any background knowledge the meaning is obscure, but given that after the first world war, France did treat Germans in the now French occupied areas of former Germany, such as Alsace Lorraine, quite badly, it becomes slightly clearer. One can only speculate that black troops were used in this process, and therefore the racist angle becomes more obvious. Presumably the maiden tied to the phallic symbol, is somehow meant to represent the alleged sexual abuse of German women by such troops ? I don't know. Very, very nasty, nevertheless.

That works fine until the day your snipe just beats another using the same strategy. Then you find yourself having to pay the "stupidly high price" It's never happened yet, so it's a chance I'll continue to take. That said, I have known others to bid lower than the previous snipe, within a few seconds of my bid. I know I'll probably get stung at some point, but it's worth the risk.

Thanks for the sneak preview, Bernie.

Well, this has been addressed already, but as an aside, I would agree that you're not going to get too many coin collectors in the average football ground. I'm an Ipswich Town supporter by the way ~ cultivated by my upbringing in Essex.

I have used hammersnipe, and still been beaten to the punch. So nowadays, I bid for coins I really want, the old fashioned way, with a radio controlled clock and my finger on the final bid button, ready to click with 3 seconds to go, and a stupidly high price that will overcut the previous highest sniped bid. That way, I've never failed to get the coin I want.

Yes, I think that was my frustration talking! But I do feel that if some youngster (and we've had a few as members here) forks out a decent wodge of pocket money on what they think is a representative example of a coin and then a few months later find out at a coin fair or from a dealer that they have been swindled that is quite likely to discourage them. And for the hobbby to continue we need new collectors to take an interest. And we've seen with slabbing, a proportion of collectors are delegating the identification and authentication of their coins to a third party. It only needs a few replicas to be mis-authenticated and confidence could start to go. As for knowledgable collector, well there's a coin on eBay at present currently listed at £230. If you're not a knowledgable collector that seems to me to be a lot of dosh to be throwing at a coin! And if you are, why are you bidding on something that shouts "replica!"? You're right there, Tom. It's the inexperienced rookies that will be stung ~ and it may take then years to find out they have been.

Lordy Personally, I don't think it's a dot as such. The metal might have a bump in it from the minting process, but it doesn't really look like an error to me. That said, another pic when Az has the coin in hand, wouldn't go amiss.

That's pretty much what I was thinking, too.

That's probably very true. Such action will deflect too much negative attention & allow the scammer to continue largely unhindered. That's an extreme "worst case" scenario you have painted there, Tom. Whilst I can see where you are coming from, I'm not sure I agree. The number of genuine coins still exceeds the fakes by many orders of magnitude, and it's doubtful whether the forgers will make any significant inroads into the realms of the extremely knowledgeable collector community, without becoming seriously unstuck. Just beware of ultra perfect coins. I don't think even the most expert forger will be able to effectively emulate 100+ years of natural "uncirculated" ageing. My two pennuth

OK, thanks gents. Whilst I appreciate that the Sheldon grading system is more generous than ours, I must point out that I posted the link as a useful reference point for those who have encountered MS descriptions, but might be totally unfamiliar with the system. Not as a "bible" for accurate grading as we know it. For information, I recently bought a slabbed 1909 penny graded MS63, direct from the USA, and posted it on "coin acquisition of the week". The definition of MS63 is:- Having looked at the coin in hand in natural light, I tend to agree with the description as described above. You can see it and judge for yourself,here

I really don't think there's a lot we can do, except be very suspicious of old coins that appear too perfect. If they look too good to be true, they very likely are.