1949threepence

Some very fine quality stock there. I've bid on a couple. Anybody else made any bids yet ?

Unfortunately I do not have that info, but will email Bernie. He did say catalogues will be available soon from Cookes, so I will email Neil at the same time. John, will you be able to give us the heads up when the catalogue is available ? Cheers Bernie has just emailed me Hello All, James’s penny collection part 1, now viewable at Colin Cooke website, Bernie Cheers John

It definitely would be an enjoyable way to spend a Summer's afternoon, with the added bonus of Sun and fresh air. As you say you just never know.....Mind you, ever seen those corroded "dug up" green efforts they try to sell on e bay ? Metal detecting failures. Is that what the Germans call their police these days ? Weren't the real Stasi the old East German secret police ? You have to be in it to win it, as they say. Although it's true that you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning, than matching 6 on the lottery

This has been a long cherished pipe dream of mine ~ to find a chest or box somewhere with a number of coins in it, which have lain undisturbed for over a century. Just think what might be found amongst them....... ......In reality probably just common dates, a few in EF and UNC condition. But still, you just never know. The family in Dronfield were very lucky, but not numismatists

My 1973 set of decimal proofs are all badly tarnished. By far the worst one of those early years ~ and that has a red background. I got it very cheap because of the tarnishing, and it's just got even worse since then ~ about 1995. As far as I can tell, there isn't an untarnished 1973 available. You're right - not available, though I am the proud owner of one I think Michael Gouby was selling one a while back, for around £25 ? Not overpriced considering its rarity. To answer the original question - I think you can say that if stored correctly, any toning to these sets should not get worse now. So how would you store them in order to avoid further, or indeed, any tarnishng ? Basically, in a DRY and SALT-FREE (i.e. non-coastal) environment. That will take care of sets where the original seals are wearing or not intact. However, the other main problem is coins reacting with the felt or foam inserts : but the worst of that damage will have been done in the earlier years, and shouldn't get significantly worse now (in my opinion). Although if you do have a perfect 1973 set, would it not be worth considering re-casing it before it has the possibility of getting tarnished ? Maybe a large size slab ?

I've just checked mine out, and to be fair it doesn't look a lot different to when I bought it in 2002, IIRC. Mind, that's only 8 years ago. The silver, brass threepence and medallion are nigh on perfect. The penny shows slight tarnishing on the reverse only, but a faint even toning on the obverse. Plus there is what looks like a carbon spot on the reverse, just near the trident. The halfpenny is the worst, with some messy uneven tarnishing on both sides, especially the reverse. The purple cardboard inside the acrylic looks fine. I'd imagine that some of the casings are less secure than others, and that any dampness which seeps through is going to cause a problem quite quickly.

David, I agree with John. A mahogany cabinet would be the best form of safe storage for this fantastic set of Maundy money. Ideally, the documentation should be in an airtight container to avoid long term deterioration. Obviously you can keep the rest of the stuff, purses and such like, separately. But the primary aim is to keep the coins and documentation, in as perfect a condition as possible.

My 1973 set of decimal proofs are all badly tarnished. By far the worst one of those early years ~ and that has a red background. I got it very cheap because of the tarnishing, and it's just got even worse since then ~ about 1995. As far as I can tell, there isn't an untarnished 1973 available. You're right - not available, though I am the proud owner of one I think Michael Gouby was selling one a while back, for around £25 ? Not overpriced considering its rarity. To answer the original question - I think you can say that if stored correctly, any toning to these sets should not get worse now. So how would you store them in order to avoid further, or indeed, any tarnishng ?

My 1973 set of decimal proofs are all badly tarnished. By far the worst one of those early years ~ and that has a red background. I got it very cheap because of the tarnishing, and it's just got even worse since then ~ about 1995. As far as I can tell, there isn't an untarnished 1973 available.

Unfortunately I do not have that info, but will email Bernie. He did say catalogues will be available soon from Cookes, so I will email Neil at the same time. John, will you be able to give us the heads up when the catalogue is available ? Cheers

Most of the buns on e bay are overpriced "buy it nows". You're best off competing in the auctions, for which the eventual selling price will, almost invariably, be a lot less. Usually less than 50%. That said, £531 for a well worn overstrike, albeit a vanishingly rare one, still strikes me as overkill. Opinions differ widely.

"last man standing" auction ? Anyway, it certainly looks very interesting. Who knows there might be a high grade 1926 ME penny worth fighting over, if you've a spare couple of grand floating about. 1926 Modified Effigy in ~BU lower estimate £2000 in part 2 auction I'll look forward to seeing a pic of it

OK, thanks for that. Makes the picture clearer. Undoubtedly, as the mintages for various Freeman "R" numbers, indicate that there were far more originally produced than now remain in existence in all cases. I suppose, as you say Scott, that most will long since have been melted down, having gone unrecognised by a disinterested audience at the time, and worn down to a flat disc.

Yes. You have until a certain date to register your interest in a lot and then after the closing date, it's between you and whoever else has entered the minimum starting bid. You then keep going backwards and forwards until everyone else gives up and you are the last man standing. Can go on for a week or more. Oh right, thanks for that. Presumably the winner is the one whose bid still stands after say, 24 hours, with no further rival bids ? ~ and that everybody is still in the race until that point.

6 to 15 in existence is what R18 gives us. But what I can't quite get my head round, and hopefully someone will put me right, is why a 6 would have been stamped on the second figure of the year anyway ? I can understand the last figure, as it would be a re-stamp of unused coins from the previous year. But the second number in, and not many in existence. Has to be an error, and why would they take the trouble to over strike them ? Why not just waste them ?

"last man standing" auction ? Anyway, it certainly looks very interesting. Who knows there might be a high grade 1926 ME penny worth fighting over, if you've a spare couple of grand floating about.

I bet many of them have gone totally unnoticed in collections, especially by non experts. Even if they have been noticed, some probably wonder what they are, or that it's some sort of striking error ~ which in a way, I suppose it is.

I wonder what the two 1969 entries were all about. Whether they really did turn up 1933 pennies, be they fake or real. More likely to be publicity stunts as the hard facts show the number which were produced, and they were all accounted for. Interestingly, I note that the e bay "sale" of the supposed 1933 penny followed immediately after the piece on "The One Show" about the 1933 penny. Co-incidence ?

The reproductions can be bloody good ~ just look at this one The photo in the Mail is probably of a genuine one. But it is the Mail, and not renowned for reliability !!!

It would be brilliant if she did, but sadly, I think the moment has passed.

Very interesting. You don't tend to think of modern coinage having too many same year varieties.

This is why I love bun pennies ~ so many different varieties, even embedded within already scarce years.

Doubtful if anyone would try to fake modern bornze, not even in 1971. Sounds like someone just decided to have some destructive fun with it :-) Agreed. The meagre return just wouldn't have been worth the effort.

Condition makes it impossible to say what it might be. My own opinion is that it is just the original numerals have spread due to impact and wear. Even before I read your post, that was my conclusion as well.

Choice! A dab hand with the arrows, shame that they mean bugger all!!!!! I've contacted the seller, let's hope he is an honest joe. Looks as though the item was withdrawn shortly after Peck's post. So it may well have been a genuine error on his part.