1949threepence

Thanks, very interesting.

Me too. It's the same coin which sold at the Spink Waterbird collection in September 2019 for £111k. Also, I think the seller may be @The Coinery (Guy) who used to post here. If it is, he sold me a very nice GEF with lustre F79 for £250 in 2017. Not to be confused with "Coinery" (Stuart)

Click here Price on application, apparently. I haven't asked. Any thoughts on what the price might be?

This microchip business is utter tripe. I can't believe that anybody could so stupid as to lend it the remotest credence. Microchips are implanted with specific info contained therein, that can be read with a scanner - as with a cat - they're implanted just under the skin in the same place where they can easily be read. Also the size of them means they couldn't get into a hypodermic syringe in the the first place, let alone get out of it. If anybody did create a chip that could be activated remotely, or routinely transmit information, they'd make a fortune from cat owners.

Ah, that reminds me. Another band for the covid era - "Tiers for fears".

Or knowing where they were if there was any you were interested in. If someone was really stuck for getting access, or wanted a given article urgently (unlikely, but possible) I'd send them pics. But my photos are not brilliant.

Just an index Chris.

I've spent the last couple of days reading through and date/page listing every article relating to pennies in the Coin Monthly magazines from November 1966 to December 1977, including author's name and article title. I've also included a reference to some relevant reader letters. There are many ! Although there was somewhat of a famine in 1974 & 1975. Any rate, although I've compiled this for my own reference, if anybody would like a copy, feel free to PM me with your e mail address and I'll happily forward it on. It's way too big to try and reproduce here. More years from 1978 onwards as and when I get complete years.

"Somebody get me a doctor" - Van Halen "Soon you'll get better" - Taylor Swift "Infected" - Bad Religion Also, for those who have just been vaccinated:- "I've got you under my skin" - Frank Sinatra and for the covid deniers:- "Another invented disease" - Manic Street Preachers

Detect alone and keep quiet about what you find, assuming you want to hold onto it. After all, by definition, it's not as if it will ever have been reported missing, or be identifiable with any legit owner. Not a living one any rate. Nor would anyone have the remotest clue where you dug it up if you chose not to tell them. You could say your back garden and it couldn't be disproved. Not that I'm suggesting the law should be broken, just pointing out how easy it would be if you work alone and simply keep the find.

I'd guess massively more.

Yes that was very interesting, thanks. Amazing what occasionally turns up, and a really neat find for the family concerned. On another note:- Sounds as though many were roaming the countryside at that time, for more than just exercise.

This reminds me of the time I went camping with the scouts. When we arrived at our destination it was discovered there wasn't enough room in the tents for all of us, and one would have to sleep elsewhere. I drew the short straw and because the farmer had said we could use the barn, I made my way over there. But it stank so much I decided to move away from there and took my sleeping bag into a nearby field, in the darkness, having climbed over the gate. This'll do, I thought, there was a good hedge one side which provided a great windbreak. Went to sleep. When I woke up it was about 5:30am and light. It was then I discovered my error - I wasn't the only occupant in the field, as there was also a lone bull, who was staring menacingly at me as I stood up. I chucked my clothes and sleeping bag over the hedge (or at any rate that was the intention) and tried to work out if I could make it to the gate and scramble over it. I took a chance and dashed for it, but needn't have bothered as the bull wasn't interested anyway. The only injuries I got were from scratches all over my stomach and chest, trying to retrieve my clothes from the other side of the hedge, as they'd landed on top of the bloody thing instead of going all the way over, and there was a ditch that side. Fortunately everybody else was still asleep.

Quite an interesting 1880 with an obviously raised second 8, and the 0 pretty much touching the top of the exergue as well - link

I'd say GEF Cliff. Especially nice crisp strike to the reverse. Also, the tide line shows up really well. With many it's quite faint.

Yes, I've seen a few low grade ones as well, Ian. But very few above sub fine. They seem to be almost in the "hen's teeth" class at high grade.

Freeman has them as R9, but I'd say they were scarcer than that.

Not sure whether you watched/listened to it. I was a bit disappointed to be honest - not with Van Tam, but with the overall choice of questions. It was too geared towards "can I hug my Mum?" type stuff. There was even a question about Father Christmas. Not really scientific/quantitative enough for me, but I guess that's the general reflection of what viewers want, so fair enough. Predictably the question of how long will the vaccine confer immunity was asked, to which the by now blindingly obvious answer of "we don't know" was given. I think most people are already aware of that. The one question I did find totally relevant was whether certificates would be issued with the shots, as I know many places will be insisting on some proof of inoculation before they will let you through the door, in the future. But again he was somewhat ambivalent on the point. There would be a strict medical record kept, but he wasn't really sure on actual certification which could be carried around. Which again is an understandable response as he's not a government minister.

Do you think he was fooled by it? Or was he just, as I suspect, playing a joke? After all, if he'd just wanted to pretend, he could have taken two completely different coins and put them side by side. I wonder who the current owner is?

Chris, that might be worth sending an e mail to yourquestions@bbc.co.uk to possibly look at. They've got a special "your questions answered" programme at 9am tomorrow morning on the BBC news channel, with no less a person than Jonathan Van Tam addressing the points. It's something I'd be interested in too, as my partner has rheumatoid arthritis and takes innuno suppressive medication, so that might be relevant to her. It's totally anonymous, they only read out your first name.

Yes I did spot the rim nick Pete, but it was impossible to determine how far it extended. Many aren't visible on the other side. I'm assuming you have some inside information maybe - spill.

That's interesting Terry. Freeman had the F189 down as R19 (2 to 5 specimens extant). Also, the poster @Gary D had one in his collection, which was later sold, almost in its entirety by Colin Cooke to a single buyer. The link to Gary's 189 is here. I often wondered if it was just a joke on Gary's part to make it look as though he owned one, especially as the obverse and reverse look somewhat different to each other. But he's not been on here for a long time, so I've never had a chance to ask him.