Peckris

And yet, they have a coins section, and a coins tab, and a "Sale by private treaty" section. Just no coins, as you say...

The great value-destroyer is cleaning. But putting a hole in is even more of a no-no! They've clearly been worn as pendants or jewellery, and their only value now is their silver bullion value - which for groats and sixpences is fairly modest I'm afraid. There's a lot more silver in the halfcrowns and florins (though only 50% from 1920 onwards to 1946). The two halfcrowns we have pictures of aren't too bad as coins either and should fetch a few £ on eBay.

Pity you can't still get the Austin Montego 2L estate. BL didn't make many good cars, but that was one of the few.

Oh stop it! Just stop it!

Of those, the most valuable items would be the EF Victorian silver (do you have pictures?) However, it's quite possible that he consistently undergraded - that 1922 halfcrown has some ugly green verdigris patches but in terms of wear it is at least VF, probably better. So if you post pictures of the Victorian EF silver, and the 1926 halfcrown, we can tell for sure and maybe give you some advice about values.

Mint condition - no wear or damage at all (Sorry about the small sizes of these - they were all scans and I usually enlarge them in Photoshop but don't have time today).

Extremely Fine - near perfect but there is still a trace or two of rubbing and wear on the highest points

Just about Very Fine - a lot more detail visible on the portrait, but still some wear.

Not even Fine - a lot of wear, which you can see from the lack of hair detail, and the 'worn down' patches

Condition is absolutely everything. The coins you describe could range from a £1 or two (for their silver value) up to hundreds in perfect mint condition. For example, the 1845 groat is worth £10 in Fine (good condition with everything clear, but quite a lot of wear) up to £165 in Mint. The 1922 halfcrown, to pick another example, would range from scrap silver value in average condition, up to well over £100 in Mint condition. So you see, knowing the condition is vital. It would help if you could post a few pictures (you'll have to reduce the resolution to 150k which is the limit per post here, or else upload them to Image Shack or Omnicoins or some other suitable picture hosting site, and post the links here). I'll try and add a few pictures to show you what the main condition grades are like.

Unless Lewis Hamilton stops the boring boring Vettel in his tracks and wins the Drivers' Championship The US one sure looks better, but I couldn't possibly rely on their grading number if in the market for buying it .. what's the 'Cameo' bit all about again?! A non-numismatic cameo is a semi-precious stone where a design has been sculpted from it - the design is often cream on an amber background. For proof coins, it would be the closest description for a perfect example, where the design (usually frosted) is in marked contrast to the surrounding field which is usually highly mirrored.

Every morning I feel like an 18-year-old... ...don't get one though

And the rarer it is, the more... ...no, I must stop!

Just a guess, but every generation will have thought them very beautiful coins, so they probably got passed around and shown off a great deal.

It should say Ar or Arg for silver. I think it stands for Agent 999, who joined a hell of a lot later than James Bond The OP is correct. Ag (argentum) is the recognised symbol for the chemical element silver. I know that, but AFAIK the coin world has never used the chemical symbol for silver? Spink, for example, uses AR for silver. I'd never noticed that, probably because I don't generally collect silver coins! Better that AR incorrectly refers to silver than the chemically correct symbol for argon. You might find your investment disappears into thin air.

It's an interesting looking piece. Looks like it was buried in a high grade from what little I can see. The king's bust looks silver to me, but is that just the flash? Take a much larger picture, reduce its resolution to below 150k and re-post here, if you feel like it. It probably isn't worth much, but it could be an interesting curio.

How long have they been giving us a whole half second to click on their category banner on the right? At first I thought it was just my display flickering until I saw the headings were changing.

I concur. You have used a 5 where an s would have been more appropriate. This is a very helpful forum. Too fuc4ing right it is!!

Nice work!

It should say Ar or Arg for silver. I think it stands for Agent 999, who joined a hell of a lot later than James Bond The OP is correct. Ag (argentum) is the recognised symbol for the chemical element silver. I know that, but AFAIK the coin world has never used the chemical symbol for silver? Spink, for example, uses AR for silver.

It should say Ar or Arg for silver. I think it stands for Agent 999, who joined a hell of a lot later than James Bond

It MAY come down to the reasons why each was produced.(That's pure guesswork of course). But IF the 1839 was produced in the sure knowledge that a regular currency was following on, then you could argue for its non-pattern status, whereas if the 1805 was produced to 'test the water' so to speak, it may be justfiably viewed as a pattern. After all, the Vicky copper pennies were the same size, composition and identical reverses to those of the previous reign, but the 1805 was a new type that had never been seen before. But I agree, it's a hair splitting exercise and for collecting purposes there's no good reason to include the one and not the other.

Peckris has a Homer Simpson moment... "beer, mmmmmmmmmmmm"

Have a look here : http://www.delcampe.net/items?catLists%5B%5D=2886&language=E It seems that the legend "prueba trial essai probe" is common throughout Europe for such pieces. "Trial probe" is probably the literal translation of "Prueba essai" (what language? Italian? Esperanto?), but "prueba / probe" is probably intended to mean "proof". If you like the concept, it's a handsome piece and worth having, but don't pay too much for it. An entire set for Britain was listed at €79.

Providing one is honest about them, they are well worth a place in the collection as a "gap filler"