Peckris

Bearing in mind that Tony's picture is of quite a worn normal 3, so maybe it shows some damage?

Think the problem of the portrait is solved. Its from one of the (official?) coronation medals - Portrait signed H (Thomas Halliday). It is surely possible though, that the oh so vain lard bucket had his Coronation medals re-engraved at or after 1825? After all, he'd been Regent so long, actually getting to play Kingy for real must have made him so chuffed that he may well have kept issuing Coronation stuff all reign long! Either that, or Chantrey did more than one über-flattering sculpture, on which Halliday based a Coronation medal? Though personally, I'd be more inclined to the "re-done later medal" theory.

You can also see a comparison on this link Nice comparison Tony Strangely though, that normal 3 looks a bit odd!

my neighbour buys them to feed the foxes in her garden......you would think foxes were a little more discerning Perhaps the foxes discard the meat and take the skins away as sleeping bags for their new-born cubs?

That's just modern crap, the guy's talking out of his bottom. The genuine originals came in a twist of blue wax paper. Another sad old git who remembers them. Those were the days, when salt overload wasn't a requirement for eating crisps. Lets face it, when was the last time you had a choice of salted or unsalted? These days I think that only applies to butter! Nuts!

The 1893/2 penny is so difficult to spot that it is no wonder that it went unnoticed for so long. I can be shown a close-up of one and STILL probably won't see it.

absolutely. An afternoon, a chainsaw and a few vanloads. Woodshed work tomorrow for me... Good on ya Declan! We still carry a NICE chainsaw in the boot of the car (chain hand-sharpened [properly]), ready for the return of the days! Soon to be upon us! Wood burner at both ends of a 70 ft steel tube! The Predecimal Chainsaw Massacre - in your local auctiorama SOON!

I just hadn't seen such a low grade slabbed, and yes it does seem a little harsh! VG 8 is equivalent to Fair I believe, i.e. 'very little detail visible' I don't rate it higher than Fair tbh. The obverse is a bit better, but the reverse is verging on Poor in places. I would say that Fair is "very little finer details visible", but the legend and main design should still be discernible. The portrait should be more than a silhouette too, though there would be precious little hair detail if any.

A tenner each if you're lucky. Stop or no stop aren't much different with that issue.

"Sorry dear, eggs is off"

That seller's got class I'd be almost tempted to buy it to have it delivered by Muhammad Ali

Aren't all hammered coins half cut?

Sorry to step on scott's heels (well, he knows his stuff and can spot a rarity in a junkyard at 50 metres!) - but I would say in answer to your question "It's always been advised that you should buy the highest quality you can afford - so paying £200 for an EF George III Crown will not only bring in a coin that's nicer to look at and give more pleasure to you, but also be more readily saleable in the longer term, than 10 George III Crowns in Fair condition."

You could add, why is he only selling to the UK only, too? Nobody in their right mind is going to pay more than a quid for this whether slabbed or raw. "Hmm. No takers at £35. I'll try again at £20. ♫ ♫ Let's limbo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o! ♫ ♫ ♫ (How low can you go?)"

Speak for yours-- ||||||| --OOOOOOOOOH

Hmmmm, slab cracking this one i'm not sure about as i bought it for the bay and in it's holder it may attract more potential buyers, so will probably leave it as is Very wise. As for the coin, it has nice detailing (EF!), but I wouldn't care for that scratch, and the obverse has quite a few flecks. Good luck with it though.

I did see a Edward VII gold two pounds that had been worn as a jewellery item, it's edges were very much erroded and rounded. It did have obvious mount-marks however. For the edge of this coin to be rounded, it couldn't have been protected by a ring mount. You absolutely can't write it off, it could have spent some time in a sandy/beach environment, anything's possible, the weight's in your favour. I think, as peckris said, that it needs an in-hand appraisal unfortunately. What we need is a good die-study of all those coins with known fakes haunting them. Where 'modern' milled is concerned, we are back to the provenance thing again. If I was ever to buy a Gothic Crown again, it would have to come with some substantial paperwork and/or catalogue history that predates these arses who are bombarding us with all this tat! Thanks for all the feedback. I think that I would like to get an in hand appraisal. I live in macclesfield, but spend alot of time in Scunthorpe and Newark-on-Trent. Can anyone suggest a reputable place I can get the in hand evaluation? Regards Someone once posted here about a guy who you send coins to, he appraises them, then sends them back to you with his opinion - for a fee. I couldn't remember the details, still can't, but someone recently reminded us who it is. He has a website, and is completely independent. No connection with TPG companies. Remind me again?

Sorry, I don't know very much about the Middle East "problem" except that it was rife in the 70s, but as Peter says it pre-dates that even. The coin has a 'blurry' 'rubbed' look about it, which could be an indication of a fake. Or it could simply be that it was mounted and worn as jewellery. I think it would need an expert eye to look at it carefully. It could be quite an old fake from what you say, but it isn't necessarily a fake, though the 'unknown' legend error is a bit of a poser.

"Turnip, Baldrick, turnip. Or shall I put you back on a diet of voles?" "That reminds me, Sire.." "Yes, Baldrick - what is it?" "You know how sometimes there are turnips that look like a thingy?" "Ye-e-e-es?" "Well, I've got a thingy that looks like a turnip"

I'd be fine if the coin was 25 year old, but it's a 300 year old plus coin, so surely they should get things right? Oh, "very fine" surely Dave? Seriously, I don't think the age should affect the accuracy of the grading. The amount of circulation the coin has had is relevant whether the the coin is 3000 years old or was minted this year?

Don't buy Photoshop, buy Elements, which is 80% of the software for less than £100.

In the first post I described the edge as milled which I thought was the pattern on the perimeter of the faces.Following your comments I now realise that it is the actual face of the edge of the coin - this appears fairly smooth apart from what looks like general knocks and knicks. The thickness is 1.1mm in the centre and 1mm at the edge. I believe it's starting to look like something that has been in the family for many years is not what it seems?!! Regards How many years, if you don't mind me asking? I only ask because the Chinese fakes are comparatively recent, but there was a great spate of Middle East fakes of gold coins in the 1970s. If it goes back a long way, it is less likely (though far from impossible) to be a fake. However it could be a counterfeit which would make it of historic interest, and of course the gold value is not to be ignored.

Modern "bronze" is just copper-plated steel. You have one where the copper plating has not taken, yes. Interesting curio, so hang on to it if you like it. (Don't make retirement plans though ) nice 1 but a shame i cant retire yet hahaha. thank you for the info. any chance you would know the value of this coin? 1 penny, I think you said?

I'd rate that between VF and EF to be honest

A grade should mean what it says (i.e. "for wear") but with any imperfections, damage, cleaning, weak strike, scratches, etc, to be pointed out clearly. Sadly that old-fashioned value is dying out.