Peckris

There's also something on the curve,on the outside If you want my opinion Dave, there's no trace of a 1 anywhere there

British bull dog shoes,kinky boots ???

He certainly doesn't like full stops, does he. It's the "sorry for the grammer it should read a little batterd" that gets me. It's always funny to see anything corrected with yet another misprunt (sic). HAVE NEVER ATEMPTED TO STRAIGHTEN EDWARD THE ELDER That's odd, I always thought it was Edward II who needed 'straightening'? I THINK LOOKING IN I CAN MAKE OUT WHAT LOOKS TO BE A HAND No you muppet - that's yours, holding the coin so it can be photographed

Didn't even know there was such a thing.

Definitely an open 3... I was the under bidder at £310 and rather hoped to get it. Now I wish I'd gone more as it's the best I've ever seen too, especially the obverse Have to agree Accumulator, nice OBV, not seen a better one as yet. This guy is stating that this is an open 3, i'm not so sure it is. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280667045407&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp4712.m570.l1313%26_nkw%3D280667045407%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1 Clearly not an open 3. I like his caveat "I have been told this is an open 3 but I am no expert" I might email him and tell him it's actually an Aston Martin DB9S in silver Definitely not an open 3. But it might be Gibbon's Decline And Fall Of The Numismatic Empire Will we be seeing you on telly tomorrow Gary? (Well, not me - I shall be in Tesco with any other local republicans )

It looks like an 'open 3' to me. Can't see anyone paying £330 if there was any doubt.

Oh Lord yes - in the same realm as 1922 pennies with 1927 reverse, but even rarer. Far rarer! Unique?

Well, presumably he was responsible for the condition of the coin as his id proudly states. What is more worrying is that it has 4 bids already. Still under melt price though Rob (which is where I suspect it is heading). Hopefully that will be its final destination - for the benefit of all. Do you think it's the famous Raised Tin Proof (Duraglit)?

It isn't a mule because the obverse changed in this year. A mule occurs when 2 dies that were not intended to be used together are in fact utilised eg. the 20p with no date, or the 1711 3rd bust shilling. In the case of the latter, the 4th bust was introduced on Anne's shillings in 1710 and so the use of the preceding obverse die in 1711 would not be expected. I have no idea what you two are talking about. I've just checked Check Your Change and Chris only lists a single type. There was an obverse change in 1985, and again in 1998. There was not, to my knowledge, in 1992! Dave Groom's book p.210-211 refers. Thanks Rob. I've had a look, and it makes me about as thrilled as the two types of 1953 obverse. Excuse me, I feel a yawn coming on...

At least one will be out there somewhere, I would put money on it. It has happened with all other varieties (except for the obvious die number coins etc) and I am sure it will eventually happen with the 1903 open 3 so keep looking!!! this one just gone for £330!!!! Dread to think what one in decent grade would go for David To be fair, that's the best condition one I've ever seen. The obverse is VF and the reverse GF so I'm not too surprised.

You've had some great advice there. I'd recommend going for a type collection (one of each major type rather than a date run) as it will bring greater satisfaction in a shorter time. These are items you could go for, which won't cost you an arm and a leg : George V : 1915, 1916, 1918 Edward VII : 1902 Victoria Old Head : 1893, 1901 Victoria Jubilee Head : 1887, 1888 Victoria Young Head (later) : 1874, 1875, 1885, 1886 George III (small head) : 1817 George III (Bull head) : 1816 (dates within a reign are 'OR' rather than 'AND' - in keeping with type collecting) The ones you will find hardest are Victoria (earlier) though 1844 and 1845 aren't as hard as the others; William IV - 1836 is your best bet; The three types of George IV are middling : I'd go for 1820, 1823, 1826 myself. Then you're heading back into early milled which is a whole different ball game.

So true

It isn't a mule because the obverse changed in this year. A mule occurs when 2 dies that were not intended to be used together are in fact utilised eg. the 20p with no date, or the 1711 3rd bust shilling. In the case of the latter, the 4th bust was introduced on Anne's shillings in 1710 and so the use of the preceding obverse die in 1711 would not be expected. I have no idea what you two are talking about. I've just checked Check Your Change and Chris only lists a single type. There was an obverse change in 1985, and again in 1998. There was not, to my knowledge, in 1992!

I am still kicking myself that in the late 90s, when sovs were worth less than £50 BV, WHY oh why didn't I start a type collection ? I would not worry too much Derek. There must still be countless 'accumulations' from the 60s yet to appear in auction lists, with all their pre-47 low-grade silver. And I'm sure it will be a cold day in hell before supplies of pre-20 silver dries up. A lot of people just don't have their finger on the pulse of precious metal market movements.

There's no such thing as "normal boring common examples" - gold sovs either have a coin value which depends entirely on rarity and condition, OR if not at that lofty height they have a BV (bullion value) which would apply to any gold sov of any reign. You're talking about BV I think which you would need to look up the latest gold prices for. (I don't know the relevant website, but I'm sure you can find out via Google)

Now go and stand in the corner and repeat after me...farthings are great!! And there was me thinking I'd created a Colin-friendly post! Ok ok. "farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great farthings are great" Can I stop now? Mummy says it's teatime

The 1909 I would give GVF whilst the 1917 probably around Fair. The fist might be 'worth' about £3 whilst the second has no obvious value. I have put 'worth' in inverted commas because that is purely a book figure; dealers are unlikely to want it other than as part of a bulk lot and you may struggle to reach that figure on e-bay. So make of that what you will! I would agree with Derek entirely, you can see similar examples in my shop as confirmation Thanks. What about the others? http://www.flickr.com/photos/25208007@N08/sets/72157626485813134/ A few of the last issue George V are in very decent nick - heading towards EF say - but the fact is, there are tons of the things in those conditions! As a rough guide, anything from 1937 needs to be UNC, 1926 - 1936 should be EF+ with lustre at least, 1911 - 1925 should at least be EF. Scarce dates are 1915, 1935 in high grade, ditto 1934 in top grade. Farthings are nice little coins, worth collecting, but will only ever be worth peanuts compared to pennies, unless you have something very rare.

The best one there is the 1915, which is getting on towards VF grade and worth somewhere south of a tenner. (Solid silver). But there's a lot of 1915s in good condition around. Most of the rest are worth no more than their silver value I'm afraid - they would grade from Fair to Fine (50% silver). The 1948 and 1962 would have very little value. The '62 I'd grade in EF, the '48 in VF+ but probably cleaned.

You may find Island coins listed in The Coin Yearbook? Which itself is in the larger bookshops, you might even find it in WHSmith.

This is very surprising news. Low-grade predecimal silver has been melted down for decades now, but as you say, modern proofs ought to be out of that. For one thing, the issue price is fixed not on silver value, but on quality and limited mintage (built-in scarcity). To make a profit on melting, a dealer would have to buy in at less than the silver value, which itself would be a mere fraction of the issue price, and a severe loss to the seller. Mind you, I CAN see that 1972 and 1977 proof crowns might be worth more than their issue price now, and they have never really risen in value very much as so many were minted, but that argument ought not apply to anything after the mid-80s. If it proves anything, it's that the secondary market in decimal commemoratives - always a nightmare for sellers who had paid the full issue price - must now be at rock bottom if silver values are higher than market value. (Where 'market value' = secondary prices realised, rather than values quoted in Spink which are based on issue price.)

Brilliant? That's an understatement. That seller ought to be a comedy writer. Perhaps he really is! My favourite part : If you don’t want to drive it you can just sit in the driver’s seat and I can make engine noises but there will be an additional fee for this. Even better that he goes on to say 'I can also make airplane noises my Airbus A380 is very impressive, helicopters are harder but I can try if that is your thing'! Pure genius! Woohoo! Post 100! Congrats Cerb I normally bookmark interesting web pages, but I went so far as to actually save that one (mind you, being eBay, old listings probably don't hang around long anyway).

You will find the 1939 and 1948 pretty tricky in anything higher than VF - those are scarce dates especially in high grade. After those, the 1938, 1940 and 1945 are easy(ish) in EF but surprisingly difficult in BU. The easiest George VI are - in approx order - 1937, 1942/43, 1941/44/52. For Liz, all the 1960s are pretty easy (ignore the value listed for 1960 - I've seen tons of those in BU), and 1953. The 1950s are much trickier except 1959.

Brilliant? That's an understatement. That seller ought to be a comedy writer. Perhaps he really is! My favourite part : If you don’t want to drive it you can just sit in the driver’s seat and I can make engine noises but there will be an additional fee for this.

Have been doing as you advise and looking out for threepenny pieces, and saw this on fleabay. He's offering dates from 1952 - 1971. Were any produced in 1971 just a few months before they ceased to be legal tender? If so, that's a tad short sighted I would have thought. That's just careless listing. The first coins were dated 1953, run continuously to 1967, and a 1970 proof. That's it. Obviously not a true collector / dealer selling.

Forget the "is it a variety or isn't it" Dave - it's a nice looking penny, well worth it in its own right