Jake

Hello everybody , ive a question i cant figure out.It would seem straightforward ..however , its to do with weight,purity and size.Two coins in question , one is a 1910 US quarter eagle , beautiful wee coin weighing in at 4.18g.Its almost if not exactly the same size as a dime..900 gold which as i understand is 22k. The other coin in question is a 1911 George V half sovereign.Its a millimeter and a half bigger in diameter,minimally thicker..so bigger all round. It too is .900 22k.. so why does it weigh less than the quarter eagle ? This isnt just my two coins,the recorded weights match with everything ive read,the half sov is lighter but bigger..why ?

The chinese fakes have gotten very good,it has a lot of american collectors worried.That particular fake isnt that good though,its far too porous looking.Theres fakes on ebay now that can fool the best now.Its end result is nobody buys coins from China ..which is ironic as everything else here is made in china.

Not Ireland , no , Scotland.Pretty much the same scenario.I live in Pennsylvania now since oct 07.Here dudes metal detect parks and schoolyards , beaches and places that it seems they just dont care to get dirty. Ive had superb success asking farmers here.The accent helps as this area was settled by scots back in the day so they recoqnise that and usually its no problem. Its all about the timing , right after harvest when the farmer doesnt even want to see his fields again for a while is best , its going to lay there all winter doing nothing anyway. Another great time is right after the ploughing,before its seeded , you might not always get permission at this time but once you establish yourself it gets easier and easier to the point the farmer gets used to having you around almost.Good luck

I thought this was a commen occurance for gaming tokens ? The mispelling being so they could not be said to be counterfeiting.

Ive metal detected now for close on 30 years and in quite a few different countries , the UK and US being the main two.The law as described there is pretty much the standard law everywhere.Keep off the recoqnised preserved sites and theres still all kinds of possibilities. Getting permission to detect on private property is usually productive , with proper timing most farmers are agreeable ive found.Beaches are fair game as are many woodland areas. Whats woods today might not always have been woods.The best thing you can do is get friendly with a farmer nearby,approach him for permission , in winter when the fields are barren wont hurt anything , he will be ploughing in a few weeks anyway. A pursuasive attitude is handy , offer to split 50/50 what you find , its his land after all.Show him a few of your best pieces to get the appetite for treasure wheted. Your set for life if you do that , every year the land is ploughed bringing new finds to the surface.Usually these fields are so big one guy can never hope to cover it all, enough to keep the busiest detectorist busy for years.

I didnt get it there Hussulo , im not sure if ive ever seen that site , ill have a look , thank you.On inspection my example is not as fine as yours,im pleased with it and considering all things its about as fine an example as im likely to come across. The big grading companies are being held up to the light for inspection here as well it seems , a lot of debate of whats worthy and whats not.It gets a little crazy so i tend to avoid the discussions,i believe a few of the big houses graded chinese fakes recently and slabbed them so its opened the barn door for all kinds of comment and opinion.

Thats a huge coincidence Hussulo , i got that exact coin this morning , 1806 halfpenny the coincidence is doubled as i got a Gothic florin yesterday which shows beautiful toning,very subtle and much like yours..im spooked lol Ill post pics tonight , thanks for the info guys.

Thank you Hussulo , its been some interesting reading.Tonight id like to post a couple of pictures of recent UK purchases,its stopped raining today so i really have to catch up out in the garden just now. This morning i recieved an 1806 halfpenny which looks great , perfect patina and although light signs of wear looks AU maybe. Perhaps when im more established here ill see about possible trades , i have loads of Mercury/Barber dimes , buffalo/shield nickels , standing liberty quarters and older half dollars and dollars , civil war tokens and conders. I also subscribe to the US mint for the new lincoln cents by the roll and other oddities.

Here ya go Peckris

What propositions are in place to combat the fake coins if i may ask ? It seems to be quite a problem with the pound coins.

Its very interesting , id lean toward you are right in that its part of the other side , the R is clearly printed on top of whatever it is.Its too uniform to be random i think you got it right.

Being a member on several US coin forums/sites i can say the undated 20p was observed with interest by members and ridiculed much as it is here.The same kind of hype is circulating rampant right now over the LP2 cents and its many errors,daft money being asked. I watched more than one ebay seller sell 2008 20ps as the undated mule , clever wording and a no return policy.I kept a watch to see the feedback as i expected to see a lot of negs being dished out , i really did..that didnt happen. So next time somebody says "people just aint that stupid" smile to yourself and know your in the precense of an idiot.

Thats a beautiful cabinet , id imagine those would fetch a pretty penny here.As advanced as US coin collectors seem to be i havnt seen anything like those mahogony cabinets. The most popular method here is Dansco albums , people keep coins of extreme high value in those , i use them as well although i havnt anything all that valuable. Air tite capsules are also popular , i use those as well for gem bu's and unc's. Its a good point about the interior not being varnished , without doubt the chemicals involved would "tone" a coin , toning fetches a high premium here which i dont totally understand , its easily faked ..yet they buy them up at much inflated prices. Which brings me to an observation ive long had but never was clear why it is that so many old US coins are toned , some even like a rainbow others a golden bronze..some people like those. But looking at old British coins the toning is rarely if ever there.It seems true of other countries coinage as well , so why is it only the US coins achieve this startling level of toning do you think ? Metal composition is slightly different as pre 1920 UK silver was purer than US , is this why is all i can think.

Hello there forum , im Jake and am pretty new to coins , i have a few.Mostly US 19th century , other bits and bobs , pre 64 silver generally.I alos aquired a few UK coins recently , maybe im missing home or something. This has brought me here as id like to learn more on the subject before investing more in a pretty busy market for Geo lll and Victorian silver. Im currently in Pa , ive been here almost 2 years , theres an extremely busy market for coins here which while interesting rarely has in depth knowledge on UK coins , as im dipping into the Gothic florin areas and Godless 1849 florins i thought id be best prepared beforehand. Ill look forward to meeting some of you on line and many interesting discussions , the time difference is a bit of a pain but its nice to be on a UK forum i must say , thank you.