Flash

Has anyone ever looked into this. I'm referring to the noticable flaky cracks that occasionally appear on the reverse. Would these be considered to be die flaws caused by the low quality steel used in the dies due to the wartime shortage and the make do and mend philosophy or are they perhaps an indication of lower quality nickel brass? Any theories?

Sorry to dispute but it's definitely not Roman it's lead and putting it in Olive oil will just badly stain it.

Hi - They were locally and unofficially made and do appear in a huge number of different types. To the best of my knowledge they're all but impossible to accurately date or attribute. Finds identified by Gordon Bailey states the majority are associated with the 17th and 18th centuries however from your image it may not even be a token and could possibly be an unofficial/domestic weight of some kind. I'm afraid identifying when there is no solid pattern or lettering is next to impossible. I'm sure you know but old lead which has whitened (it's a sort of oxidisation I suppose) is extremely toxic so please take care and don't lick it!

Totally with Vickysilver on this one. £23,000.00 was it for a coin which most would throw away but because the 3 was slightly different...Unbelievable. Personally I think the slender 3 was so rare because no one cares and perhaps 1% of the coin collecting population would even check for such a thing.

Hi - Are you sure it's copper. To me this appears to be a Lead "trading token" these were issued unnoficially by pretty much anyone and used medieval through to early Georgian. Additionally simple discs of lead were used for many other purposes from dress/curtain weights through to scale weights etc.

Hi - It's a copy of some description as mentioned. I've come across copies of most denominations with somewhat stylised features. Some are obviously designed as pendant with attached loops, others used as ornament. As to who made them and what the definitive purposes were I'd love to know however it's not a true forgery as these, which can be found in base metal with any silvering or gilding long since worn off, are generally extremely good copies.

I think this is a similar coin to the Heaton pennies in that it's scarcity was negated by people holding on to them. As an example I've currently around 150 1912H's in stock and about 10 1912's - only in fine though. What I would say however that it is scarce in anything better than fine. It might be just me but of the 0.5 Halfcrowns this one certainly seems to wear worse than the rest!

Can I refer the honorable gentleman to a post a few months back replying to the same comment - to summarise, the odds aren't better though are they. Any one with a decent metal detector can easily recoup his money and be in profit within four weeks - never managed that with the lottery!!!!

The trailing line running off it ruins it for me. Looks like somethings been dribbled on the coin post mint. Have you tried getting your finger nail under any part of it?

Why is that a "1" and not just some indiscriminate blob?

Totally despise error coins - no offence to anyone it's just me. I'm drawn to the beauty of a coin and to find an imperfection would put me off entirely. I feel the same about overdates, misspellings etc. I'll never understand how they can be worth anything let alone the silly money some of them go for. And don't get me started on stamps, it seems the more terrible a stamp looks the more valuable it is!!!!!!!

And on that topic, does anyone know a good way to eliminate the effects of polishing on a coin? Not the ones that come with tiny hairline scratches (there aren't any on the coins I'm asking about), but the "bright" appearance? I only ask because I have two early Victorian silver coins in my own collection that are near enough uncirculated with bags of mirroring lustre, but where the busts look too shiny as if polished. An old trick and not undetectable and also a hasten to add not something I would try as a dealer but..... Leave the coin in a gutter for around a month. Note it won't work during a drought!

I agree with Rob, not even close to EF - sorry.

Scrap silver has been selling well above melt price for 2 weeks or so now - odd, but I'm not complaining!

Try leaving a penny in your pocket then washing and then tumble drying - identical effect.

You should see it in the hand it's very striking - or mis-striking I think it's a worn/broken or partially plugged die rather than a slipped angle as the exurge line doesn't seem to be altered. Going through worn Bun-head pennies is generally a pain I try and put off. I always feel the need to check for over-dates, spacings and the well known types but almost never find them. Luckily with the worn ones there's only so much you can check for. This time though it paid off in that as well as this interesting Penny there was, hiding at the bottom of the box, a 1927 proof threepence. It had found it's way into circulation as they did but still grades a good VF.

Thnaks for that - probably should have mentioned that I am a dealer so have some experience with this type of thing. I'd just never seen a 7 so obviously missing it's top piece so thought it may have been a type I wasn't aware of. Thanks.

As it says in the title. It doesn't scan very well but on normal glance there is not even a hint of a cross piece on the 7. If you angle it to the light there maybe a slight hint but there's no signs of mechanical removal or alteration. Partially broken die? What do you guys think? By the way it's worn to hell and was on the verge of being binned. Thanks.

I actually contacted this seller saying that it's probably been mercury plated. Even if it hasn't it's still worth nothing as it's chemically altered. Got a rather bizarre reply but I see the price has been dropped by about £20,000.00

Ahh but are they. I more than covered the cost of my Explorer II detector within a couple of weeks of starting with a particularly nice Vitellius Denarius. All fully recorded with P.A.S. and the landowner was paid half the valuation. Truth be told I kept it and everything else I found. I don't have the heart or the need to sell the collecton thankfully. I only did it for two years but found around 40 Hammered, 4 Denarius back to the Republic, loads of early As etc and some nice early milled silver. Also antiquities such as a Bronze age palstave, Roman fibula's including a rare Wirral type etc. Oh yes and the odd bit of gold. During the same period I didn't win the lottery

Doesn't look double struck to me. If double struck both strikes would give a bust the same size therefore it would only be visible to one side. This is visible all the way round so presumably just a weak striking?