niyuco

Mostly sold already but I've saved the better ones for last. I'm doing a degree and the fees are expensive so they've gotta go. Gouby said 2 but that doesn't include this one. I think there might be 1 or 2 more around somewhere. It's probably not more than 5 and none better than Fine that I know of...

Penny collectors may be interested in the next London Coins sale where I have entered several coins from my personal collection, including an 1862/1 overdate. The photo in the catalogue isn't the best but it's actually a very clear overdate. Here is my photo taken with a macro lens: The last time one of these was publicly offered for sale to my knowledge was 2006 (DNW - Laurie Bamford sale)

What a loon. One more for the blocklist. Never understood why people on Ebay send messages like this. Don't like a coin/listing/seller? Then don't buy.

Coins are real enough, but they belong to Bolton Museum. So what's going on? My guess is he has something similar (repro/chinese copy) and has copied the description from that site. Whatever it is I'm fairly sure it isn't legit. And shill bidding too by the looks of it (same 0 fb bidder on all his auctions). So, yup, scam!

Coins are real enough, but they belong to Bolton Museum. So what's going on? My guess is he has something similar (repro/chinese copy) and has copied the description from that site. Whatever it is I'm fairly sure it isn't legit.

Coins are real enough, but they belong to Bolton Museum.

Fake 1818 Halfcrown from China. Not very convincing in the hand. Size is correct but underweight (12.4g).

Looks like 2+D, N over sideways N (Z)... barely visible but the die crack by the date is a giveaway. Not quite as rare as people make out but a nice example and price probably about right...

This is from Michael Gouby's book:

#1 is Freeman 6+D #2, #3 and #4 are 6+G Both common types for 1861, but check the date / legend for oddities.

They are quite tatty but still good value. The £65 one is the 1960 edition. And pretty ropey as well. 2nd ed. 1964 is the one everyone wants, and they rarely go cheap.

Well, I now have one of these 20p "replicas" (as expected they are not marked "copy"). At first sight they appear to be slightly worn but genuine coins. Good enough that you could probably spend them in a shop without any trouble. left: fake right: genuine Under magnification however the differences become obvious. The effigy is weak, particularly the tiara. The surface is pitted, and the edges are rough. Also, at 4.2g they are significantly lighter than the normal weight of 5g. In short, these are unlikely to fool an experienced collector. The problem, of course, is that most people buying undated 20ps aren't likely to be experienced (or even collectors). I'm fairly sure these are being resold at a high price on Ebay already.

It's certainly a well thought out theory, although the discovery since of circulated examples must cast some doubt on it. But if true raises other questions: What happened to the dies? I find it hard to believe they would simply throw them away after producing only a few dozen coins. Perhaps we should all be looking for 1883/2 overdates...

The best source I have is the book, 'A New history of the Royal Mint' by C Challis. Unfortunately it is out of print, but here is a relevant quote: "On 22 July Fremantle proposed in a report to the Treasury that the operations of coinage should be suspended from 1 February 1882 and that, so far as proved necessary, the remainder of the year should be devoted to the reconstruction of the buildings and the renewal of machinery. By the due date a stock of £489,000 in silver coin had been built up, concentration on silver being made possible by the placing of a contract with Heaton's for fifty tons of pennies, halfpennies and Farthings." Even better would be the Royal Mint's annual reports from 1881 and 1882, but my local library certainly doesn't have those. Possibly the larger libraries in London would have them.

The mint mark was added by hand to the working dies, which is why they are often misaligned. So it's entirely possible that somebody could forget to add it. I see no evidence for a Royal Mint penny. The mint was out of action for most of 1882 as it was being upgraded. A few million silver coins were produced at the beginning of 1882, but nothing else - one of the reasons for the upgrade was the inability to handle more than one type of metal at the same time. For that reason I suggest Heaton mint as the most likely source. But I would be interested to hear evidence to the contrary.