Accumulator

The collector you mention on my side of the pond is probably Gary Schindler ("Bronze & Copper Collector" on the Forum)...he has one of everything it seems..... Yes indeed! I'm sure he must have some gaps... In fact I think I have a couple of model pennies he used to own but no longer collects. I may be wrong though.

I think both your 1906 & 7 are definitely better than average. The reverses of mine are truly awful, with typically shallow relief and very little detail to Britannia. Every now and then I look for something better, in fact I think there may be one on eBay at the moment, but haven't got around to upgrading yet.

I was thinking of going along but couldn't make it in the end. I went to Coinex towards the end of last year and assumed yesterday's Fair would be a slightly more mid-market version. Again, that was full of foreign buyers, particularly of gold it seemed. It sounds like Baldwins were showing coins from their recent 'Winter Fixed Price List'. 'Fixed' in what sense I wonder?

That's my 1908 F164A, Bob. Wish I could find a better one. I know one of our fellow members, on your side of the pond, has an EF example, so they do exist.

I'm sure his coin is an F158A. The colon adjacent to BRITT is slightly elongated/damaged but it's definitely not the 'normal' variety. Also the position of the I of IND to a gap is clear. The seller, Dave (OneWebby), knows his pennies well and I doubt would make a mistake. Here's mine for comparison:

I've noticed an upward trend in prices for the rarer Edward VII penny varieties, usually in no better than F. Here are a couple of examples: A 1909 2+E F169 in the forthcoming London Coins auction estimate £750-£1250 A 1908 1* + C F164A on eBay at £1,100 Open 3's in F are £60+, 1902 high tide's are getting pricier in top condition and all the other 1908 die pairings can be hard to find. On top of this, the mid-reign dates with good strikes are particularly challenging. Lot's to keep the collector busy, but Peckris will shortly arrive to say that the two 1905 varieties are the most boring ever!

Ok, but the 'normal' (i.e. not Gouby X) obverse has the I of FID to a gap:

The government won't care about that. As long as it has Bulgaria or Romania stamped on the front, from 2014 they'll roll out the red carpet. Free healthcare, benefits, even child support for the kids you left back home. Everyone's welcome.

I can't tell from your photos, but you're looking for the I of BRITT aligned with a tooth.

Odd yes, but not unknown but far rarer in the 19th century than fake silver or gold Gouby's catalogue illustrates two different forged bun pennies, both struck in bronze or copper, and both dated 1864 I have two examples of cast European bronze "pennies" an 1878 Spanish 10 Centimos in brass, and an 1882 Greek 10 lepta in a white metal plus my problematic 1894 S.African penny in nickel Anyone here seen any forged British bronze? I haven't specifically looked, but I've never been aware of any (thank goodness!!)

The die axis refers to the relative orientation of the obverse and reverse designs. Two arrows pointing up means that if the obverse is the right way up when you view the coin, then when you turn the coin over (rotated about a vertical axis), the reverse design will also be the correct way up.

I agree with Peckris, it looks more like 5/5. Certainly not worth a punt at over £1,000!

The picture I posted is of my own coin Dave, which is of a fairly clear example (though it's not a great photo, I admit). I'm still not convinced about the coin for sale, even comparing with the various photos in Michael Gouby's book. There's nothing to the left of the five's top bar, whereas on all of Gouby's examples, there is. Even on the weakest. Exactly!

It's very subtle isn't it, Bob. I agree with David ~ I'd want something a lot more visible beforwe parting with over £1000. 5/3's are not easy to spot with the naked eye, even at best. I agree, at best it's a very subtle example of an 1865Bc, but personally I'm not convinced. I'd certainly want to be more certain for over £1,000.

The picture I posted is of my own coin Dave, which is of a fairly clear example (though it's not a great photo, I admit). I'm still not convinced about the coin for sale, even comparing with the various photos in Michael Gouby's book.

I'm fairly sure this advertised coin isn't an 1865/3. I believe the 5/3 should have the top bar of the overstruck 3 projecting to the left of the 5:

Don't worry about the supply of proof sets drying up unless there is a huge upturn in the number of collectors. You can always pick up any year fairly easily. Maybe not the first person you see, but certainly within a few table visits. It is therefore logical to cater for those who collect individual denominations. If I have duplicate year sets I will usually break the one with the worst condition packaging to provide the singletons. No qualms. As I have done in the past, also without qualms. I'm glad someone had no qualms about breaking up the ex-Norweb 1935 set or I'd never have got my hands on the penny

....and then, the next day the self doubt kicks in and you wonder whether you shouldn't have bid just that little bit higher C'est la vie!

Close call ~ bad luck !!! edit: may have been a tactical error on your part to show your hand so early. I bet if you'd put in a last few seconds snipe you'd have got it at a much lower price. No doubt c***r made a manual snipe with 4 seconds to go. You're right.... But I was out for dinner and I can't really sit in a restaurant bidding If you use a sniper,Goofbay has a free one, set ur bid days in advance to snipe in last 5 secs True, but the other bidder was most likely using a similar system anyway. I'm happy with my maximum, he was just prepared to pay more.

Close call ~ bad luck !!! edit: may have been a tactical error on your part to show your hand so early. I bet if you'd put in a last few seconds snipe you'd have got it at a much lower price. No doubt c***r made a manual snipe with 4 seconds to go. You're right.... But I was out for dinner and I can't really sit in a restaurant bidding

Oh well..... I was out at £1490! Lost by £20 but wonder what the buyer would have been willing to Pay?

It's a good sharp strike with all the details showing and minimal wear to the high points, so I would grade at GEF. For me personally, I would like to see some lustre though many collectors prefer attractive toning over patchy lustre. I think the price achieved was fair for the year and coin. Full lustre examples are going to be £200+,

The penny on the left is DEF:, while the one on the right is DEF_:

The penny on the left shows a plain trident, while the coin on the right has an ornamental trident:

OT and PT are 'ornamental trident' prongs and 'plain trident' prongs. Proof means a coin specially struck with polished dies and blanks and FDC, usually only used with proofs, standing for fleur-de-coin which essentially means the same as 'as struck' or as it left the mint. And DEF: or DEF_: in Spink refer to the distance between the DEF the colon which follows.