Generic Lad

The coin also might have been modified to allow the obverse of another threepence to fit in there and then they would glue it together to make a coin that was heads on both sides.

I found this on eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ERROR-2-1998-Edge-reads-GIAVTS-GIANTS-/190563460041 since there are no bidders I don't think it is a rare error if it is an error. Since quality control in the Royal Mint is fairly high and the 2 pound coin is a target for counterfeiters do the rest of the details all match up? I'm not sure if it is an error or not myself.

Spink should be ashamed of themselves! I quite agree. I had 2 or 3 looking like that which went in the bin on the grounds that not even Scott would be interested in them. I didn't have the nerve to try and ask for money for them and at approx. 10p scrap value for the metal there wasn't any hidden value either. I agree, the coin is nothing more than a slug.

Interesting. Though I have to say, it must be sad not being able to find many coins worth more than face value over there for your collection. Over here, if you sort through enough coin you will find a silver coin here and there, a buffalo nickel for about every $200 in nickels and I've even known of people getting (real) silver dollars at the bank. However, I have to wonder if over there you are all bombarded with "Cash 4 Gold" advertisements on TV like over here. It seems like every place wants to buy gold and silver (at a steep discount from melt value).

I've actually bought a few coins from this seller and have been quite happy.Just ignore the grade and buy the coin. They certainly do come well packaged I have too, and have been similarly satisfied. Not delighted, but satisfied. It'd be nice if he took the photos before slabbing them, but I've opened them all and got rid of the slabs. Only because I don't have a nice and tidy way of storing slabs, mind. If I had more slabbed coins, and had sorted out the storage, I'd have kept the slabs but ditched the labels. You don't have to destroy his type to open them. Hm, interesting. Perhaps I'll buy some of his coins then if other people have bought them and found them to be decent. I've always had bad experiences with buying self-slabbed coins, usually involving either faked coins or nasty rim dings the slab concealed.

I love seeing these "graded" coins on eBay... http://www.ebay.com/itm/GR-BRITAIN-CHARLES-II-1670-CROWN-FINE-/380369725825?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588fcd6981

What 2 pound commemorative did you get?

The problem is though, no one knows how much gold is in Fort Knox. It hasn't been audited for decades, for all we know there isn't much of it left. Since all calls for an audit of Fort Knox (along with the Federal Reserve) have been laughed at, it is quite possible that the US government secretly sold some of its gold.

I actually really like the halfpenny pattern, its a shame that there are so many lovely pattern coins that are usually ignored by most collectors due to their high prices. Its interesting to think about how the familiar coins in your pocket could have turned out quite different if it wasn't for bureaucratic processes at the mint. Though, I really hate attempting to find patterns online, because apparently now pattern is equivalent to "hideous fantasy piece" (like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ireland-1910-Pure-Copper-Retro-Pattern-Proof-Crown-/290544845673?pt=AU_Coins2&hash=item43a5d28369 )

I'm a bit mixed when it comes to cleaning coins. Of course, I expect all hammered and Romans to be cleaned since I don't really want bits of dirt stuck to the coin. For modern coins though, sometimes I think cleaning improves the coin but often it doesn't. For example, I have a "junk silver" US standing liberty quarter that was cleaned and polished to the bare shiny metal, but then developed a ring of orange toning around it and personally it is one of my favorite coins because of that contrast. There are a few blackened silver coins I've got (mostly US) that I'd like to clean if it wouldn't hurt the value because I think I'd rather have them cleaned than a black, spotty patina. I buy coins because I like them and like the price. A $40 difference between a cleaned coin and an uncleaned coin is fairly significant so assuming both coins would grade the same with wear, I'll pick up the cleaned coin, because it doesn't bother me all that much.

If it's Indian, then it's most likely the Islamic part (Moghul?) - if that script is not Arabic, then it's Urdu. It's definitely not Hindi. Yes, I'm pretty sure it is Arabic, it is just that most people call them Indian temple tokens even though I'm pretty sure they are Islamic. Just an incorrect name that has stuck on the coin.

Looks like an Indian temple token to me. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1800s-India-Temple-Token-C-/200485337584?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eaddb79f0 http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=88776

I agree, those people who sell coins on TV give our hobby a bad name. I can't tell you how many people's collections I've had to tell them aren't worth what they paid for it because they bought base metal Franklin Mint and similar coins. The problem is that people keep buying them as an investment because the TV makes it sound like it is an investment when it isn't. I mean, if you like the coins and want to buy it for the coins, go ahead, by all means buy it, but it makes a terrible investment. I don't know if you have it as bad as we do in the US but we have people selling worthless junk on the TV all the time, my favorite being either the copy of the American Buffalo in 14 milligrams of pure 24K gold or the 24K plated $2 bill... Examples:

I love lot 1331, the 1825 error shilling.

I've always wanted to get some of the older "odd denomination" US coins such as the three cent piece and two cent piece and see what reactions I got when I spent them. After all, I get lots of funny looks when I spend half dollars (half the cashiers think they are quarters, others think they are dollars and still others think I'm spending foreign money!) and $2 bills, I can't imagine the looks if I'd spend 3 cent and 2 cent pieces. Unfortunately, even low grade examples seem to sell for $20+ for each of them, so as of yet I haven't had an opportunity to do it.

Nice! I've always wanted to go to a large coin show like that, but never have had the time/money to go to one as there don't seem to be any near me. I've always wondered though if big shows like that have a lot of good deals are are a lot of the dealers "infomercial" style selling lower grade coins for $$$?

Yes, and to think that it could have been a moderately attractive design, at least when compared to the final result. http://www.smalldollars.com/dollar/page04.html

If you guys don't mind selling it to American sellers, a -lot- of old coppers go for $$$$ if you say that they were of the type used in the US colonies. America has such an age premium for coins in the 17XX and the 18XX, well beyond the value of the coins.

I never looked at the Walking Liberty half like that, and now that I look at that it is rather amusing. And yes, the Coronet head Liberty has never been my favorite, and the Morgan dollar is decent, though I think I would have preferred one of the rejected patterns over the final design. But all that is behind the country now since we've decided to take hideous people from history and still keep their ugliness when transfered to a coin. I mean, sure, Susan B. Anthony was a great leader for women's rights, but do we really need her face in our pockets? Same thing with the presidents. And our state quarter and now national park quarters are turning our quarters into (geographically inaccurate) souvenirs (seriously, the quarter for Missouri shows the gateway arch spanning the river when it doesn't, it sits on one bank of the river. Yes, and even worse is the cent. While part of it is because of the shift from a bronze cent to a copper-plated zinc cent, the relief is incredibly high for dates in the '60s, then by the mid 70s it gets a lot lower, and by '81 (the last full year for the bronze cent) the design is hardly there. And today, even a mint state 2011 cent fresh out of a mint roll feels like a slug, the design simply isn't pressed into the coin. Of course, that isn't much of a problem when the coins will rot and decay upon contact with any moisture or any circulation. It is amazing you can dig up a silver coin from 200 years ago and after you wash off the dirt it will look like it was minted yesterday, but digging up a 2005 US penny will leave you with a corroded mess that won't even go through the coin sorter. And yes, some of the Olympic 50ps truly are awful, though I must say I don't mind the shooting one, and as a trap shooter I might consider picking up one if I can find one for a decent price. And some.... why are they even on coins? Like the Athletics 50p and the Cycling 50p. Of course, no doubt the Royal Mint will call it a "success" and you can look forward to the Districts of England 20p coin program.

Well, when compared to the state of American coin designs I have to say that I like a lot of the British designs better, especially since the US mint decided that all circulating coins need to commemorate something, and rather than having a single design for even a single year, there needs to be 4-5 different, yet equally terrible, "commemorative" designs and confusing people into thinking that by filling a folder with every different design (all of them with incredibly high mintages) they will somehow have a collection worth more than face value later on. While I really enjoy some of the older US coins (even more so than some of the British coins minted during that time period) such as Standing Liberty Quarters, Walking Liberty half Dollars, and the $20 double eagle, our modern coins are some of the ugliest coins ever minted, especially the presidential dollar series and the Susan B Anthony dollar. I think I'd rather have a crowned lion or the royal shield in my pocket when compared to the recent abominations coming out of the US mint. ....Sorry about the rant.

http://cgi.ebay.com/HARRY-POTTER-Great-Britian-3-Coin-Set-DEATHLY-HALLOWS-/230660525695?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b4704e7f These lots always make me laugh, especially the blatant lie of "genuine legal tender". These coins have several things going for it: A) Non-legal tender coins being advertised as such A "certificate of authenticity" that is recognized by "every monetary authority" which somehow authenticates it as a "collector" product C) The fact it is a coin with crap on it D) A plastic case worth more than the coins itself Of course, I suppose I'd prefer the Harry Potter coins to the seller's other offerings including a hideous gold plated $2 bill found here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310337318424 or the Obama/Lincoln/Kennedy presidential dollar coins, as if the presidential dollar series wasn't ugly enough http://cgi.ebay.com/OBAMA-JFK-LINCOLN-24K-GOLD-PRESIDENTIAL-DOLLAR-COIN-SET-/310338962372?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4841a4c3c4

The answer to that question is no then. I've been collecting coins for over 20 years and well i've I don't have any of the first four coins. I do have some 1967 pennies but they were a gift, there's no way on earth I'd actually buy one! I suppose it shows our collecting bias. Every coin you list is copper or bronze and I've never collected copper or bronze coins. If I had made the list it would look more like this; Elizabeth II florin George VI florin Bun Head Penny Brass Threepence Wren Farthing 1967 halfpenny Elizabeth II shilling And the only reason I list these is because these are the coins most people in the UK who aren't collectors are likely to ask the question 'i've found an old coin, what's it worth?' That and most of us probably have a few of them lying around (unspent change in the case of the florins and shillings from about 20 odd years ago), even if we don't actually collect any of them per say. My nomination for the ugliest predecimal coin Sorry Peck but I don't like the look of dear old Lizzies Thrupenny bits Pre 1953 they were nifty thrifty's I've always liked the way that the brass threepence feels in your hand, its got a nice weight and thickness. Of course, I'm not British (nor old enough) so I never got to actually use any as currency. For the coin that everyone owns I'd say its the '65 Churchill commemorative crown, its a shame its the most popular crown though as the design is rather plain and it doesn't have the nice edge lettering like most of the other crowns, even the later crowns seem to have a more attractive design.

Yeah, I went out and bought one from a well-known online internet coin dealer that specializes in ancients, has a punchmark on the reverse and the obverse is almost completely gone, paid $140 for it but I'm happy with it.

Found something similar online http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=357&lotNo=14351 Might help you on your search.

Not sure what the conditions are over there in the UK, but here in the US there is a huge interest in gold/silver and the like. Everywhere you see "Cash4Gold" commercials promising to pay "top dollar" for silver/gold coins, jewelery and the like (but of course only pays you a fraction of what a reputable buyer would pay). In fact a number of US states have either passed or are considering making US silver coins legal tender for their bullion value. Coin and jewelry stores that used to be nearly empty a few years ago are now packed with people buying and selling gold/silver bullion. The difference I see in this market than the market of the 80s is that a lot of the price increase is caused by investor demand and actual (non-recoverable) use of silver rather than the market of the 80s which was caused mostly by the Hunt Bros. In the US people have stopped trusting the dollar and most are looking to move a lot more of their assets to physical gold/silver. What is interesting is that coins that were "collector" coins such as common-date Standing Liberty quarters, Morgan Dollars and Barber coins which a few years ago contained a substantial premium over silver melt have now come to be priced the exact same as a coin of the same denomination dated 1964. At least for me, I could make a substantial profit if I sold a lot of my silver, but unless there was something decent to put it in, other than taking a guaranteed loss by putting it in a savings account, keeping the cash, or buying a savings bond, and risking it on the stock market, or buying more risky investments like real estate (which the market still hasn't settled), I'm not going to sell it, even though I don't think we will hit $60+ silver (until the US dollar and the rest of fiat currency collapses).