DaveG38

I'm not so sure that the normal rules of bullion value apply here. Unless I misread the Royal Mint website, only 2012 of these soverigns have been struck, making them considerbly rarer than any of the other designs in recent years. That's bound to lead to a premium, rather like the 1989 sovereign. However, the RM price is £450, whilst the bullion value is around £250-260, so the question is whether you will see any 'investment' value on the £450 paid. Personally, I doubt it over the medium term of say 10-20 years. After that maybe, but an awful lot depends on what happens to gold prices.

Let's face it, the Glazers are not fools - they and their money are never parted What was the £60,000 item by the way? It's gone, and no-one's thought to actually mention what it was The 1933 and 1952 reverses are such obvious fakes (replicas?), from the size of the teeth and rims. The obverses appear to be blurry impressions taken from actual coins i.e. unlike the replicas that the reverses may have been taken from. The interesting thing is that the 1966 could well be genuine, i.e. struck on a cupro-nickel planchet in error. It looked like it was cast, since there was something not right about the surface finish. It certainly wasn't anywhere near as good as the Chinese fakes of 1763 shillings. The 1933 and 1952 look like the quite nicely done restrikes sold by the guy in Essex, usually for around £14.99 - nice little earner there!!

Has to be the Elizabeth I crown - 1601-02. Fabulous coin. Wish I had one.

Michael Coins is Michael Gouby in West London, I have been really pleased with his prices and grading, highly recommended. Sometimes a little frustrated with the absence of pics on the low-mid priced coins he has listed, but very friendly and helpful. I bought my first coin from Michael Coins in Ladbroke Grove when he used to sell stamps too (before the internet). Second time I went in there he said he'd got rid of the stamps as they were out of fashion (or words to that effect). He gave me a good piece of advice which has stayed with me which is not to collect date fillers but go for high grade coins. I think that's generally good advice for relatively plentiful and even scarcer coins, because there's always another one round the corner or at the next auction. Even if you are a strict date collector then it may be worth waiting for a better one. Where I beg to differ is where I need a specific coin for either a date or even type run and the likelihood of another turning up is remote. For example, I've got a poor (at best) 1689 halfpenny, which cost a huge amount for what is basically a flat, but attributable piece of tin. I've only ever seen one other come up for sale and that was way beyond my price league. Similarly, I recently bought a 1724 WCC shilling in fair condition - I've never seen this WCC date before in any grade and in top condition it would again be out of my price range. This leaves a dilemma. Do I fill the gap with a poorer coin and hope for a better one somewhere in my lifetime, or do I just accept the gap? I hate the gaps, so I usually opt for the former, especially as I can always shift the rare but lower grade coins without too much, if any, financial loss. I'm sure some of the purists on here would take a different view, but that's my thinking. Finally, to again illustrate the point, I need a 1686 tin halfpenny to complete the date run (excluding varieties) and the gap has been nagging away in there for years now. So, if one comes along I'm liable to go for it regardless of condition even if that is lower than I would normally accept.

Assuming this is a fake, I'd like to see Seuk identify the dies!!! And that's leaving aside the wrong denomination attribution. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GEORGE-III-DOLLAR-lot-9-/271022283218?pt=UK_Coins_BritishMilled_RL&hash=item3f1a2fd9d2 I like the idea that a bit of TLC would help improve it. The last rites and a vicar might be more appropriate.

These are given out by Spink with their SCBC. They're good fun. Do you know which years? I have three of their SCBC books (1997, 2004, 2011) and none came with a jigsaw. It was the 2009 edition. Thanks for that. Were they all Henry 8 puzzles or a random selection from a group of puzzles?

These are given out by Spink with their SCBC. They're good fun. Do you know which years? I have three of their SCBC books (1997, 2004, 2011) and none came with a jigsaw.

Again, not a laugh, but this is an interesting item. Never seen a coin jigsaw before. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HAMMERED-SILVER-COIN-JIGSAW-/150862149324?pt=UK_Coins_BritishHammered_RL&hash=item232015b6cc

That's also the vicious circle engendered by eBay - collectors get used to the artificially inflated prices and become conditioned to pay them. The problem with that is, they then have to SELL on eBay to recoup their outlay. If they tried to sell to a dealer or at a provincial auction, they would experience a massive reality check. eBay has become its own little universe with its own rules and its own values. Yet outside the secluded world of hobbyist collectors, those rules simply don't apply; you can pick up ordinary goods at (generally) their genuine real world market value, or even well below. The same applies to common or low value coins of course. Yet high grade rarities don't necessarily obey those rules either - eBay wouldn't necessarily be the best place to sell an UNC 1905 halfcrown, as if it was in the catalogue of one of the better known auction houses, it would attract bids possibly as high - or higher - than on eBay. Having said all that, I think you're probably spot on when it comes to lower grade rarities. I entirely agree about the self-reinforcement by ebay, but since it is here to stay, I guess when people come to sell they'll do so on there themselves, in which case they may not lose too much, and might even make a bit more. The problem still is that the 'ordinary' dealers don't carry stocks of the rarities that many collectors want and so in order to get an example people will compete to fill that gap. I did so for an 1854 sixpence, the first and only one I've seen (until Azda came up with one a while ago). Had I not bought it, I'm sure I would still have the gap because I doubt that many dealers would carry examples for very long if at all. Having said this, I also agree with you that ebay would not be the best place for expensive or higher grade raraities. I can't imagine anyone putting a genuine 1933 penny on there! Ditto your UNC 1905 half crown. In fact I am sometimes surprised at the high value coins that do make it onto ebay, although they are usually BIN coins at somewhat inflated prices.

Using spink and my dubious grading the absolute max for that is £80 Technically, you are probably about right. However, with ebay and rarer dates, a different dynamic takes over. 20-30 years ago, if you were a shilling collector and wanted to obtain a 1863 example to fill that toothy gap in your collection, you had to either go round (figuratively) all the dealers or obtain all their lists and hope that you could find one. And when you did, you got in quick before another collector did, maybe one whose post arrived ten minutes after yours did. And if the 1863 shilling happened to be in a pot of old coins in Uncle Fred's sideboard well you had no chance. In other words, there wasn't very much direct and open competition between collectors and many coins weren't easily put on the market. Also, of course, dealers tended to price coins based on experience, but also on Seaby (now Spink) and so prices were not likely to rocket away into the stratosphere, even for rarer dates. Fast forward to the present, and all you have to do is put '1863 shilling' into the ebay search facility, save it as a search and sit back and wait. Once you see one, then everyone and his wife who wants one can bid for it, and since there are literally millions of potential viewers of the auction, unsurprisingly they push up the price. That's the power of both the internet and particularly ebay. Not only that but everyone who's got the contents of Uncle Fred's sideboard can also put them on ebay, so suddenly previously unaccessible coins are appearing. This makes for more coins, but also widens the appeal for collectors, again meaning that they've got a greater chance of picking up that elusive coin. For me though the key thing is the advertising of the availability of a key date coin to a huge audience. Of course, there's always the 'must have it, when will I see another one' factor, which no doubt drives buyers to dig deeper into their pockets, particularly if they've been waiting years for one, even in a low grade.

Here's a nicely engraved cartwheel penny for Debbie. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GEORGE-III-COUNTERMARKED-PENNY-2-BIRDS-/350579296191?pt=UK_Coins_BritishMilled_RL&hash=item51a02787bf

It's certainly a very nice coin - what was the value of 1/12 anna I wonder, relative to UK money? A farthing?

You're certainly not missing a bargain!

My view is that the damage was present at striking and the resulting coin either missed by inspectors or pocketed by one with an eye for a curio. Notice the weakness of the strike to the left of the split, compared to what looks like a normal strike to the right. I don't think it's a forgery. I wasn't really suggesting that it was, just that the strike looked odd to the left of the lamination. Having looked again, it's clear that the RHS looks normal and the LHS is either weakly struck or as Gary suggests struck through a missing piece. Interesting though.

Not really an ebay laugh, but an interesting item. A 1965 sixpence that appears to have delaminated. However, the 'strike' almost looks cast to me. If so why bother to forge a 1965 sixpence? At best it would have bought a cup of tea in Joe Lyons! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=261052939762&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123

Strangely enough, I'd had a high grade 1937 halfcrown for yonkeys, then examining it closely one day I was struck by the slight mirroring in the fields, but even more by the razor sharp rim. I've now provisionally reclassified it as a proof. However, I do accept that it must have come from a broken set, and as for being rare Having said all that, I think George VI proofs are the most difficult to tell apart from normal issues. They're not very good, let's face it. Why is that? My proof has a frosted effigy and is very different from the ordinary strike. Mine does too. Here's a piccy of my 1937 florin proof obverse. Yep, that could be my Crown obverse.

Strangely enough, I'd had a high grade 1937 halfcrown for yonkeys, then examining it closely one day I was struck by the slight mirroring in the fields, but even more by the razor sharp rim. I've now provisionally reclassified it as a proof. However, I do accept that it must have come from a broken set, and as for being rare Having said all that, I think George VI proofs are the most difficult to tell apart from normal issues. They're not very good, let's face it. Why is that? My proof has a frosted effigy and is very different from the ordinary strike.

But not Norton? Well I didn't do anything to solve this problem, so I don't see that it could have been anything to do with the Norton settings. Personally, I've never had a problem with the Symantec software, so I'm happy to stick with it. Used McAfee software when I worked and didn't find any great advantage. Both seem to do the job for me.

Interestingly, the problem seems to have righted itself!!!! If I had to guess, I'd say that ebay were having some problems that affected some people and not others and they have now got it right. MKaybe related to which server you gain access from or maybe which router I was using. It certainly wasn't anything I did.

How about trying a different browser? I'm currently using firefox and never seen this problem. I've done a few more checks and I've found ways to get to most of the coin list pages, but by a tedious route. What I can't get to is the full list of UK coins - I can get Greece, France etc. just not UK. As son as I try from whatever direction, I end up with this message. I'll give Google Chrome a try - downloading now. Fingers crossed.

Mmmmm. Very curious. I've never had this before, and it seems that the Norton software is blocking access with no ability to override it. I've tried to copy the web address before the page flips to the message, with the idea that I make it an exception from blocking, but i can't copy it fast enough!! Any ideas?

Anybody know what's going on on ebay.com (as opposed to .uk or .de, .fr etc.)? As soon as I click on the page showing the list of ending auctions for UK coins, the ebay screen disappears and a message comes up saying 'Fraudulent Web Page Blocked' with a reference back to the Symantec website. Am I the only one seeing this? I'm reluctant to do anything else until I know this isn't just my PC. This seems to happen regardless of how I attempt to enter the site.

You are all so polite on here, so I'll put it much more bluntly. I've got a brain in my head and I'm not daft enough to fall for a scam like this one! Anybody disagree?

Anybody figure what's going on here? £430.00 for a forgery, when all the others from this seller are much more reasonable? Admitedly. I haven't seen a 1787 halfpenny before but even so... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/George-III-1787-contemporary-forgery-halfpenny-/140772977442?pt=UK_Coins_BritishMilled_RL&hash=item20c6b92b22

It seems to me that the real issue here is the likelhood of a downturn in prices across the board, of the kind seen in the past. We all know that there was a major ramp around decimalisation followed by a long period in the doldrums until around the late 1990s, when things took off and have continued ever since. The question is whether the long run of price increases will continue, level out or decline. Interestingly, the crash of 2008 and the ongoing recession doesn't seem to have dented prices one bit, even in the middle grade/value where a decline might have been expected. This is probably because there are investors out there who no longer see the stock market as the place to put their money and coins (and classic cars) represent a decent investment based on past performance. If and when the stock market stabilises and profits return to normal, these investors will cash in their coins (unless they become genuine collectors) and this may send prices lower. However, there is still the internet factor which has widened the availability of coins and it may be that this keeps prices steady, rather than declining. Overall, I don't really see a major crash in prices, which would drag all coins in any grade down, but bubbles always burst! The question is whether the current prices are in a bubble or not. Arguably though, a major Eurozone crash might well spark a depression and that might play very badly for coin prices as people are forced to realise assets in order to survive. In this situation, the biggest losers are likely to be common coins even in top grades, and the middle grades, whereas rarities are likely to suffer least. Like all investments, you pays yer money and ........