DaveG38

Is this item for real? http://cgi.ebay.com/1652-New-England-NE-sh...1QQcmdZViewItem I don't particularly dispute the age or rarity (I don't know about the latter), but $215,000 buy-it-now price for a coin described as EF, yet has hardly any detail left on it, apart from that which presumably identifies it! I guess these were poorly struck like Henry I pennies but even so this seems an extraordinary grade. It appears to have plenty of pedigree, but I do wonder who would pay about £120,000 for waht is not much more than a flat piece of metal. Nobody has bid yet, so maybe that's the answer. DaveG38

Windows XP. I would highly recommend 'dumping' IE as a browser, and opting for Mozilla Firefox. This is a free download, is much less likely to be targeted by hackers, phishers etc. and for me has been quick and reliable for the 5 years or so I have used it. The only thing you have to watch for are the odd sites where some functionality is lost, but these are so few I don't really notice. Daveg38

Methinks there's going to be another disappointed punter on this one? http://cgi.ebay.com/1687-RARE-JAMES-II-ENG...1QQcmdZViewItem A modern re-strike unless my old eyes deceive me. DaveG38

Mustry harder be learning Chenglish auction eBay business This guy has a whole load of apparently very nice coins ending on ebay shortly. Coins include a 1714 farthing, 1716, 1709, 1707 crowns plus many more. However, his feedback is obviously dodgy, his english is terrible, he works a one day listing, and I doubt very much that he is in the USA at all, despite what it says on ebay. In short one to avoid like the plague. The only thing that isn't clear is exactly how the scam works. The coins might be fakes, but if so they are very good, so I suspect they are photos of genuine coins. Assuming this is so, then he isn't selling fakes, but is operating a payment scam. However, he does say paypal welcome, so any scam should leave buyers with some protection, and paypal out of pocket. It must be my inate sense of honesty, but I really can't see how this will make enough money to be worthwhile - am I missing something here, or just being naive? DaveG38

Hi all, Saw this item go on ebay - from China! A really good deal, or another fake? What does the team think? At $1146.36 ie around £600 it looks far too cheap to be true! http://cgi.ebay.com/OLD-1601-GREAT-BRITAIN...1QQcmdZViewItem DaveG38

I am a collector of 20th century varieties, as well as a date collector of milled coinage, and I am having real difficulty finding one of the varieties of the 1965 sixpence. According to Collectors Coins 1998, but not mentioned in the 2007 book, (I am a regular repeat buyer of this excellent publication) there are two pointings for this date - the I of regina either points to a rim bead or points between. I have the one, which points to a rim bead, but have never been able to find one which points between. I'm not sure if this is because they are pretty rare, or its because dealers are reluctant to check through a mountain of coins of this date, trying to find one, all for a pound or two of profit at most. I have tried some of the less obvious places for coins, like boot fair and antiques fairs, and always its the type I have that turns up. So any ideas anybody? Or better still, does anybody have a spare of the type I want? All info gratefully received. DaveG38

Here's another ebay rarity. Only 456,364,100 struck - wonder how many need to be struck to be common? I know its in the US, but really......... http://cgi.ebay.com/UK-Great-Britain-RARE-...1QQcmdZViewItem

Hi, Interesting question. I have a 1981 in about EF, which I obtained from the 'scrap' tray in a dealers many years ago. However, if you look on the Airedale web site, you will see prices for most modern coins, and interestingly, the price quoted for a 1981 ten pence is £7, and is the most expensive 10 pence, except for a 1978 which is £8, so maybe you are right about the relative scarcity of the currency issue. The only thing that isn't clear on the Airedale site is whether it is a currency or proof issue at this price. DaveG38

Many thanks for the rapid and authoritative responses. I have had this coin for some years now, and have not, until now, been able to identify it. Once again thanks to all for the advice - now I need to look up Louis I of Hungary! DaveG38

Help wanted, Can any of the experts out there identify the coin in the attached photo. Its hammered, very thin, and about 14mm across. Ugly looking begger on the obverse isn' he!! Thanks. DaveG38

Hussulo, It may be a formidable collection by dates, and some varieties, but they are not all in the grades I would like. Basically, I am a collector of quantity rather than quality, as I prefer to have 10 coins at £10 each in VF rather than one at £100 in EF, although I do have a basic standard to aim at of between fine and VF, and many of my coins achieve this and better. The exceptions tend to be the early coppers (Charles II, William III, George I, and some George II) and of course, the tin series, where fine is about the best I have been able to manage. Trouble is that I also collect halfpennies, pennies, 3ds, 6ds, shillings........... you get the idea!! DaveG38

Many thanks for the endorsement - another gap in my collection filled. Only a 1684 James II to go!! DaveG38

Hi, Here is a composite picture of both sides of the coin, plus the edge date. I have to say that it compares well with the much better example on the Colin Cooke website, but I stand to be corrected if mine turns out to be a contemporary forgery. Any further thoughts please. Thanks. DaveG38

Hi all, I have just been lucky enough to obtain a 1685 Charles II tin farthing. It's in about fine condition, but is pretty corroded with the copper plug missing, so a bit of a mixture from a collector's point of view, although it is the first one I have seen for many years and fills a gap in my collection. What I would like to know is whether there were many varieties of edge for this particular farthing type, as there are with the James II tin farthings, where there seem to be all kinds of mixtures of mullets, stops and spaces. Does the Peck 'bible' say anything about this? The edge of mine is very clear so I should be able to assign it correctly. All advice gratefully received. Thanks. DaveG38

Here's one of the best ebay laughs of all. Its closed now, but I could supply this seller with plenty more at half his asking price!!! http://cgi.ebay.com/1965-British-Crown-Ste...1QQcmdZViewItem DaveG38

I am pretty sure that Red Riley is quite correct about the taper. Colin Cooke did indeed have a coin where the plug was missing, but only went part of the way through. The coin was a 1689 tin farthing, which is now in my collection - pictures of it are still on the CC website. The plug was roughly rectangular in shape, and tapered as it went into the coin, but it didn't go all the way through. There is also another 1689 on the CC website, where the plug is mssing, and looking at the obverse and reverse photos, it seems to me that the plug was wedge shaped when put in by the mint. Hope this helps. DaveG38

I have both bought and sold on ebay, and my overall view is that most feedback is genuine and honest - I have only one negative, several years ago, and this only arose because I gave him negative in the first place. However, I have watched with interest the debate about ebay and its merits (or otherwise). One aspect not mentioned is that their software doesn't always work properly, and this leads to the situation where a buyer or seller can't leave feedback. I have two items in this situation at the moment. Both are paid for, yet there is no way (unless I have missed it) to get beyond the flags shown on my summary. This, of course, does a disservice to the buyers, who can't receive the feedback, and to me as the seller as I always like to respond when sales or purchases take place. One thing I do agree on is that ebay aren't interested in sorting the problem - a common theme from many users as far as I can see. DaveG38

Looking through the replies in this thread, I am bemused by the variety of answers and opinions. Just so that I fully understand the history of proofs and VIP proofs, I felt it might be useful if some of you experts could cast your eye over my interpretation of my own coins, based on the advice given. First up is my 1953 Proof Set - all coins still in their plastic envelopes, and pretty much polished both in the field and the devices. Perhaps slightly matt on the busts, so I guess this is a set produced well into the striking run, and not at the beginning when the devices and bust would have been matt. Next is a 1953 Scottish shilling in an NGC slab, which is described as cameo PF 68, and it clearly is, as both bust and lettering etc are matt. Therefore, it seems to me that this is an early proof strike, or perhaps a VIP strike. Lastly, I have a 1937 set, in which both the Crown and the Scottish shilling have a cameo finish. All the other coins in the set are highly polished over the whole coin, and exhibit no signs of frosting or a matt finish. My conclusions: clearly the crown and shilling are an earlier strike or a VIP proof, whilst the other coins are very late strikes, as there is no sign of any matt finish. Therefore, either the crown and shilling were omitted from an early set and were 'found' later at the mint and 'married' to later coins to make up the set, or the set has been made up by a collector bringing together individual coins to complete the set. Does all this make sense, or have I misunderstood this thread completely? PS: For what it is worth neither my 1950, or 1951 set exhibit the slightest sign of matt finish or cameo effect, which I presume is correct?

Can anybody help me with a couple of queries about George V Muandy sets? Firstly, I am re-building a 1913 set from individual coins, and concerned about how to identify a genuine Maundy 3d, as opposed to a currency version. Secondly, I have a 1926 set, and would like to know whether this originally came in a box or pouch, and if so what it would look like i.e. size, colour, covered in leather, embossed and if so what the lettering should say. I guess I would also like to know what sort of case the 1913 set should have, as well as the 1926 set. Can anybody help please? Thanks. DaveG38