Coinery

With you 100% on that one, except on the days when you can fiddle around in your pocket at a really boring Best Man speech and tie-up a best offer deal AND also buy a bargain within the space of 10 mins...though I have to say Auction Sniper has removed some of the functionality of a smart phone for me! Still good to be intouch with emails 24/7, especialy when they mean ££££'s that is!

Just a heads up! I've finally discovered conclusively that replying to eBay messages using the 'respond now' button on the inbox message section of the ebay iPhone app. does not always (maybe never, I'm not sure about that, yet) send your response, even though you can see your response in your 'sent messages'! The forwarding/send arrow on the bottom iPhone toolbar (ie not tapping on the 'respond' button embedded within the email) does appear to be working! I've had so many lack of responses to emails, where I've put a lot of effort into the 'enquiry' response, not to mention a lost item situation that I now realise was made complicated by my missing responses! I will be passing the info onto 'Sarah' later, my personal online assistant at eBay! I honestly believe I have lost sales that should have come from an intelligent, courteous, and prompt response, NOT good! If this is a global issue for eBay, they may have lost millions in revenue! We shall see when I have my one-to-one with Sarah later.

Yes, Sword, we never tire on here of seeing coins of that quality! Welcome aboard, you obviously have great taste!

I've seen a couple of these that have been 'decorated' recently! Of note was 3 stars in the fields and set in the base of a bowl!

Indeed. "The Penny Red The Penny Red was Great Britain's longest running stamp, from February 1841 to the end of November 1879. It was used for the standard letter postage rate of 1d and approximately 21 billion were issued. The 1d Red was a development of the Penny Black with the colour being changed from black to red so that the new black Maltese Cross cancellation could be clearly seen. This change was made following Rowland Hill's "rainbow trials" and "obliterating trials" to find the most sensible stamp and cancel combination to prevent people removing evidence of cancellation so the stamps could be re-used. Basically, his initial choice of very durable black ink for a stamp was a mistake! Until 1854 the 1d red was imperforate. In 1855 the watermark was changed from a small crown to a large crown. The first die was used to produce 204 plates, plus 6 reserve plates. A new die II was also introduced in 1855. This was used to produce 225 plates. Plates 71-225 have the plate number engraved on the stamp and these "penny plates" include the famous Plate 77 which you are unlikely to see outside of an exhibition as it is the rarest penny red and a good example could certainly fetch hundreds of thousands of pounds! The British Library has one on permanent display in the GB selection of the Tapling Collection. this stamp is mint. They also have a used on from the Fletcher collection too. The paper of the 1d red also changed from blued, to cream or toned to white (and a combination of the above!) between 1854 and 1858. A very great permutation of paper and ink shades were used to produce these stamps. The design was modified with letters in all four corners being introduced on 1st April 1864 and the plate number being engraved on each stamp. The reason that letters in all four corners was introduced was to significantly reduce the opportunity for people to reconstruct an unused stamp from the uncancelled parts of 2 used stamps. All 1d reds were printed using the line-engraved method by Perkins, Bacon & Petch (from 1852 Perkins, Bacon & Co) who finally lost their contract of 38 years in 1879 largely due to the fact that their stamps were printed in non-fugitive ink making their stamps more susceptible to being cleaned and re-used. On the 23rd December 1878 The Inland revenue gave 6 months' notice of the cancellation of the contract to print the 1d red. On the 8th May 1879 the Inland Revenue recorded that an agreement had been made for Perkins Bacon to continue to supply the 1d until 31st December 1879. In fact, the last plate was 225 which was put to press on the 27th October 1879 and was used for about 4 weeks, the print run ending at the end of November. This is confirmed by a letter from Mr Robertson of the Inland Revenue who comments on 3rd December 1879 "the printing of the Penny Postage label by your firm having come to a close." I suspect that all concerned would have been amazed to find that their "labels" are still enthusiastically collected and studied by people all over the world 150 years later! Incidentally, the Penny Red was originally called the Red Penny as well by collectors but that earlier term has now fallen away. " People collect stamps by plate number. Why not coins by die? Same difference to me! You've just answered an age-old question of mine about stamps! I must have some kind of colleptic virus, as that absolutely fascinated me! Blimey, Richard, you know a lot of stuff!

I guess with this provenance one has to presume fake until proven innocent! It may just be the angle of the photograph but, if you look at the reverse beads at 2 O'Clock and 12 O'clock, there appears to be quite a significant variation in gap between them and the rim? The photo looks straight-on enough that I wouldn't expect it to be quite so much of an illusion? Who knows?

1400 + premium. Estimate was 1500-2000 Looking forward to seeing that!

That's the trouble when you want/spot the best I guess! You've just got to be there on the day when your competitor is sat on the hard-shoulder of the M4 waiting for the AA, then it's party time. The 1561 sixpence I wanted would have sold at it's opening bid of £140 if the other guy was otherwise indisposed! The one I was most interested in was the Henry VIII half crown with the rose/lis over rose marks. That coin isn't the best available, but having done all the spadework I was willing to buy it up to the hammer price. The problem with the lis over rose mark is that it doesn't occur on the groats, so you are stuck with either a crown of the double rose (which I also need for the HA and HI marked coins), the corresponding halfcrown or the Worcester groat. The last named will cost 2 or 3 times that of a Henry VIII gold piece and have all the aesthetic qualities of a lump of roadkill. I don't particularly want to play 'Guess what it is'. 1.79g in gold, now that's a tiny little coin! I'm looking forward to sorting the boat out, so finances will permit me the luxury of a few gold pieces. That's quite a broad ensemble you have, I always had it in my head you had a mountain of the early-days pennies and trays upon trays of the big silver of Charles I!

I also thought it possible that the coin had been mounted or held by a clasp at some point. Look at the flattened beading above the bust and the horizontal mark on the cross end at 6 o'clock. DEFINITELY! I hope you're reading this whoever you are?

That's the trouble when you want/spot the best I guess! You've just got to be there on the day when your competitor is sat on the hard-shoulder of the M4 waiting for the AA, then it's party time. The 1561 sixpence I wanted would have sold at it's opening bid of £140 if the other guy was otherwise indisposed!

Thought it was going to keep on going as well I was watching the pennies the decent ones went double top end estimate,lesser ones were just making lowere estimate or bombed intresting It's that old adage, and one that's been talked about time and time again on the forum. Exactly the same with the Hammered Elizabeth silver, the good stuff=good prices, the rest (highly estimated to begin with IMO) never even sold!

With the volume turned up, it created quite an atmosphere in our little 'van I can tell you! "£32K with me, £32,500 with the room, selling at £32,500, it's with you at £32,500 Sir, £33K on the 'net..." Pheeeweee!

And StJames'

Just a box-standard, most common of all the Elizabeth sixpences (lot 396)! Also, I can't stop returning to look at the threepence (399), still haven't decided about that one, even now! The sixpence isn't really a better grade, it's just a little more 'balanced,' I'm just not certain about that obverse tone, so I'm trusting in poor white balance on this occasion. You will doubtless be pleased to know that although it was on my initial provisional list, it has now been discarded. Hah, yes, definitely so...not sure I want a handbag duel with you, just yet, you have to let me grow big and strong first! Thanks for the consideration, though, Rob! All went smoothly, I managed to get 3 bids away successfully on lot 396, I just didn't want to go to the next increment which, with fees & post, would've had me at £335 - the very top end for a regular sixpence, as far as my pocket (and understanding) is concerned at least! AND lot 399, are you sure you discarded it? Off the scale again for me, I never even started! Great tool, though, will be using it again! With the good images you've got half a chance! Thanks for all the tips, Viva la Saleroom! Flat quarter in the shield. It isn't impossible to get a decent eglantine anyway as the mark is hardly rare. Need to concentrate on getting the eglantine over marks first, then I can see what denominations I don't have with the mark and elsewhere and concentrate on these. Hang on a minute, what do you mean? Get orf! They do come up quite a bit! Mine, whilst not a patch on the StJames coin, and only a mere 'regular' 1575, was just £22.00. I would've happily given it away if I could've got the StJames coin at a 'regular' price. I think I might have gone mad on the StJames coin if the crown band was a little closer to the front edge of the crown, then it would've had 'balance'!

Just a box-standard, most common of all the Elizabeth sixpences (lot 396)! Also, I can't stop returning to look at the threepence (399), still haven't decided about that one, even now! The sixpence isn't really a better grade, it's just a little more 'balanced,' I'm just not certain about that obverse tone, so I'm trusting in poor white balance on this occasion. You will doubtless be pleased to know that although it was on my initial provisional list, it has now been discarded. Hah, yes, definitely so...not sure I want a handbag duel with you, just yet, you have to let me grow big and strong first! Thanks for the consideration, though, Rob! All went smoothly, I managed to get 3 bids away successfully on lot 396, I just didn't want to go to the next increment which, with fees & post, would've had me at £335 - the very top end for a regular sixpence, as far as my pocket (and understanding) is concerned at least! AND lot 399, are you sure you discarded it? Off the scale again for me, I never even started! Great tool, though, will be using it again! With the good images you've got half a chance! Thanks for all the tips, Viva la Saleroom!

Just a box-standard, most common of all the Elizabeth sixpences (lot 396)! Also, I can't stop returning to look at the threepence (399), still haven't decided about that one, even now! The sixpence isn't really a better grade, it's just a little more 'balanced,' I'm just not certain about that obverse tone, so I'm trusting in poor white balance on this occasion.

I don't know if you ever watch Bargain Hunt on BBC? Some of those auctions feature internet bidders. They are treated just like floor bidders, except as has been noted, competing floor bidders will get the main auctioneer attention (but think about it - if you were there in person and two people were slugging it out, you would wait until EITHER they passed your maximum OR one dropped out, at which point you would jump in; so with the internet). As for not getting noticed, if only one bidder is left on the floor, the auctioneer will always glance towards the phones/computers before hammering - he will want to be sure there are no more competing bids. The only problem would be if you suffered an internet dropout, or there was a server delay; but there's nothing you can do about those situations anyway. So don't worry! Thanks, Chris! I guess it was not having the picture in my mind about how things worked in the room, it's getting there! It's not as if I'm looking to set the world on fire today, I'm just looking to slightly upgrade a coin, that will be sold if I'm successful. I bought the current one less than half price, so I can bid quite strongly on the replacement, and still not be out of pocket, hopefully!

Thanks, Dave, I'm actually feeling nervous! Can't say I ever experienced major nerves on the floor before! I think on this occasion the Live Bidding is free, but StJames 20% "PLUS" VAT is a little strong! Guess I'll just have to factor it in!

Thanks for the tip! I've done something similar, several times on eBay ( before Auction Sniper), where I've excitedly keyed in my top bid and hovered my mouse over 'place bid,' ready to strike in the final seconds! How often I've been left feeling sick, when a 'confirm bid' button arrives on the screen, instead of 'you are the winner'! These are invariably the coins that finish at £50 and your top bid was £300! It was even easier to make this error on the iPhone eBay app.!

Thanks again, I think I'm just panicking about the hammer falling before I get my bid away, though I'm sure it'll all come out in the wash! Good luck with your own bids tomorrow!

The answer depends on whether I want the same lot(s) as you do. It is straightforward. You register, then as each lot opens there is a bid button at the level set by the auctioneer. Obviously the room bids are spotted quicker than the internet because once the lot is open, you have to respond and then the person manning the internet bids has to register your bid and convey it to the auctioneer. The lag is less than a second, but in that time someone in the room has probably already put their hand up. It tells you if you are the high bidder, so you can't bid against yourself. If you are outbid, you have the chance to return with a higher bid. You can't enter an oddball arbitrary number in the same way as you can with a book bid, so you have to bid on what the auctioneer is asking for. Thanks, Rob! So NO entering of numbers at all, just single clicks of a button if you are happy to continue with the bidding? Also, do you click on the opening bid straight away to let them know you're out there and interested? And then, if two others are throwing their handbags at each other on the floor, will the bid come back to me for a chance to bid? Or do I just have to keep clicking every time the screen is asking for it?

I've registered to bid live on the saleroom tomorrow (StJames) and was just wondering what to expect? Is it quite literally enter your max bid and hit the button as and when, much like a 5 second snipe on eBay? I presume it doesn't work on a bid, outbid, enter another bid, etc, or does it? Any thoughts/tips would really be appreciated (before lunchtime tomorrow[today]).

Thanks coppers! Us iPhoners, eh?

Their amazing little coins. What's truly amazing about one of the three is a small field of copper outside the outer-beads! Even under magnification the surface looks as though it was rolled yesterday, not a pit to be seen! How does a micro-thin piece of 1600's copper survive in this mint state? Not to mention the hammered coin itself!

One for Richard! 251156021658