Coinery

Hi! Why are you about to get ripped off? Any chance of some photos?

That's great! Really great to see you so pleased!

I think it's a bit of a life-cycle! You can come into coin collecting by a number of ways...pulling from circulation, inheriting gramp's collection, or maybe you just love a bit of history and stumble into it by accident, as I did? Then what happens is, you may join a forum, buy a book, purchase a couple of coins via eBay, and generally pootle around a bit, making endless mistakes (but good to do so, as long as they're not pricey ones). Then you discover dealers and maybe fairs, where you expand and grow and, alongside, maybe make one or two better judged purchases on eBay? Eventually you'll have a couple of silly snatches at the auction houses until, finally, one day, you find yourself sat next to your old dealer and bidding for the same coins! That's not to say this journey is a short one, because it isn't, and it's not for everyone...some people prefer the security of a dealer's judgement, and will happily surf for the best deals amongst them, but not everyone. People will always need dealers however as they are in it 24/7 and will always be the first to hear of any surfacing rarities, or will at least know a man that has one...you're never close to this with an auction house. The whole journey is as varied as coins, and each travels a different but recognised path by us all, it wouldn't be so wonderful otherwise!

It could of course be something under the two too!

Could be a bit of damage to the die, similar to that which can be seen on the top bar of the 7, or on the upper tip of the 1???? Really difficult with these early dies unless die-matches can be made? Now, that's got to be a pet project for someone one day, there are more than enough viable C2 farthings still in existence to compile a pretty substantial library of dies...amazing for a 350 year old copper coin!

Something I have just noticed is something odd at 6 O'clock on the reverse rim ?filemarks/bruise? Edit: could just be a flaw, it's something to check-out when you get it though?

Oh, and a pleasing, problem free, coin, just making NEF for me...though your pictures are a little low-res for a definitive answer. Nice coin!

That is definitely looking a lot LOT better, NM!

Got to be worth an acetone soak, Dave, to see whether it might dissolve/soften the 'adhesive'?

Good job you found us!

There are many factors aside from grade to consider, and these you will pick up as you go along! For example there are these other things to look out for: Lustre Verd (or other atmospheric contaminating stains). Nicks and bruises Tone/patina (and evenness/attractiveness) Strike (soft or not?) Central strike (particularly with hammered, and some early milled) And so it goes on! There's lots to learn, but don't stress out about picking it up all at once, it takes years!

Believe me, NM, we've all made mistakes...and still make them. The secret is to make them less and less often. You are exactly right when you say buying a few that don't hurt the pocket is a good thing. You can't learn from pictures and books alone, you actually need to buy a few. Most important of all, stay in touch with the community on here. You'll definitely look back and say it was the very best coin move you made!

I agree will all that's been said, with Nick's point on the clean being key. I would say slightly too much but, this would be a moot point, as a clean on a lower-grade coin would put it out of the running as a collector's coin for me. You have done a great thing joining the forum, as you will soon find out! Welcome aboard! PS sorry to be a little harsh on your first intro. PPS and whilst Rob's comments were very encouraging, you honestly wouldn't find a cleaned 1887 florin for sale in his dealer trays! You just wouldn't!

Nice one!

Perhaps I should expand... By Spain and fun, I was meaning that someone might have found it amusing to countermark a G3 coin, as we had cointermarked their coinage. If you know what I mean?

Ah, yes, I keep forgeting you are so much older than me!

It's a bit of a dark art reading the manual ones! I 'got' my lesson at the boatyard, much to the amusement of everyone present!

I don't think it's an official counter mark, at least I've never seen it? Could be someone from Spain having a bit of fun, perhaps?

The scales I use are Fuzion FZ-100 Capacity 100g in 0.01g increments! They have been 100% reliable for years, weighing 0.5g coins with exactly the same reading 3-4 years later! unbelievable scales, I'd buy exactly the same ones if they failed tomorrow! Micrometers are tricky! I've been through a few pairs now, and always had to put up with inconsistent and unreliable performance from them. I finally ended up buying a very specialised and expensive pair from an engineering company! Most 'disposable' models would do, just depends on how important the figures are to you?

Same for me! Nicks and bruises turn me off in an instant!

My main issue with this entire thing is there are perhaps only a couple of hundred people who should be the target of all this high-level political judgement. Yet we always forget this and personalise it to anyone, in this instance, who happens to be born Greek. With the smokescreen that is politics, how much responsibility do we think a waiter in Crete should personally carry for these failings? I feel terribly sad about it!

When you say the pledges made to buy votes, Rob, isn't that just the problem? No matter how eloquently this whole thing is put, it's very harsh to blame the average joe on the street, who is 99.9999999% of Greece! I'm not well versed in politics, so won't be entering into any debate on it, but I think it's too simplistic to say they got themselves into this mess! It would be the same as saying to me 'you wanted to go to war in Iraq, so live with the consequences!' Now whether I believed in that war or not, I don't remember anyone asking me or my family!

From all I just read in this thread, I'd say your integrity is in good stead, and you are still held in high esteem! Great to hear you are fit and well!

Whatever the causes I feel deeply saddened about the whole affair! I've had a long-time love affair with everything Greek, I hope their children don't suffer too badly? I love the spirit of the older generation too, so I also hope this doesn't scar them and leave them feeling bitter towards the remaining EU countries? I heard one woman saying they might be restricted to cash withdrawals less than they can buy their family food for, despite how much they have in the bank? Imagine that, chaps? 10k in the bank, but you can't draw on it to pay your rent? It'll boil down to the same old story! A few crooks at the top wrecking a beautiful country and series of unbelievable islands out of self greed! Whilst a little futile, I did feel extremely warmed by the chap who had already raised 1.4 million to help! I so hope the families of Greece get to hear about efforts like that!

...and the state of cider are just to kill time until someone puts up some more photos of coins for us to look at! ... though that might just be me... . We could become alcoholics with the wait, Stewie has already started going down that road