Paulus

From Wiki: One claim recounts how a Pakistani chef, Ali Ahmed Aslam (proprietor of the Shish Mahal restaurant in the west end of Glasgow) invented chicken tikka masala by improvising a sauce made from yogurt, cream and spices. His son Asif Ali told the story of its 1971 invention to the BBC's Hairy Bikers TV cookery programme: "On a typical dark, wet Glasgow night a bus driver coming off shift came in and ordered a chicken curry. He sent it back to the waiter saying it's dry. At the time Dad had an ulcer and was enjoying a plate of tomato soup. So he said why not put some tomato soup into the curry with some spices. They sent it back to the table and the bus driver absolutely loved it. He and his friends came back again and again and we put it on the menu." In July 2009 Pakistani-born British MP Mohammad Sarwar tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons asking that Parliament support a campaign for Glasgow to be given European Union protected geographical status for chicken tikka masala. The motion was not chosen for debate, nor did Sarwar speak on this subject in Parliament.

Sorry Seuk, of course they are. Best pics I have are being emailed to you later

Seuk has got several examples on his web site, most are much cruder: http://www.steppeulvene.com/index.halfcrown.html

London Coins A144 Lot 1653:

London Coins A144 Lot 1652:

As Nick says, 2 lots from the London Coins March 2014 Auction (see below), and here's one from the DNW 21 June 2012 auction. As you can see, all 3 coins share identical imperfections (for example the small dig just above the King's eye). DNW 21 June 2012 Lot 732:

Same goes for the wreath crowns (non-proof) in my book, they are relatively cheap given the very low mintages, again perhaps there is just not the demand (yet)?

That series is fraught with danger - contemporary forgeries of all silver denominations, usually silver-washed copper. But don't despair - seuk is fast becoming recognised as THE expert on them! (However, the non-contemporary Chinese fakes are much more worrying and harder to spot ) They certainly are, the 1818 HC I had had eye appeal, was silver, and if it hadn't been 180 degrees off on the die rotation it may have survived undetected for longer - thank goodness they made such a schoolboy error!

Yes, the shape of the 6 is also wrong, which is the reason mine was rejected by CGS

Just curious Paul, did the seller of your fake not say anything or ask why it was fake etc? Or did they just and the cash back? He accepted what I said (the 180 degree rotation is pretty conclusive!) and said he would be returning it to DNW!! Also that it was 'embarrassing' - no quibbles

Welcome Edward! Seuk pointed out I had a dodgy 1818 HC the other day, which I have just been refunded for - which reminds me, I must send him those pics I promised!

...plink, ting ting ting ting ting. Oh dear, it seems to have rolled under the table. Let me just.. hmm. No, there's now a filthy great scratch on it, sorry. Heads or tails? Hard to tell. The cat was sick on it and then it picked up a load of fluff. I'm not touching it with a bargepole. I think the 5 second rule might apply here, mind you that could help with the toning?fo Are you suggesting that this is a dud Peck, because I wouldn't have a Scooby! For the only example the seller recalls seeing on ebay how come there's another one on for £1000 less with a much better obverse. His other coin is a 10 shillings / half pound

Yep, noticed that!

...plink, ting ting ting ting ting. Oh dear, it seems to have rolled under the table. Let me just.. hmm. No, there's now a filthy great scratch on it, sorry. Heads or tails? Hard to tell. The cat was sick on it and then it picked up a load of fluff. I'm not touching it with a bargepole. I think the 5 second rule might apply here, mind you that could help with the toning? Are you suggesting that this is a dud Peck, because I wouldn't have a Scooby!

...plink, ting ting ting ting ting. Oh dear, it seems to have rolled under the table. Let me just.. hmm. No, there's now a filthy great scratch on it, sorry. Heads or tails? Hard to tell. The cat was sick on it and then it picked up a load of fluff. I'm not touching it with a bargepole. I think the 5 second rule might apply here, mind you that could help with the toning?

...plink, ting ting ting ting ting. Oh dear, it seems to have rolled under the table. Let me just.. hmm. No, there's now a filthy great scratch on it, sorry. Heads or tails?

I expect some of you have seen this and are watching, just throwing it out there! link

Not the full shilling perhaps ... Devon-half-bake ...

Kaymer at 100/1 last weekend for me :)

lol you are always good value Peter!

Cast iron?? I think it's probably sterling silver, but agree with VF! Hearts and no hearts worth about the same, maybe £25-30 on the Bay.

Just to mention, the twopence is too big for a 2" x 2" flip, which is 'annoying' since every other coin I have fits my preferred storage method! And as Peter says, beware the EKs on these, they are notorious for them, and edges are often not photographed, or not well enough, by the seller.

And Mary, and Phillip and Mary!

I have a similar focus at the moment, but I want at least one superb example Tudor to present, with a bit of variety mixed in (i.e. not all silver, not all shillings etc) ... everyone's 'superb' is different of course, and some reigns will be difficult/expensive to get anything in GVF+ together with sufficient eye appeal and very few/zero problems. For me this means I can release some funds by selling my least-favourite 'duplicates' for some monarchs, helping me to reduce some accumulated debts and justify some upgrades at the same time. I would not set a catch-all budget for each reign personally, perhaps try and identlfy the year/denomination you might want for each and hunt down the very best you can afford. For me, this is more of a 5 year project rather than a 1-2 year project (there are 24 'monarchs' since H7 (including Cromwell and Ed VIII)) - I guess I would repeat the age-old adage of buying the best you can afford (you won't regret it) and exercising patience! What are the big gaps you have at the moment? Is the Chas I shilling the first of the collection? One of the challenges I have (as do others!) relates to the patience factor - at the rate of say 1 coin every 1-2 months (or longer!) the urge to add to/improve my collection requires a little more 'action' than that to satisfy my need, so inexpensive side-lines which help the learning experience and 'feed the beast' can be of use! Always do not be shy to ask for opinions on here, there is an insatiable appetite to help with critical factors such as grading, cleaning, dipping, authenticity etc