Sword

Merry Christmas! Just got back from a break at Rome. Photos of life size manger scene outside St Peters.

An EF or EF+ Lima halfcrown is something I want to buy at some point. I totally agree with Paulus and Stuntman that only you can decide on its eye appeal. It is nicely toned and that certainly helps. I personally have got a bad habit of always focusing on the worst parts of a coin and so I would avoid coins with defects. Consequently I can only afford to buy very infrequently...

He is saying that 8 items he sent to Merseyside went missing. I had a look at his other items yesterday for amusement and you might want to check out a coin he describes as "fabulous". His items are not currently showing on ebay. Might be he is revising the descriptions ...

2p coin after it has been in concentrated nitric acid for a few minutes. The flan has become very thin but the design is still mostly there.

I didn't place any bids this time but LCA always publish results on their website the day after the auction.

A few slabbed coins won't take up a lot of space. But space does become an issue if one were to slab too many ...

Very nice. But I bet it will cost a fortune though. I hate those TPG plastic boxes which look cheap and nasty. I brought a Lighthouse wooden 3 tray box last year which cost £55. I have since brought another one for Quadrums (or 2x2s) with each tray holding 20 coins.

Oscar Wilde also said " One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art. " Seriously though, I think coins that have good designs / fine engravings are more desirable and sell for considerably more. E.g. the Gothic Crown surely shouldn't cost so much given it's mintage. But it is considered as one of the most attractive milled coins. Would the petition crown be worth so much if the design and engraving are not so fantastic and lettering is missing from the edge?

I love art and like to visit galleries when on holiday. There are quite a few obvious reasons why the general public are more interested in art than coins. 1) Paintings can be hung up and admired by all. A nice painting in a home can be a nice talking point. Coins need to be handled a lot more carefully and need gloves etc unless slabbed. 2) Paintings are larger. They can decorate rooms. 3) Each painting is unique. Coins are not. Rare coin varieties are often not very visually appealing. 3) Anyone can give an opinion on a painting without specialist knowledge. 4) People study art and art history in schools and colleges. Owing works by well known artists give you "social status". 5) There is a lot more history associated with art than coins.

Might be so. But I just prefer to leave commission bids with auction houses that are not likely to give me the hassle of returning lots afterwards.

Grading is a matter of opinion and small discrepancies are expected. (e.g. GEF and AU, GVF and NEF etc.) However calling that 1902 matt proof crown FDC is just rather dishonest or at least incompetent. Most of us have put in commission bids without being able to view the lots in advance. In such cases, you often need to rely on the auctioneer's grading and descriptions to some extent. We are not moaning pointlessly but are just keeping each other informed of the auction houses that are more likely to give poor descriptions / over grading / flattering photos. People have also pointed out places like DNW give photos that don't always do the coins justice. Information like this help collectors (especially those that are less experienced) make more informed decisions when placing commission bids.

Acquiring those coins is the really hard part! I have not even heard of the 1926 Pattern Wood Peace Crown until now. Just read about it on http://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/collection/collection-highlights/coins/peace-crown-1926/index.html I wonder why it is not listed in the latest edition of ESC (now that ESC has decided to include uniface coins).

The steel penny was made by dropping the coin into concentrated Nitric Acid. The Copper gets oxidised away leaving behind the steel penny. The reaction gives off poisonous brown NO2 fumes and the acid will even boil due to the amount of heat given out. Not something to try at home and must be done in a fume cupboard in a lab. The brass penny was made by coating a copper penny with zinc (again a hazardous procedure requiring a lab) . Using a temperature of 800oC or so, the copper will react with the zinc to give a nice shiny layer of brass.

This 2p has a brass coating instead of the usual copper. Definitely not electroplated.

Just for a bit of fun, some 2p "varieties" This example is a 2p without it's copper coating. It has toned a little.

It's all relative. VS has many fabulous coins in his collection and I would be very happy to own coins he describes as "quite" good. It's certainly better than mine (which I later slabbed and got CGS85)

Exactly. There is a lot of wear on St George's chest too. I don't think I can bid with them again as they are unlikely to mention hairline, cleaning etc and these things are often not apparent from photos.

It's really great that you are working with the Poppy shop. I just had a look at your website, HC and to my pleasant surprise I think I know you rather well (unless I am mistaken). I don't want to give personal information on an open forum but will PM you.

Apologies for reviving an old tread. When I first started coin collecting, I brought some really nice coins from W&W. However, they had nothing of interest for me for quite a few years now. I have just checked out their auction catalogue and was shocked by the quality of grading. This 1902 matt proof crown is graded as straight FDC! The marks on the horse's neck are frightful.

I have decided to get a poppy lapel pin this year instead of wearing a paper one. (The paper version never survive long with me and I tend to be wearing just the stalk after half a day). The poppy shop has apparently been selling these rather special gold poppies since the summer http://www.poppyshop.org.uk/somme-1916-poppy-lapel-pin.html It's made from brass from shell fuses recovered from the Somme battlefields. The red enamel contains earth also from Somme. Very thoughtful. All proceeds go to the Royal British Legion. Luckily for me, mine arrived right on Remembrance Day. I think I will wear it for a week or two longer as it is discrete enough on the lapel. Then I will probably use it again in future years and just make a donation each time.

I do think that the quality of LCA's written descriptions have done downhill in the last couple of years or so. E.g. the "small rim nick by ANNO" of this coin looks like a rather big rim bruise to me.

That's possible. But I think it would be easier to fake hammered coins. The dies must be much easier to fake than milled dies due to the crude designs. Get totally worn pieces and then hammer out VF or EF examples. There is no need to even melt the original coins and so you don't have to worry about introducing new trace impurities etc.

The exact chemical composition (including the percentages of all the trace metals) of the planchet is very difficult to reproduce. I was on a course in the assay office in London and they told me that they can date metal objects by a goldsmith or silversmith by the percentages of trace elements. This can be used to check if a hallmark was faked.

It's certainly a big improvement!