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Paddy

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Posts posted by Paddy

  1. Very difficult to tell what the black stuff is. In some ways it looks like excessive patina, but the stuff by Britannia's bicep looks thicker.

    I would go through the same sequence, starting with warm soapy water, and if that doesn't shift it, on to Acetone. This may reveal underlying Verdigris, in which case you are onto the Sodium Sesquicarbonate or Verdicare options. I suspect nothing will shift it without taking off all the rest of the patina, turning the coin pink.

    If you do get to that stage, there is a way of restoring some of the patina: if you apply a thin coat of vegetable oil and then leave the coin on a sunny windowledge the dark patina will slowly return.

    Don't hold me responsible if none of this works!

     

  2. Welcome to the forum @ggx51!

    It is difficult to see exactly what you have there - the picture appears black and white - is there any colour? That might indicate verdigris or some attached organic material. I take the coin is a Victoria Sixpence?

    The usual approach is to try things in increasing strength. Start with warm water and soap. If the material is organic a soak in Acetone would probably shift it. All these arevery unlikely to damage the underlying coin. Obviously don't scrub with anything abrasive!

    Thereafter you are into chemicals, which is more risky. The recent trials of Sodium Sesquicarbonate solutions have been successful on Bronze and Copper coins, but I have no idea whether it would work on silver. It is very gentle and slow, so should do little other damage. (Buy it as Borax substitute on Amazon.)

    Mild Ammonia solution is the next level up, but that will remove all the patina. So if you are unwilling to do that, best left as it is. Verdicare is a commercial product that might help, but it is difficult to get in the UK.

    I hope that helps.

  3. 11 hours ago, Peckris 2 said:

    NOT correct, not for the USA where after independence in 1776 it wasn't a capital offence to produce and circulate evasions.

    I believe it was still a capital offence in the UK, where most of the contemporary counterfeits were produced, although the punishment was usually commuted to transportation. The USA was responsible for more of the Evasions, and after independence the laws all changed.

  4. Yes, looks to be a contemporary counterfeit. Weight should be more 9 to 11g.

    Having said that, it is one of the better made counterfeits. Most are much cruder and often produced ready worn.

    Note you are correct to say contemporary counterfeit rather than Evasion. The latter are deliberately varied from the original so as not to be classed as an illegal forgery. (Production of counterfeits was a capital offence!)

    Here is my regal issue 1772 for comparison. I have lots of 1775, all contemporary counterfeits!

    1772HD1-side.thumb.JPG.31860724a5bf96de57c3d34639884748.JPG

    • Like 2
  5. 10 hours ago, absence of uniformity said:

    Did V R Court or A R Alexander write/publish any books? I will have a look see if I can find anything.

     

    Interesting you mention A R Alexander. I don't believe he published any books and we worked out a while ago that he was "Father Andrew Alexander" - a priest at the school I was at! I knew when I was there that he collected coins and his interest and advice on my measly collection helped me get started. I had no idea he was such an authority on pennies at the time.

    He passed away only a few years ago at the school. I have no idea what happened to his collection - it may have passed to relatives or still be in possession of the school.

  6. Welcome to the forum!

    Difficult to say what that is from the picture you have posted. I think I see an owl, which might take us to ancient Greece, but I may be seeing things.

    Can you get better close up pictures of both sides? An accurate weight would also be useful

     

  7. As no one else has responded, I will do my best. Gold, particularly modern gold, is not my speciality.

    First of all, welcome to the forum. I  hope you  stick around once this particular query is resolved.

    I am not surprised the dealer company you spoke to offered only gold spot price. That is the default solution for most coin dealers and jewellery outlets as that way they are covered if the goods prove unsaleable at a premium.

    If you want to sell them as one lot, a dealer is the most likely option, unless you can locate a collector with deep pockets who wants all of them. You will get better value by breaking the collection up and selling pieces individually. There are two main ways of doing this:

    1. The easy way is to use an auction house specialising in coin sales, who will list it as multiple lots. You will, of course, lose out to the commission, both buyers and sellers, that they will charge, but at least the market will dictate the hammer price. If you go down this route, give us some idea of where in the country you are so we can suggest a convenient auction house.

    2. The most profitable way is to effectively become a dealer yourself for a while, selling through online platforms such as Facebook or Ebay, or even taking a market stall somewhere. You will get a much higher price for the items, but have the hassle and expense of the process. You will also have to handle the occasional dodgy buyer, particularly when selling online. If you go this way, you will need to do your research to know what price to ask, using published online auctions and/or Ebay as a guide. (Remember with Ebay that it is the actual sale price that counts, not the often ridiculous asking price!)

    I hope that helps.

     

    • Like 1
  8. Nice coin.

    I think your initial assessment of an attempted holing is more likely correct. I think the bulge in the wreath beneath the 8 on the reverse is the other end of that. I don't think a die fault would allow so much proud metal.

    I like the threehalfpence coins - a short run intended for the colonies but legal in the UK and listed in all the GB books. It took me some years to complete the date run, the 1837 William IV proving the most elusive - a lot scarcer than the books indicate.

    18373HD1-side.JPG.f1fecf3a03cf717fef583fcc8875d556.JPG

    • Like 1
  9. 1 hour ago, david.bordeaux said:

    This experiment was with 5% sesquicarbonate at room temperature for 6 hours. The green spots have gone but the coin looks stripped and cleaned. I'm going to try 2% at room temperature with a shorter contact time.

     

     

    Incidentally, when you did your initial experiment - 100 minutes at 90C - how did you achieve this temperature control?

    • Like 1
  10. The 1887 shilling is the commonest of the Jubilee head shillings as it was the first year of issue and many were put aside as souvenirs. The lower one is in much better condition than the other.

    There are variations to watch out for, which I am not up on, so I would leave it to others to identify if you have any there.

    Value is better than silver value (0.925), but I have not watched these dates at auction for some years, so hopefully someone else can chip in.

    • Like 1
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