Paddy

I am posting this for a friend in the US who is having trouble registering to post here. 1861 Halfpenny, I believe Obverse 6 and Reverse G. The F of Halfpenny has a noticeable lump that makes it look like a P. Is this how the F over P should look, or does that appear differently? Close up:

I recommended this forum to a member of Cointalk and he has applied for a login - he says over a week ago without response. Is there an issue? I can pass the message on to him if he has made some mistake and needs to reapply...

Scale might clarify things, but that looks to me like Toy Money - made by the likes of Lauer for the education/entertainment of children. A lot of this stuff was made whilst Victoria was still alive, even though it depicted the future Edward VII and so the lack of date and the use of a Victoria style reverse would fit. Certainly not gold at that colour - probably brass. Post the diameter if you can.

Doesn't look quite flat to me - a contemporary forgery is a possibility. Certainly not one I am bidding on. Our old friend Lukasz again I see...

The only memorable Xmas card I received this year:

I thought this was supposed to be "Stuff to make us laugh" thread". That one makes me pretty angry! Con merchants like that are causing untold damage to our hobby. When someone who has fallen for such an ad finds out how badly he has been taken for a ride, it is likely to kill his coin collecting urge dead.

Yes - unfortunately the only real answer to global warming, destruction of habitats and extinction of non-human species is to reduce the human population to less than a tenth of it's current figure. I can't see that winning many voters at an election though...

You are much better to upload the image direct here - as long as it/they total to less than 500Kb. (There are numerous applications to cut your image size down if they are too big - I use Photoscape.) Even if you succeed in uploading a Photobucket link, it is not permanent as any change in Photobucket or your account with them will break the link.

Most of my Ed VII Half Crowns are well down on that grade as I have collected them "on the cheap" from job lots. Here is the best I have:

Not sure that one would even make VF on the UK scale - maybe XF Sheldon? "Sometimes" failing to achieve accuracy is somehow more damning than never achieving it!

Buckets of it here! Hic!

Thanks Rob. I looked hard at that before I posted, but I am still not sure. The gap between the top of the head and the letters is appreciably bigger, and the top of the bun comes a lot lower in relation to the Ns in Britannia. It is really noticeable in hand - I am not usually good at noticing variations but this one jumped out at me as soon as I compared them.

... and the reverses for completeness:

I picked up an 1840 Sixpence at auction yesterday as a potential upgrade. When I came to compare it to the existing incumbent it appears the new one has a much smaller head. No mention is made in Spink - is this a known variety, or is something else going on here? New one is on the left:

The mint is going to be guesswork. The only book I have on these states, for the Alexander III halfpennies: "The mints for these issues are uncertain". Based on the 4 stars of 5 points (20 points in all) being Edinburgh and the halfpenny having only 2 stars of 5 points, it would be reasonable to guess the coin posted would also be Edinburgh. As to value, the cop out answer is "whatever someone will pay you for it"! The Coincraft book of 1999 suggests £50 in VG and £100 in Fine. These prices were probably way too high at the time, but probably closer to the truth now.

Many years ago we had a solicitor called Mr Fiddler and an insurance broker called Mr Crook. Not much changed there then!

"My name's Head - Richard Head. My friends call me Dick..."

I remember at IBM once when the tannoy system operator was persuaded to put out a call for "Hugh Janus". Brought the place to a halt for a while!

Well two thoughts occur to me: 1. Some of the small denominations - particularly threepences and fourpences - are much better value and easy to pick up for well under £100 each (often only £20 or so), which gives you a good chance of getting representations of most of the early milled monarchs and years without breaking the budget. A few years back I built a collection of virtually all the pre-1800 3ds and 4ds without paying more than £50 on any one coin. Sixpences and shillings are especially expensive at the moment. Charles II Crowns are often cheaper than the mid-range coins of the same year. 2. Keep an eye on the non-coin specialist auction house. With the internet and using saleroom.com and easyliveauction.com you can see job lots and individual coins at small auction houses across the UK and the world. Often these go for a fraction of the price they would if presented at a coin specialist auction - but you do need to do your research and know what you are looking at. (A local auction near me had a job lot including a William III sixpence, a Charles II Fourpence, an 1862 Sixpence and a bunch of other silver coinage - hammer price just £80 plus commission - this week.) Often you can sell the bits you don't want out of a lot and almost get the ones you do want for free!

Some good ones there! Pink Floyd is still my go-to favourite. (Not so sure about Nik Kershaw, but nothing personal...) A few ideas for expanding you listening: Tangerine Dream - long melodious but unusual tracks somewhere between Mike Oldfield and Kraftwerk. Moody Blues - inventive but slightly more "pop" prog music than Floyd. The Strawbs - More "folky" prog music than Floyd or Moody Blues. Some excellent concept songs and albums. I could go on with many many more, but that will do for now!

This one pointed out to me recently - very funny! A pity so much of it is true...

The portraits certainly look very similar - maybe a slight difference at the base of the bust? That may be to do with the removal or addition of the Pinches logo. Reverse definitely looks to be St Andrew - the X shaped cross along with the thistles in the wreathes look conclusive. Nice token!

I don't know if this has been spotted by you serious penny variety specialists - very nice 1860 penny, 2+D with the N over Z. Excellent pictures if needed for the rarest penny site: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sometimes-it-pays-to-double-check-yourself.350656/ (presumably you would need to discuss with the poster if he is happy for you to use them...) P

Yes - I suspect there may well be a proceeds of crime hearing to follow on from their sentences. This could result in them being ordered to be detained for an additional period of time if they do not repay the proceeds or reveal the location of the missing coins. I agree with the harsh sentences and am pleased that they will send out a clear message to others considering or practising illegal detectorism, but I also feel for some of the defendants. It would seem there were two career criminals, who got what they deserved, and two foolish/rash/greedy conspirators who have seen their lives torn apart for their foolhardiness. They must be in a pretty dire state of mind now, and I can empathise with that whilst not suggesting they should have got any less.

Well they have been handed some pretty stiff sentences: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-50516329 10 years and 8 1/2 for the detectorists, 5 1/2 for one of the dealers. The other dealer is ill and will be sentenced later.