Red Riley

It's actually Queen Elizabeth I but I would warn you there are a lot of facsimilles around made of pewter. These were sold as such, so technically aren't forgeries (although they do confuse a hell of a lot of people). Size and weight, and a photo of the reverse would be helpful.

Whether they are worth anything at all really does depend on their condition. Whilst you probably had fun putting the collection together and there's nothing wrong with that, I personally think it unlikely that any collector would really want to buy the entire run. A dealer may be interested if they were all strictly uncirculated but he would certainly not want to pay very much for them. On the plus side, it is actually quite a nice basis for a collection and you may like to add to them or improve the individual coins as you go along. In essence this is the way we all started and for many it has formed a lifelong interest. Very few sixpences were minted dated 1952 and you may have to pay a few pounds for even the scuffiest example.

I'm amazed anybody bothered to mark his death with anything other than rejoicing (perhaps tempered by the fact that he was only to be replaced by his brother). The Times obituary contained the following passage; "There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow-creatures than this deceased king. What eye has wept for him? What heart has heaved one throb of unmercenary sorrow? ... If he ever had a friend — a devoted friend in any rank of life — we protest that the name of him or her never reached us." So, a little bit of erudition to mark my 1,000th post.

I'm sorry Dave I'm just too keen to agree with everybody at the moment. Perhaps it's due to my approaching deification.

Well blow me, that one was so rare I didn't even bother to look for it. I think the beers are on Dave!

Yes, I see your point but it's rather like the Irishman (I use an Irishman because I can get away with it, being part Irish!) asked how to get to Dublin, to which his reply was, 'Well if I were you I wouldn't start from here'.

Reminds me of the old Benny Hill sketch of an Englishman going into a German/Dutch grocer's store which went something like this; 'FUNEX?' 'SVFX' 'FUNEM?' 'SVFM' I think you really needed to be there.

But you would then have to invent a new counting system with the zero being employed after 16 and that's not the way anybody counts, so far as I am aware. Computers may do it that way, but hey, I'm not a computer.

If you're coming Chris, don't forget your apron. Somebody's got to do the washing up.

Spit it out Peter.

On the other hand going back onto the gold standard brought this country to the brink of ruin in 1925.

I think that's only relevant if you're a mathematician. Since the introduction of the zero from the Indian sub-continent slowly from the 12th century, a base of 10 made far more sense. Everyone else has looked at the problem and come up with base 100 as being the best solution. If we had decided otherwise it would have been a case of 'everyone being out of step except my son John' would it not?

Hi dagz, Welcome to the madhouse. We are generally a friendly bunch even if we do have the odd rant...

James Quincey (aka Cerbera100), the secretary of the Reading Coin Club has asked me to point out that the parking problems alluded to in another thread have now been resolved. As these rely on the goodwill of the venue's neighbours, it is felt that they should not become common knowledge. If anybody wishes to attend one of the meetings (and I can strongly recommend them) please send me a message and I will let you know the details. I am sorry if this sounds a bit cloak and dagger, but people that live locally will know that Reading has the most draconian parking regulations in the known universe! Derek

Hard times have come to Manchester United as 19 people on their payroll are made redundant. The 7 referees and 12 linesmen are said to be devestated by the news.

Would this not be a case where the Crown could appeal against an over-lenient sentence? If not, what was the ruddy act passed for?

People don't like change as that twerp in the Yorkshire Post proved, but it was stir crazy not to go through with decimalisation in the 1850s. The re-introduction of the half crown was a mistake as we then had two denominations far too close to each other. But I guess we learnt to live with it and the anti-change brigade were presumably happy as Larry. In the meantime much school time was wasted teaching kids a bizarre and over-complicated system which really should have drifted off into the sunset 100 or more years before it finally did.

Personally...I would say 1872, which is also the only Gothic I ever saw in circulation... Wow your doing very well for you age! Thank you, but it really is true. The coin was about 100 years old at the time though.

Hence more crime, hence overcrowded prisons. It's a vicious circle...

Maybe it's their relative lack of history, but the florin tends to be an overlooked denomination and personally I think that's sad. Their lack of a past though has meant that the designs have tended to be less staid than any of the other silver denominations bar the crown and in my view the Godless, Gothic and Standing Britannia series are all time classics and the Victoria Old Head pieces were quite pretty too. On the other hand the 1937-51 design was perhaps one of the dullest to appear on any British coin...

Then we have probably met. I don't go as often as I would like as, despite being the nearest coin club to me, it is still an hour's drive away and finding my way and parking in Reading is an absolute nightmare. Still, it's a very good club and I've always been impressed with the activities and talks provided for the members. Just one thing, can't you move the meeting a bit closer to me?

My brother in law was a prison warder and later an assistant governor before he had more than he could take. In his view half of the prisoners he encountered were doolally and should have been in the funny farm.

No, no they weren't called Hoolighan, Hoolahan or anything like it but they were Irish and came over during the potato famine. Did you know that everybody in the western world is descended from the emperor Nero?

Personally...I would say 1872, which is also the only Gothic I ever saw in circulation, but if date is irrelevant, just wait and see what comes up. In my opinion though, the earlier portrait (the change happened in 1879) is the nicer. A similar portrait, although completely different lettering appeared on the 1849 'Godless' florin and these are relatively common in high grade, so may be a best buy.

True, I believe. The adjective comes from a troublesome Irish family who lived in London in the C19th I think... So did my Irish ancestors; we might be related. Oh, the shame of it...