Red Riley

E-bay make this worse by having 'no returns' as a default and it took me a lot of investigation to discover how to change it. Most sellers who have a numerically low feedback figure are in the same boat and just don't bother. Where you want to be really careful are sellers with e.g. 1000+ who still retain it, especially when they are using a P.O. Box number; my advice is, never buy from these people. Another tip is high feedback total and bloody awful photographs; that ought to start alarm bells ringing.

Excuse me, I feel an anecdote coming on... I used to work behind the till at my Dad's shop after school and was there on 15 February 1971. Being young, I had no problem with the new money but some of the older people, many of whom had been born in the 19th century were completely at your mercy; you could have given them anything in their change and they would have been none the wiser. Simply, you just took in the old money (in multiples of six old pennies or 2 1/2p)and handed out change in the new, large quantities of pennies and threepenny bits piling up in the safe out in the storeroom. It was a sad feeling bagging up the old money (meticulously checked of course) to be sent back to the bank and an ultimate firey end at the hands of the Royal Mint. For most people the process was all over in a couple of weeks but there were the old diehards who never got to grips with decimalisation; I remember four or five years later, and then being old enough to drink, visiting the Cross Keys in Great Missenden, ordering a pint and being told it was 'three shillings and fourpence halfpenny' or whatever. I paid my money and got change but God knows how much - the landlord was over ninety and you just felt sorry for him, so didn't query what was in your hand. The beer was okay though...

They can easily be 'laundered' by somebody with a better feedback rating and a UK address.

Now where's my trombone got to?

It was fairly dreadful at the very end of Alf Ramsey's regime. Failure to beat Poland and qualify for the 1974 World Cup was pretty grim. Going completely off subject, if you remember that superb goal scored by Bobby Charlton against Mexico in the 1966 World Cup, just cast your eyes up behind the goal he scored it in and you will see a small 11 year old boy picking his nose. That's me! Anyway, returning to subject, mediaeval Europe was not noted for its learning on anything other than ecclesiastical matters and the heraldic leopard/lion was probably just based on a folk memory of a big cat as almost nobody had ever seen one - especially a leopard. Wouldn't the 'leo' of 'leopard' indicate something to do with a lion anyway?

I stand corrected, but I don't actually remember them being available that far in advance. Of course you couldn't spend them...

Minting commenced way in advance of 1971 but they were not officially released until 15/2/71.

This of course is where it gets tricky... Not actually my area of expertise but from my recollection, there is no absolute concensus as to which coins were produced in the reign of Henry II/Richard I or Edward I/II/III. Also gets mighty difficult when yoy have to track down a penny of Edwy or Edward the Martyr, or even somebody as well known as Alfred the Great. But we wouldn't do it if it was easy, would we? I did manage to put together a complete penny date run from 1797 to 1970 plus all major varieties in average grade above EF, but it took years and years and...

Welcome to the forum Jay. Sounds like a fascinating plan and not dissimilar to one I attempted myself, which as per usual never got completed...

How strange. Not genuine though and I guess pretty unlikely that it's gold. Looking at the patina, it looks like the same alloy as pound coins. Fascinating why somebody would go to that much bother. Given the date, unlikely that anybody would take it as a genuine sovereign. Curious.

It would almost certainly have been produced that way, so any marks on the original coin (and there is probably only one in the hands of Chinese forgers) would appear on all the coins. I kept this link but have never actually used it; http://www.forgerynetwork.com/Default.aspx. It may be of some use.

Which makes him sick...

I think you will also find that there is no concensus on bad/worst years! Personally, I'm not convinced that the Heaton and King's Norton pennies were much, if any, worse than those produced by the Royal Mint during the period 1915-20. Quite the worst obverse strike I have ever seen was on a 1918 Royal Mint penny which had virtually no detail whatever but was still a strong enough strike to rob some metal from the reverse. I can really only speak from the point of view of pennies, but I believe halfpennies were affected too and no doubt somebody else can tell you about farthings. The last incarnation of the bun penny obverse (1881-94) was struck in very low relief and can appear very weak towards the end of a die's life It is also my experience that silver produced during the First World War can be quite weak, especially round the beading but I freely admit that not everyone agrees with me. Interesting topic, thanks for posting it.

My family variation on that was 'enough blue to make a sailor a pair of trousers'.

Which, in itself, dates you.

I'm 12! Oh, all right I'm 56

That would match my experience. In comfortably over a 1000 trades, both in and out, I have had an India General Service Medal basically stolen on it's way to the isle of wight, a package from Oz opened and some of the contents removed, and a coin from san fransisco that never showed. Apart from that, I've sent bayonets to Queensland that turned up in 4 days, it's pretty good really IME. One ebay win sticks in my mind, I bought a Krugerrand on ebay and the clown posted it in one of those A4 soft plastic envelopes you can get at the post office for special delivery. No packaging, nothing, just a Kruger basically in klingfilm. I got it though. This is the first time I have had a problem with coins but a few years back on one day, I ordered 5 CDs from 5 different locations in the UK and all of them failed to arrive. Suggest the postman was probably a star seller (or whatever) on e-bay... Present postman though seems quite a decent guy.

Posted on 1 November and left this country the following day. The guy I sold it to tells me that this is the third item posted from the UK about that time which has failed to arrive in Oz.

Thanks for the warning. Already hit my first snag, coin I sent to Australia has failed to arrive. Was on international signed for, so fully insured, but a right hassle that I could definitely do without.

A couple of days ago I removed the 'under construction' from the website and it's all systems go from now on. This has really taken forever and I've still got a lot of work to do to optimise the ability of search engines to pick up the site. Incidentally, for penny collectors, I did eventually decide to put my entire collection up for sale, so there's a hell of a lot of stuff on there - not quite a second James Workman, but still worth a look. A couple of questions that I hope somebody can answer; 1) How do I put a permanent link to my website on the bottom of every posting I make? 2) I had hoped to take a regular stall at the Midland Coin Fair. I understand that there might be a waiting list, but tracking down anybody in control of this operation is proving a nightmare! I did eventually find what seemed like a link, but my e-mail elicited no reply whatever. Does anybody know? In my own interest, I will post this as a separate item elsewhere in the forum. Personally, I don't like the idea of using the forum for anything other than the most subtle of free advertising, so I promise I won't make your lives a misery on that score but I think I've earned one free plug! Finally, as I mentioned when I started this link, I am quite happy to give a discount to regular forum posters, but as this will depend on how much I paid for each coin, it would be best if you contacted me first to see what is available. The criterion for 'regular poster' that I am using, is nothing more sophisticated than 'having read this particular post'! Derek/Red Riley/Penny Crown Coins The link is; http://www.pennycrowncoins.co.uk/

...and some proofs can be very badly made, especially the more recent ones.

Which, in all honesty, is why I wrote it. I had had enough of seeing coins on e-bay being exaggerated by as much as two grades. Experienced collectors could make their own way through this minefield but the less experienced and particularly kids were in danger of being well and truly ripped off. Sorry if that sounds a bit sanctimonious but it did provide me with my motivation to keep going.

I think you've got hold of the major issue, that from the point of view of getting the best investment return, you should really go for quality over quantity. A few other points I should add; 1) Avoid buying coins with any significant shortcomings such as edge damage or coins that have previously been cleaned (you should find some threads on here to help you spot coins which have been subject to unnatural processes). 2) Try to avoid the first and last of any series, as these are inevitably the most common On the other hand you should be able to get these at a significant discount to the list price. 3) Any price guide is just that, a guide, and the entries should not be taken as gospel. I wish you the best of luck and remember that the bottom line is; 'coin collecting should be fun'.

No, O'Riley. Sorry couldn't resist... Welcome to our humble abode Rob and thanks for the kind words.

Plastic wallets are fine for short term storage but should be avoided for the long term. Basically, they contain a chemical which can leach out onto the coin and produce an unpleasant sludge which is a nuisance to remove. More recently manufactured wallets are better as they are not made of PVC but would you want to take the risk? Broadly speaking the stiffer the wallet, the better it is for the coin but all plastic wallets have the disadvantage that they can cause the coin to sweat and in the case of copper/bronze this provides an ideal environment for verdigris to form. A safer alternative is inert paper which Colin Cooke's sell but of course you have the disadvantage that you have to remove the coin to actually see it. I don't think there is any perfect system, although I have generally been quite happy with Lindner interlocking drawer sets. I do however worry about the bright red background colour having some effect on my coins. If you really want to go the whole hog, coin cabinets are the most elegant answer but they are very expensive - money which you could more profitably put towards er... coins. Anyway, that's my opinion, others may have different views.