Red Riley

Yep, the same from me. Except perhaps those b******s that keep spamming the site!

I would echo that. Given the time difference, you must only be half way through your lunch now, Bob!

But the thing that makes me really mad is the 'Numismatic Guaranty Corporation' describing it as 1P.

This really comes into the category of financial advice, but the received wisdom is that the gold price increases when times are tough. In fact it doesn't, it increases in value before times get tough, so you may have missed the boat to pick up a bargain. The FT are still singing gold's praises though, so worth reading this article; http://www.ft.com/markets/wealth/gold. This actually is what I distrust about gold coins, I think I can spot a bargain when it comes to a purely numismatic transaction but with gold there are so many other factors outside my control. On the other hand if the favourite comic of they who own the country is convinced, who am I to argue?

Judging by the responses to this thread, it seems that a fair few may have been released into circulation. Probably won't be woth a fortune, but nonetheless they will be fun to look out for.

Just done the job. Best of luck with the site.

What sort of info do you want Marty? If it is a value, all these coins could be worth next to nothing (or just a bullion value in the case of the silver coins, still not very much though) or a total of a few hundred pounds, depending on condition. If you can post pictures on here, we'll try to help. Incidentally, the 1806 coin came as either farthing (21mm.), halfpenny (28mm.) or penny (33mm.) with a largely identical design, so it would help to state which you have when you reply.

Engraving a name on a coin was very common at that time, and usually happened when the type of coin was no longer in regular use, so your J Muncaster may well have engraved his name c. 1740 or so. As a numismatic object, the value of your coin has been dramatically reduced by his action, but in some ways the engraving adds to its historical interest, so not a complete write-off. The value will still depend on the state of preservation of the coin, and perhaps bizarrely on the quality of the subsequent engraving.

At least they're being honest, but what imbecile would buy this cr*p?

Just thought I would add a little update. Everything written, although I am constantly bothering Chris with minor amendments to the text, a semi-colon here, a full stop there or a little bit of extra wording to an illustration. The imagess themselves are a constantly moving feast, and although every base is covered, it is always possible to find the odd coin which gives an even more accurate picture of a particular grade - if the book took 100 years, I would still be looking for new images! Derek

Looks as if this might tiie up with Geoff T's post under the 'Lots of British Coin Related Discussions' section.

Any pictures? If only one side is blank, my first guess would be that it was post mint damage. Does it look like it's been filed or sanded down? thanks for the response, heres the picture At a guess, I would say that had been put on a lathe (the concentric rings would certainly seem to point to that). If so, you probably have about 3p's worth of brass! Anybody got any better suggestions?

Kind of agree. I do really like some halfcrowns, but my problem is that I'm a little agnostic on shields. Some are admittedly good, some bad, but in my view most are just a teensy bit dull. It's all about opinions I guess, and I simply prefer the pictorial representations which appear on the copper and bronze series, not to mention Pistrucci's George & Dragon.

Yes, the series does contain some atractive designs, especially (as Geoff T says somewhere else in this thread) the William IV issue and the preceding later George IV coins. All halfcrowns from 1816 however feature a shield reverse and some are better than others. The one that I like least is the Queen Elizabeth II design with a dreary shield, which moreover was usually very poorly struck.

Welcome to the forum James.

It's a little blurred, but on what I can see, I would assess the condition as Nearly Fine/Fine and with a value of perhaps £2-3. It would be difficult to sell such an item singly other than on e-bay and if you did want to sell, you would have to start with a very low opening figure of perhaps a few pence. I hope this isn't too disappointing, but coins in low grade are really very common indeed. On the other hand, we all have to start somewhere and acquiring a small low-value collection as you have done, is the kicking off point for many collectors. If you have caught the bug, it would be worth your while acquiring one or more of the books above (especially Collectors Coins GB) and look out for a new title early next year explaining how to grade coins.

None of the coins are rare and condition will be everything; for example the 1897 halfcrown could be worth anything from pure bullion value (maybe a couple of quid) to £150 for a superb example. Your best bet would be to post pictures on here, and we'll try to help.

Doubtless somebody can give you a more technical answer, but usually something like Goddard's Silver Dip, a proprietary solution for removing the tarnish from silver jewellery.

You have expensive tastes, Huss!

Your friend talks sense. The first and most obvious thing to look out for is an almost total lack of toning. The appearance of a dipped coin can also be quite matt, almost opaque whereas a coin in its natural state is neither too shiny nor too dull. I am sorry if that doesn't make a huge amount of sense, but it is one of those things where a bit of experience helps. Where an ebay image is concerned though, it may have been manipulated so much that it is impossible to tell. I have imaged 2 coins from my collection, the first I presume to have been dipped, the second in its natural state. I hope they come out okay.

I am going to be completely conventional about this, and say that to me the most artistically pleasing British coins are firstly, the Gothic crown of 1947-53 and secondly the standing Britannia florins of 1902-10. In the Gothic crown, William Wyon just managed to get everything right and the amount of detail is just stunning. No coin reflects the era in which it was minted more than the 1902-10 florin, the reverse being pure art nouveau. Look at any advert or book illustration of the time (especially by the likes of Aubrey Beardsley) and you will see art in exactly this style. I love it. Other than that, I am fond of the early bun series bronze (1860-74), the garnished shields of 1820-23, and of course Pistrucci's George and the Dragon. I also, for some reason, admire the accuracy and sheer unpretentiousness of the wren farthings.

As we've hit a bit of a quiet spell, can I just ask the question, 'what to your mind is the most aesthetically pleasing British coin ever minted?' Since I posted the topic, I will reserve my opinions until later!

Well how about that! I'd never noticed the edge lettering before, and it reads just as you say. I have seen several for sale, but none of them mentioned this wording. Obviously fairly common but interesting nonetheless. Thanks for the info.

My wife would definitely be in agreement with yours... Actually, I went through doing much the same kind of thing myself, but you really have to accept that without a king's ransom, there are some denominations/monarchs that you just will not get. What price double sovereigns, five pound coins, anything Edward VIII? If you understand that this type of collection has to be tempered with an acceptance of what is achievable, then you will have great fun doing it. I wish you the best of luck.