Red Riley

They have looked in Spink but have no wish to sell.

Not certain I agree with you on this. Increase the supply in what is essentially a fairly esoteric area whilst the demand remains static, and inevitably the price will fall. It may not appear evident from the prices listed, but factor inflation in and the value has plummeted.

Anything from nothing to well over £150 depending on condition. As your ownership only dates back to the 1940s, I suspect the former is more likely to be the case. As Josie said, a picture would help.

Seaby's 1972 edition (the forerunner of Spinks') lists the price of type 353 £30 in fine. As far as I can see, the same type now numbered 786 is still £30 fine. So you may now have the answer you were looking for.

The most accessible of my two 1970 1/2ds is definitely wide date and 'I' of 'DEI' points to the middle of the gap between two beads. I have another which is in a set, but under piles of rubbish in the spare room, so perhaps not tonight... Looks like this is the genuine article. I did of course mean wide rim. It's late...

I was under the impression that the Victorian half-farthings did circulate in Britain up to 1869 at which time they were known as 'mites'.

I did hear once of somebody who successfully fed their gas meter with coin shaped pieces of ice. Gets a bit obvious though when the man comes round to collect the cash and all he gets is half a pint of water.

Hi James, I think you've probably worked out by now that your best course of action is to stick them bsck in the safe for the next occupant to find...

I'm not an expert but I like a challenge so I'll have a stab at it with the help of Rotographic's Roman Base Metal Coins Guide and the internet. First of all it should be: DOMIT AVG GERM, so the first bit I think means: 'Imperial Caesar Domitian Victorious over the Germans. 15 times a consul. Perpetual censor'. Domitian became consul for the fifteenth time in 90 A.D., for the sixteenth time in 92 and was assassinated in 96. So it is likely that it was minted between 90 and 92, although apparently it was not unknown for coins not to be updated for such things; could therefore be as late as 96. The reverse inscription seems to indicate 'the exercise of faith' which sounds a bit wishy washy for a Roman coin, so I may be barking up the wrong tree. Hope that will do until a real expert comes along.

I have also recived pictures of the Gothic Crown and young head sovereign George and dragon reverse (thanks Red Riley), but I still need the others if anyone has got them? They are: VICTORIA: Silver penny- Young head, Jubilee head Silver two pence- Jubilee head Silver four pence- Jubilee head (Maundy). Two pounds- Jubilee head. Old head. Five pounds- Young head (Una and the lion) Jubilee head. Close up pictures of die numbers for sixpences. I would also like close up pictures of mintmarks for Sovereigns. I have also recived pictures of the Gothic Crown and young head sovereign George and dragon reverse (thanks Red Riley), but I still need the others if anyone has got them? They are: VICTORIA: Silver penny- Young head, Jubilee head Silver two pence- Jubilee head Silver four pence- Jubilee head (Maundy). Two pounds- Jubilee head. Old head. Five pounds- Young head (Una and the lion) Jubilee head. Close up pictures of die numbers for sixpences. I would also like close up pictures of mintmarks for Sovereigns.

I can let you have gothic crown and young head sovereign G & D reverse.

At first glance, the website looks quite a professional job, but look further and it becomes clear how thoroughly unprofessional it actually is. The blurb is quite childish and contains many mistakes of grammar and spelling e.g. 'As you can see, even the minutest wear, which is bearably noticeable...'. They will have to try one hell of a lot harder if they are going to attract the kind of clientelle who could make this into a profitable business. As things stand, the overall impression is of a speculative get-rich-quick plan set up on somebody's kitchen table. I suspect the mainstream 'hands on' branch of the hobby have little to fear from such ill thought-out schemes.

There you go, Shergar had it all the time!

You may be right. For about 2 years prior to decimalisation and during the changeover period, I worked in my father's grocery shop and persuaded him to order some £10 of pennies every week. I duly went through all these, and do you know what I found? Virtually nothing. No KNs, no 1950-53 pennies, no MEs, nothing. The KNs are most significant as I don't believe they were ever that rare, the inference being that they had all been withdrawn from circulation by collectors. 12Hs were quite common and 18 and 19Hs would come in from time to time, but no more than half a dozen each during the whole period - and usually horrid. So yes, I think the rarer coins have survived in disproportionally high numbers. I do not however agree with your assertion that 1967 pennies could ever be sought after in any shape or form!

Hey, that's fascinating. Perhaps we should put the millions of missing farthings in the same category as the eleven lost tribes of Israel and the conundrum of where flies go in the winter. I admit that your 2,500 is a start, but this is scarcely improved by my 10. Other than coin collectors, I know of nobody who admits to having any, so where are they all?

I think if we all added up our collections, we could amass a fair number of pieces, but don't forget we are looking at four and threequarter billion missing coins as being in the hands of collectors or at the back of Joe Soap's bottom drawer. Doesn't seem likely does it?

Ever since it arrived, about a month ago, I have been trawling through the reprint of Michael Freeman’s ‘The Bronze Coinage of Great Britain’. When I came to page 200 which contains an explanation of rarity symbols and a note of the number of coins melted down by the Royal Mint, I paused. To put this information in a nutshell, these are the approximate number of coins withdrawn by the mint for melting as compared with the total number produced: Farthings: 8 million out of a total production of 750 million; Halfpennies: 500 million out of a total production of 2,400 million; Pennies: 2,000 million out of a total production of 4,100 million. To put it another way there is 4/6d in loose change still knocking around for every man, woman and child in the country! My first thought was that this information had not been updated since the book was originally published in 1970 (i.e. before the mass withdrawals resulting from decimalisation), but this does not explain perhaps the most surprising conclusion – that 95% of all bronze farthings made (demonetised 1960) still exist. Now, I don’t like to doubt the great man’s word, but I find this wholly unbelievable. If the figures were reduced by a factor of ten, I would still find them difficult to believe. Speaking personally, I have just over £1 worth of pre-decimal bronze knocking around the house –I am however, a collector and therefore have an excuse. But to expect every dwelling in the country to contain a similar amount of obsolete coinage stretches the bounds of credibility beyond breaking point.

Not thinking of demolishing a great public building just to get a George III halfpenny, are you Josie?

This is a tradition in some areas. I found an 1885 halfpenny under the bath of my first house. Mind you, the house was built in 1964, so it was pretty grim...

The crazy thing about that, is they will spend Euros in Harrods for instance, but if they were forced to, they would revolt. Doesn't bother me none, all the fun went out of our currency in 1971!

Seems increasingly unlikely on a formal level, but most major chains will accept Euros (why did they have to choose this silly name?). In fact as many UK citizens spend an increasing amount of time in Europe, it is becoming a kind of second currency; so the answer I guess is officially no, unofficially maybe.

Good question. I reckon if it was safe to do so and I could remove the plug without damaging the coin or possibly the plug I would remove the plug, but keep it. That way if I ever came to sell or give the coin away it could be refitted (if possible) at the new owner’s request. It would have to be an exceptional coin and I would only remove the plug to save the coin. It would be a shame in years to come if there were no nice examples left for future generations to enjoy.

From my recollection, the cause of this incompatability is called 'electrolytic corrosion' which is the same reason why a steel bolt into an aluminium component on your car (e.g. a brake cylinder) will be impossible to remove.

Thanks everyone, this has been most helpful. I have checked out the Colin Cooke site and in the context of what is essentially a very scarce category of coins, it would appear that plugs only penetrating into, rather than through the piece are not that unusual. But what a complicated way of making a low value coin...

Thanks Rob, It is an odd one, but looks pretty genuine and due to the existence of faily clear edge lettering and lustre, clearly has not been cast. If it is a modern forgery, it is an extremely good one as everything about it, apart from the plug looks 'right'. Has anybody come across a forged tin coin?