secret santa

Bruce Lorich ?

I've just consulted my database of rare penny sales and I have details of 3 x die 2, 3 x die 3, 6 x die 4 and 1 x die 5 being sold over the last 12 years. I really must get out more.....

Yep, got a Magna Carta £2 down here in south Oxfordshire today. Still no sign of that battleship or Brittania yet.

I've just looked in Gouby's book and his picture of reverse m is not very good - it doesn't clearly show the tiny rock near the linear circle or the one to the right of the lighthouse (the pic on my website is much better - yah, boo). Definitely a reverse m (Freeman K). Hopefully Chris has also used my photo in the new Freeman book (or will include it in the next version). R

Picture please Rob so that we know what we're discussing. R

Nice coins

Vicky - thanks for not going higher - when I bid the £7250 I immediately regretted it but was sure that someone would overbid me and that I'd bid no higher - but now that I've got it, I'm pleased that I did bid. Often happens that way, and often happens that I wished I'd bid higher on something ! I also used to open slabs with a hammer but when I ruined a gem BU 1867 penny I resorted to the hacksaw method - much more effective. In fact, I now leave them in the slabs - proof of their grade !

Well, I'm convinced there are different 3's.

Just checked my spares - only got one 1931 but it's the same "open" 3 so it may well be fairly common.

When I was a lad, they used to say that the camera never lies. Different versions of the truth, maybe ?????

Slip of the keyboard there - I think Peter means Verdicare, not verdigris !

Hear, hear - John has helped me with copper varieties in the past and pointed me to a couple of excellent pennies on Ebay.

George Best, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali - another of my idols bites the dust

I couldn't see this Dave - do i need special permission ?

I'll compile a list and make it available.

Superb - May I use the picture on my Varieties website please ?

They're up already. The 1932 proof didn't photograph very well as it's in a slab and my 1934 photo doesn't capture the mirror finish - but they are both lovely !

Thanks guys, I need to sell some spares......fast !!

F192A, 1932 & 34 proofs

Got my 3 on Thursday and they're all beauties (but they should be - cost me a fortune).

Super pictures - what is your final configuration of camera, lights etc ?

Very perceptive Vicky !!!!

Laurie Bamford told me several years ago that they were prone to doing this but yet I've won lots with less than my maximum so I'm not sure exactly how it works. It might be just possible that there were several postal bids that just happened to climax at your maximum bid and that's why they opened the bidding at that level. That would be genuine if a little coincidental.

As a buyer, I much prefer this sort of auction as it allows me to take an overall view of the lots and bid accordingly whereas on a lot by lot basis in a normal auction, once a lot has gone you have no chance to go back and increase a bid when you realise that you could and should have bid higher. As a seller, like Matt says, I've no idea of the size of audience for Colin Cooke's sale but suspect it may be smaller than the big auction houses.

My websites all use the Illustrator style - not chosen scientifically from a review of all styles - other styles may well be better but I just happened to choose this one as a total beginner and it was straightforward to use. You link the website through your "signature".