damian1986

Schöne patina! Doesn't score very highly on the flash index for sparkle though.

Nice and interesting story behind the coin. These don't seem that easy to get hold of.

I guess there's a good-sized market for coins outside of those who study and collect - for example those who can afford to buy lavish art and then spot this and can't resist: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1899-Great-Britain-Queen-Victoria-Penny-Nice-visible-necklace-on-the-queen-/221165087813?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item337e776c45 Compare the amount of hair in the queen head to see the quality. Take a look at the scans and the beauty of this note will shine your eyes wanting you to own it, nice as good as the the day it was made. Beautiful condition. That note coin isn't really in high enough grade for me though so I'm inclined to buy this more modestly marketed piece: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1899-UK-Great-Britain-Large-VICTORIAN-Penny-BEST-YOU-HAVE-SEEN-/321188574108?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4ac854b39c

Rob yes that example is in my collection... There appear to be nicks to the rim beneath the date too, and I would have thought that they should bring it down a grade or two.

You save: $199 http://www.ebay.com/itm/1874H-Farthing-1-4p-NGC-population-1-HIGHEST-GRADED-AND-ONLY-ONE-NGC-MS65-/321213132944?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4ac9cb7090

There are nearly as many mule 20ps listed as there are farthings. At what point can we replace 'mule' with 'first issue Dent' or something?

Hah thank you I guess it isn't too bad an effort (I'm my own worst critic) but definitely room for improvement having held the coin in hand. As I say the lustre is pinker / redder and I think the shadows are a bit misleading as to where the coin is very lightly toned. Something to experiment with - the link is excellent thanks. Seems to be a wholly hobby in itself I'm going to play around with a few (inexpensive) approaches. Thanks - yes I think some very quick post-processing can make the world of difference and fairly easy to do.

5 over a higher 5. Lustre is pinker than I've been able to capture in the photo. This is my first 'proper' attempt at a photo and not a very good one. Brightness and contrast altered in photoshop. Incidentally did a separate thread for photography get created in the end as I can't find it? Got my eye on a couple of lamps and would like your thoughts.

The 1902 florin - Britannia emancipated... In 1987 52 designs by 14 designers were submitted to the mint. The winner was Philip Nathan. His 1987 Britannia design is based on the 1902 florin. Credit to Coin Gallery and Coin Quest for some of these images.

Later we see the Victorian bunhead reverse and in 1953 the penny reverse got a slight redesign, borrowing form the Victorian bunhead Britannia (a lighthouse appears and more drapery).

1797 saw the introduction of the trident to the pennies and two pence coins. The William Wyon designs are a whole discussion in themselves. My (overwhelming) favourite is the reverse of the Pestrucci-head farthings of George IV.

The 1665 pattern, inscription Quatuor Maria Vindico ("I claim the four seas"), was probably the one used for the 1672 currency farthing.

I've just finished reading an article written by Katherine Eustace entitled Britannia: Some High Points in the History of the Iconography on British Coinage. It traces the history of the Britannia designs and suggests that the designs evolution was greatly inspired by significant social, political and economic factors. It's an interesting read with a handful of plates. So I'm wondering - which of the Britannia designs is your favourite? Britannia first appears in Roman coins. With the restoration of the monarchy Britannia appears first in a medal (1660) and then in a number of farthing patterns.

Thanks for the excellent responses here I'm glad I posted.

Hard work doesn't always equate to more money, and when it does, you will still be faced with the dilemma of only being able to afford the earth and not the earth + the 62 moons of Saturn. You are right though - it boils down to wanting everything instantly and I like your point about setting realistic goals. Hah good point. I suppose then if you're happy with the VF or EF coins and feel they do justice to the date run it's fine. Tied in with Rob's point I think having clearer defined and financially realistic goals will help. This particular goal could be changed to "I want all the Edward VII shillings in EF+ except for 1905, for which I want a nice VF" and I guess there's no rush. I think I'd be pretty happy with this At the same time?

I have a few problems with this statement so I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this. The highest graded coin you can afford may be a 1905 shilling in BU but for what this costs you could pick up every other Edward VII shilling (and probably a handful of Victorian old head shillings) in BU. You collect bronze and copper but would like to put together a set of Edward VII florins for example - collecting only the highest graded florins would be at the expense of adding to your copper collection. Without actually getting your mitts on a whole bunch of coins you're not going to learn much about say, the British Sixpence or some other denomination outside of your main focus

If anyone is looking for an 1873 farthing in EF then look no further than this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-1873-Queen-Victoria-Hair-In-Bun-EF-Toothed-Beads-Bronze-Farthing-/271370483828?pt=UK_Coins_BritishMilled_RL&hash=item3f2ef0f874 He neglects to mention it but it's a low set 3 so this may make up for it having been run through a washing machine. I'm also quite smitten with this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-1897-Queen-Victoria-Veiled-EF-Toothed-Beads-Bronze-Penny-/271374217972?pt=UK_Coins_BritishMilled_RL&hash=item3f2f29f2f4 But I think it may have been weakly struck.