ozjohn

Just for the record Australia minted 1937 and 1937 crowns which proved unpopular as they wore holes in people's pockets so the story goes.

In your system first past the post is the winner. That's what the pollies will be taking notice off. You can cut and carve it as much as you like but that's what it boils down to.

What vote, both the Tories and Labor lost out big time as both parties ignored the results of the original referendum. It seems to come down the Brexit party representing the leavers and the Lib/Democrats the remainders. looking from Australia it can only be interpreted as a resounding result for the leavers and will increase the pressure on the Tory remainders who will be slaughtered at the next general election if they ignore the message the electorate is sending. I can tell you one thing when it comes to a choice for a polly, principle or being reelected they will chose the latter every time. As for people who cannot be bothered to vote. That's their problem. Either get your butts to the polling station or miss out. If you cannot do that you can only blame yourselves. The ability of the Poms to not vote and then complain about the result beggars belief. If they had voted at the original referendum perhaps there would have been a different result, who knows but that's irrelevant, they should have voted.

The silence is deafening after the EU election results where the Brexit party achieved stunning results A second referendum without having a second referendum? In any case a result that the Tories & Labor ignore at their peril.

Child poverty? I think Australia is similar to the UK in this regard. Much is said about it. However when parents stop spending money on smoking, booze, gambling , drugs etc. and start to look after their children would be a good start in combatting it. Much of it is child neglect by parents. Not sure what this has to do with Brexit.

With respect to the EU elections the Tories might start taking notice of the people they "serve". The people voted for out at the referendum so another one of those is unnecessary in any case on the EU results would only produce the same result and would only provide ammunition for Stoddard's obsession for Scottish independence. As for the Ireland border this is surely a matter of the respective governments not the EU and is more motivated by the Irish Republic's territorial ambitions for the unification of Ireland than any regard for the peace agreements. which would have probably happened much earlier if the Irish government had supported them earlier rather than letting the issues fester to support their ambitions for a united Ireland.

Surely the condition the coin leaves the mint defines the grade. It's too easy to just assume a weakly struck coin has been circulated. A lazy approach. Each coin should be appraised on its merits and any defects noted. This is the strength of the Shelden system where MS 60 defines the coin as UNC and higher grades awarded on lack of bag marks, lustre etc. Not that the TPGs are consistent in their grading which is their weakness.

I'm no expert on Canadian silver dollars but I would think the bullion price plus a premium would be a significant part of the price.. I do remember seeing a very nice 1930s George V silver dollar being sold for about $AU 50. As an aside Colonial Coins & Medals, Brisbane had some slabbed Canadian gold ten dollar coins.

I don't know about Canadian silver dollars in the UK but I've managed to buy a few over the years here in Australia.

Nice coin. You might like to look for an Australian 1937 crown which is sterling silver. Of course Canadian silver dollars are always desirable coins.

Corbyn seems to be pursuing policies even more left of Labor in Australia who were defeated at last Saturday's general election even after all of the polls predicting their victory. I suspect the same will happen in the UK if the Tories deliver Brexit (renegotiated - unlikely given the EU's position) or a hard exit. I suspect the Tory party will change their tune on this issue when facing a electoral wipeout with the rise of the Brexit Party under Farage.

Sorry about the picture quality but it was scanned at high resolution.

PS the original scan was 5,25 MB limited to 0.375 MB for the post. Sorry I got the max upload wrong by several orders of magnitude, However the one I posted is close to the limit of 0.49 MB and the same comment regarding upload limit still applies,

Rob, The higher resolution scan for your consideration. This is close to 400 MB with a limit of 500m MB , If you want better perhaps the 500 MB limit needs to be increased. Ozjohn

Another coin I have a 1890 florin, The obverse IMO is gEF/UNC while the reverse is a weak strike. Again opinions sought. How do you come up with an overall grade for a coin like this. It has to be said I like this coin a lot and not considering an up grade. Not sure why the line is through the last two sentences.

Thanks Vicky. I would look at the coin and grade it up and then another time down grade it. I just could not make up my mind. I have an 1816 halfcrown as well but that one gEF/UNC is easy to establish. The Reprographics book helped to put it between VF and EF but the micro grade was hard to be certain. I think in the higher grades micrograding becomes more important. This is what IMO makes the Sheldon grading more useful in this area. Others will disagree but there you go it would be a dull world if everybody thought the same. Regards, Ozjohn

Thanks for the reply. I notice for your example the laurel crown holds up well but wear is evident on the King's face. Whereas the opposite is true for my example.

Thanks, it's always easy to be more forgiving of coins you own.

The question posed was asking the forum's opinion on whether the coin was worn through circulation or as the result of a soft strike. I think it's a soft strike myself as the King's face seems to be free of wear. However a second opinion would be nice. As for upgrading that's something to consider at a later date. As it happens even if I up graded it I would probably keep the coin in question.

This coin is another one I have trouble distinguishing between wear and weak strike. A 1817 bullhead halfcrown. I took a good look at the grading examples in the Rotographic guide to grading coins book and came to the conclusion that my coin is much better that the VF example given in the book.. On the obverse of my coin the top middle laurel leaf has no veins with further weakness in the rim of the ear. An area above the laurel crown's upper middle leaf seems lower than the leaf and as a result not fully struck. However the King's cheeks and the rest of the face seem free of wear. In general cheeks and eyebrows show the first signs of early wear. On the reverse further weakness close to the buckle of the garter and some of the roses on the rim of the garter are weakly struck while others are fully struck. Weakness is also apparent on the Hanover shield. If this is wear I would grade the coin as gVF+/ aEF and for a weak strike I would grade it EF. My dilemma is. Do I upgrade or live with the coin I have as collecting is always a question of prioritizing and I may be better keeping this coin and investing in a coin that I do not have yet? All comments observations etc. are appreciated.

My latest from Colonial Antiques, NZ. An 1862 CGS 65. Sorry about the photo as I did it on my laptop as I'm away from home.

I have an E book called The Identification of British 20th. Century Silver Coin Varieties which discusses all the varieties of the 1928 halfcrown obverses and reverses with photos also including the rocking test described in this thread. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Identification-British-Century-Silver-Varieties/dp/1445753014I Perhaps this may be of use for this discussion.

I can't fault your half equations. The corrosion process for iron is similar to what I suggested for the 50% silver coins except in this case cathodic and anodic sites form on the iron; surface. A process not fully understood but work hardening seems to be implicated. Water contaminated with sulfurous acid, oxygen etc. forms the electrolyte and you have all the conditions for rust. What I described is one of many corrosion mechanisms and may well be responsible to the formation of verdigris on 50% silver coins if the copper is poorly melted with the silver due to the difference in melting temperatures forming the cathodic sites. The electrolyte comes from handling, sneezing and breathing over coin and the normal atmosphere contaminants . I still think a cleaning (one acceptable to coin collectors) and handling the coins with gloves prior slabbing would protect coins from contamination prior to slabbing and should help to minimize corrosion. From my own experience. I have kept a large amount of old 50% coins in a draw for over 20 years and never noticed the formation of verdigris on any of them. No attempt to degrease them has been done.

Contamination is not the prime cause corrosion. For corrosion to take place cathodic and anodic sites must be present on the surface of the coin and the contamination aids the conduction of electricity between the two sites causing a chemical reaction and thus corrosion. In this case the Cu has not melted properly because of its higher melting point and along with Ag forms the other half of the corrosion cell with a potential of 0.28 v between them ( Cu. valency 1, cupric). If the alloy for the coin blanks had been properly prepared the corrosion would not take place despite the presence of contamination on the coin. Of course removing contamination from the coin's surface prior to slabbing would be a good idea and should be given some thought by TPGs. Given this verdigris is as a result of the manufacturing of the coin blanks prior to the minting process not the slabbing. Of course it is still unsightly and damaging to the coin. In conclusion the seed for corrosion was planted in the coin long before it was slabbed.

Perhaps verdigris formation should be seen as part of the minting process of 50% silver coins as it is most probably due to incomplete melting of the component metals as copper melts at a higher temperature than silver. In theory this should not happen if the alloy is properly made. As for bronze coins the metal used is inherently subject to attack.