ozjohn

Neighbours or neighbors?

A most informative read thanks. WW1 not withstanding it still took a long time to solve a quality issue which did not enhance the Mint's reputation. Ghosting for example was a feature of Edward bronze coins.

Very nice.

Thhanks Paulus.

Excuse my ignorance but can somebody tell me what ESC is?

I saw the errors that were made by the spell check but I didn't have the heart to change them. They were too good.

Two up was serious business in Sydney where there was Thommo's two up school at Surry Hills an inner Sydney suburb in days gone past. There was the spinner who tossed the coins balanced on a strip of wood and a cockatoo who kept watch in case the coppers turned up. Two up is only legal on ANZAC day and in Casinos.

I can understand the mint's desire to enhance their profits by selling proofs but to describe their currency issues as dull is a little unfair. I have a 2000 currency sovereign which is very well struck from what looks like polished dies of which old style proof/specimen coins were struck with rather than the frosted proofs of today. High quality coins struck for general circulation with what looks like polished dies can be seen from both the RM and RAM's production.

Recently I looked at the TV series Peaky Blunders and two things struck me. Firstly in the first episode people were playing two up in Birmingham UK. I always thought two up as an Australian gambling game. As most of the players were WW1 vets this may explain it as I am sure both UK and Australian vets would have mingled when on leave etc. Maybe two up is much older than I thought. For people who are unfamiliar with two up it is a gambling game based on the result of tossing two pennies . Secondly small change is showen in several episodes with worn Edward pennies visible. As the period for this show is 1919 they would still look like new coins! A blooper perhaps.

The Royal Mint has a coin authentication service don't know how much it costs also it was rumored that they would keep the coin if it was found to be counterfeit http://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/about-us/historical-and-coinage-advice/index.html

That's a shame. I gave the name as Ray when it should have been Robert. Sorry for the mistake.

I agree an independent opinion is always useful. However I was wondering how CGS determine if a coin is genuine or not. There is also this web site that could help http://www.coinauthentication.co.uk/index.html . Ray Mathews runs a coin authentication service that employs scientific tests and may be of more use given the potential of the coin's value . I have no connection with this company whatsoever but I think the methods employed by this service may be more conclusive than CGS who again I have no connection with other than purchasing some coins from London Coins.

Experience!

Given CGS poor judgement in some of their grading what confidence is there with their judgement on if a coin is genuine or not? Do they conduct some special test or is it just weight dimensions etc. plus their experiance?

I can remember seeing a 1922 GB florin in gold at a coin fair in Sydney back in the 1980s. When I asked about it I was told that it was struck for Egypt which seems to confirm what has been said previously.

Perhaps we could keep this thread on track. The matters raised in the previous but one post could be better explored in the Free For All area.

Just to add to this post without contradicting my earlier comments. One part of a coin that is useful for grading high grade coins is a careful examination of the condition of the milled edge to check if it is sharp througout and right at the edge of the coin. As many coins are poorly minted flat areas on the design exist on the highest parts of the design due to poor mint quality. A nice crisp edge and reeding to the milled rim may help in estimating a coin's true grade. Unfortuneatly for many encapsulated coins the edge is not visable and this cannot be used for grading perhaps an argument against many 3rd party graders although NGC show some of the edge for their encapsulated coins.

Sorry remember.

Thanks for reminding me Abbot ale was a notable exception in a bleak world. I can rember a couple of trips ago drinking this brew in a tiny pub in Bury St. Edmunds called the Nutshell.

Spent some time in Germany during trip to Europe. No complaints about the beer there.

I've seen Fuller's ESB in bottles don't know about on tap.

Just returned from Europe after spending a month in the UK and had a good time driving around the country. London - Harrowgate - Seahouses - Penrith - Chester - Fairford - London. I didn't find many coins my best buy was a 1935 UNC penny at GBP 4.50 from secondhand shop in Rye. One thing I noticed was most of the ale was about 4% way down from what I saw in the past where it was close to 5%. For example Speckled hen was about 4% where as in the past it was 5.2% and the OG of about 1045 was declared. This may be fine for AA but it does nothing for the taste. No wonder the pubs are going broke if they serve up tasteless beer. The only exception I saw was a Green King ale at 5% on tap in a pub. You still seem to be able to still get the full strength product in the 500ml bottles for example Adman's Broardside at 6.3% and Hook Norton 12 Days at 5.5%. London pride was 4.8% in the bottle and can up from 4%.

With reference to my earlier post should read shallow relief not narrow relief. Sorry if there is any confusion.

I thought I had a reverse B and sent a picture to Micheal who confirmed it was. It was a narrow relief on the reverse which was different from the example that Micheal had. I brought it from NGS in Florida as a MS 62 which was a rare case where the grading was correct as I don't think NGS understood the poor strikes of that period.

Try Micheal Coins site where different reverses of 1920 halfcrowns are presented in his lists of UK coins.