Colin G.

Politics and forums is never a good idea..are we sure we want to head down this route...we end up arguing over whether a coin should be encased in plastic

I just get concerned that in 40 years we have progressed to this position, how much time is needed to make these "changes". If we haven't been able to make them by now what chance do we have in the future.

Couldn't agree more

Out.....it is all about decision making and making our elected representatives responsible for their actions, and that is something we currently can not do whilst in Europe. It is a geographical region made up of different cultures, lifestyles, and political parties that all rightly pull for their own interests. This is not what I want for my country where decisions are made that may not necessarily suit us. Whether you believe in an increase in migration or want to control immigration, this is a debate we can have as a nation after we have left the EU and we will actually be able to control the outcome this time, and hold our elected members accountable for the outcome. I see guidance for construction introduced from Europe, and you can see how a perfectly workable British Standard that was created by a working party with input from interested parties in each in individual field is replaced by a standard that tries to do the same thing across EU but you can see the bureaucratic involvement within. For example all religious buildings are exempt from the energy efficiency requirements, this aspect was introduced by European guidance. The result is that any religious building in the UK does not have to meet the same energy efficiency requirements that all other buildings in the UK would under Building Regulations. They are all exempt from any energy conservation requirements. It is understood this was introduced because of the number of small orthodox churches in Greece and other EU countries..but the guidance has to be applied to all building that fall into the category. We are constantly told that control for Local Authorities needs to be devolved because we are trying to apply Government guidance and that "one size does not fit all" across the country...and yet we are now being told that the exact opposite is beneficial in Europe. Don't be blinded by the argument that environmental and equality issues were the positive aspect of the EU, as a nation we have always tried to do the right thing and I do believe that if we had not been in the EU we would still have the same moral principles that we do now regarding the environment and equality, in fact we may have been leading the way!! Finally I find it quite bizarre that we tell the rest of the world how they must sit around the table to negotiate in areas where conflict is present, and then groups of people on both sides of this debate who normally would not politically align on other issues can not stand together on a stage and campaign for what they supposedly believe in for this debate...I think a lot of those involved need to take a good look at themselves. If anyone thinks they are going to get truthful facts on this debate...I would not hold your breath...they are unlikely to surface. My gut instinct tells me that we need to be out and if I am wrong then I will live with the consequences..I just want my politicians to take the same responsibility for their actions like I will and that is achieved by voting out.

That's how I know it went above £200, I got outbid as well

@mrbadexample I am sure it was higher than £200

If its any help it went past £200...I was struggling to keep up writing all of the prices down and waving my hand in the air at the same time and watching the budget I have never been very good at muti tasking..if you did get it, it was a nice example

I feel really bad because I didn't get all the viewing done yesterday, therefore I was still viewing this morning, and by the time I finished, the lots I was after were up. Once bidding had finished on the ones I wanted the pennies started, so I saw you guys from a distance but didn't want to chat to you whilst the penny lots were on and then just wanted to get home Honestly I am not ignorant I was in a grey jumper and wearing a very stylish beard The farthings were quite strong in places, with top graded slabs really pushing prices up but them others were quite favourable. I left the penny boys to it, but there seemed to be a few phone bidders waiting for some.

What Bob said

I am hoping to be there...but it will depend on how things go at LCA this weekend

There are quite a few slabbed that are not...so it is bizarre they went the other way with this one

How big is "big"...

Wouldn't particularly bother me, for research purposes I would rather have the higher grade with faults, however I do inevitably end up trying to replace these with a fault free example with time, but like Jaggy I have given up rushing...good things come to those who wait

Yes they both seem to be that type, I would be interested in an images of the coin if possible (both sides).

It really is difficult to be certain from photos, and as Ian says grading by microscope can be useful in circumstances but inevitably will be a bit harsher. If you grade all your coins by microscope you will soon be left with a very small collection

When proof coins are struck the dies are normally polished to ensure that a nice mirror finish results once the coin is struck. Remember those areas of the design in relief(raised) would be incuse (sunk) on a die. This is what often produces a "cameo" appearance, because the polishing affects the fields (flat areas of the coin) but the sunken parts are often not polished so when a coin is struck, the hairlines appear to stop in areas where the coin is in relief. This also explains why what would be a scratch on the die is inverted when the coin is struck and appears as a raised hairline. Forgive me if you understand the terminology, I just thought it may be easier for people to understand who may not be familiar.

Vicky keep going with the terminology, I am sure I will start to use it one day.....enough repetition and it should start to sink in

There are as you say very different reasons behind such coins. The majority would be errors caused at the mint when a planchet (blank coin) has accidentally got mixed in with another batch of planchets for a different coin. For example if a two pence blank got mixed into the blanks for the 10 pence coins the result would be a 10p coin but with the colour appearance of a two pence. As for rarity it really does depend, most would be fairly limited in numbers and some may even be unique, but they are strictly error coins and therefore tend to be collected by error collectors. I suppose you could also theoretically get mint workers playing silly sods and dropping a few different planchets into the batch. Whereas it is not unusual for specific coins to be struck on a blank of a different material intentionally. This may have been for release as part of a set, such as the silver 10p and 1p pieces, for VIP's or it could have just been an attempt to try a strike on a different material to look at other material options for striking. Such examples are usually recorded when issued and therefore it can often be determined that they were intentionally struck rather than an error. A simplified explanation but hopefully it may answer some of your questions.

The picture in set above 1927 HC2.jpg is a good example of die polish lines, you can see the hairlines in the fields, but the hairlines on the whole do not continue across the raised lettering or the raised parts of the forehead...which would be some very precise cleaning. Therefore logic would indicate that these lines were marks made by polishing the die and therefore the marks would have only been on the fields, because on the die at the time of polishing the raised areas we see on the coin would have actually been incuse. Hopefully that makes sense

Some of those do just look like die polish lines but the ones on the crown and especially the florin look a bit more worrying, wait for some of the others to chip in, have a good look at the hairlines under magnification if they are die polish lines they are theoretically raised on the coins surface so the way the light reflects could also help you determine this. I have an 1839 proof farthing that appears to have hairlines, but they are clearly die polish marks under magnification. As Noodle says at the end of the day you have to be happy with your purchase

Are you sure its cleaned, if you are referring to those hairlines, they appear to only be in the fields which would indicate they are die polishing marks. Otherwise the lines would continue across the raised areas. Edit - Just had a look at all the photos..I see what you mean Oops

Yes the 6 has been recut in that example, but this occurs on a frequent basis with digits with tails, where a slight rotation becomes easily noticeable, therefore it is not something I would include on the website at present.

My first reaction would have been that the light patch was caused by surface damage and therefore the side of the 8 has been squashed. However if you are adamant that it is not damage, then the fat 8 over thin 8 would also be a possibility. The 5 I would suggest is a recut 5, with just the tip of the 5 still evident. Still not convinced on the 5/3 theory, but one which I am literally on the edge of trying to prove/disprove. I have a pool of 1865 coins to study closely to see whether it is even feasible (using overlays) that an 1865/3 could exist. I think it may just be fill on the digit caused by a recut 5. I will try and resolve shortly

Well that snowballed rather quickly Enjoy.....it does look like a nice set

Apples biggest sales boost...Windows 10!! Moved to a Mac after upgrading to Windows 10....thats how bad it was