Colin G.

I haven't stretched to patterns.It is an attractive silver disc though. It would also currently not fit into my collecting habits...however saying that I have looked at a few of the Brussels Hoard There are some nice farthings in there, but the ones I would go for are out of my budget at the moment and the estimates are quite strong all things considered....oh well until the next time!!

Welcome to the forum ,great introduction, it sounds like you have quite a collection, we could definitely do with more farthing fans on here....there are too many of these penny boys now

I think I may be less fussy than most, but that is mainly due to the fact that I want to study varieties first, and the easiest way is to pick up the coins that may have the odd blemish/knock. I know that may not be the most prudent from a re-sale perspective but it helps with my budget. However once the first study aspect has been carried out, I do find that I then upgrade based on aesthetics. I do like a nice lustred coin, but there are some dog ugly lustred coins out there I do not look for a specific tone to get my collection to match, I tend to just like eye appeal (in the end) whether it be through an even tone, or a light underlying luster. The bizarre thing I find is that I do not like finger prints, I would rather have a larger carbon spot than a print, and minor edge knocks do not cause me major concern either, whereas I know others hate them.

Wise advice...always good to have a focus to a collection, but if you don't know what that is yet, try a trip to a local coin fair to give you some ideas and an opportunity to look at various collecting areas in the flesh

I have had mixed results on copper/bronze, it depends on how thick and what type of lacquer is used, I have had best results with the coins where the lacquer is even and thinly applied, but it really is a case of luck!!

Oh dear that's another addiction started

That's very weird. Who on earth PAYS for an email address these days? I think they must mean "hotmail-type" email addresses (MS Live, Gmail, etc), but it would help if they said so. Is Yahoo! the same type as Gmail? Do you not have any email addresses as offered by your ISP? If not, I would take up one of them and use it for registration at sites like that. Never heard of that forum Richard or why registration is not possible

I can understand your logic and it may be worth investigating, but I just could not see anything being that controlled at that time. I think it is more likely to be a feature related to the individual worker to some extent, but even then the amount of variables would inevitably lead to variations in appearance that would also question the reliability of the study. If we all did a similar exercise with paper and scissors, there would be some repetition in the principles each of use (the way we hold the paper and scissors, the size of the cuts we adopt etc.) and whilst it may be possible to identify some of the discs coming from specific persons, I would doubt that it would be possible to reliably allocate them all to individual persons. I also hope that makes sense!!

Tell me about it, so much temptation but such a small pot of cash

Hello and welcome, Tony Clayton has a list on his site that may be of use http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/dec50.html

Hello Bob, Yes, Michael has quick a good article on his website reagrding pennies, clearer in explanation than above and with some images, but the feature extends to Halfpennies, probably Farthings too The feature does not manifest itself in the same way on farthings due to the portrait size in relation to the flan. Die clashes are still sometimes visible, the 1840 2 prong being an excellent example (especially on the reverse), but the ribbon like feature does not occur as far as I am aware.

I'm to tired. It's to much effort. I'll leave it too you. I couldn't be fucking bothered too be honest. classic

Along with a dozen hubcaps, 4 mobile phones, a sovereign ring and the keys to an Escort XR3. All in a sack marked 'Swag'. Got a lovely tan whilst down there

You can always still encounter iron signals even with the best discrimination. There will also be multiple modes. There is a good forum detectorist.co.uk and I am sure an xterra user on there will be able to assist with settings etc. They are all so different so it would be important to talk to someone with the same machine. Where are you located, there may be a dealer nearby who could also help.

These were from a weekend in Essex, a day was on a charity rally, and the other two days were on a rally organised by a friend. I do have local land as well, and it is just a case of getting the landowners permission beforehand. Only finds that come under the treasure act are recordable, however I do record anything of interest with UKDFD which is a hobby sponsored datatbase which records/coins and artefacts. This was a very good weekend of finds, it is just great fun to be out in the fresh air, and it is a great buzz when you find something.

Next photo...

Thought this may be of interest to some of you, had a weekend away detecting last week, and below are some of mine and my wife's finds. I know we have had discussions about silver toning on buried coins, so here are some that are as found (other than a light swill). Sorry about the small pics, the camera battery is dead so they are phone pics Three voided long cross pennies, one full two cut halves 1915 Shilling - very bright and must have been in great condition when lost - much brighter than the pics show Queen Anne 6d smooth as a babies bum!! Henry VI? halfpenny - still checking!! In the artefacts are a Georgian fob seal, a Victorian silver buckle ring and a ring brooch

My kind of music too

That means I am related to Peter

Nice Penny, it looks similar to some tickets I have that I think are Ex Dr E.A.Johnstone, but I am sure Rob will be able to shed some light on it

But my personal favourite is the Victorian copper series farthing portrait, I think it is much more appealing than both the halfpenny and penny portraits...but I may be slightly biased

Got to love the contrast between George IV on the two farthing types, he must have undergone some major plastic surgery

Yes but the NGC pronged one is not the most aesthetically pleasing and the prongs themselves can cover a portion of the design on smaller denominations.

Been there done it more than once I agree choose what is attractive to you, the chances are that if and when you do come to sell, another buyer will probably take the same view.....hopefully

It certainly looks as if it was cleaned in the past (the black streak could be a result of uneven cleaning). However, don't check against your 1896 farthing for mint darkening, as that didn't start until 1897; all 1896 farthings were bright. Bronze coins often go dark when they have started to wear - mint toning is most evident on UNC coins, and has a kind of dark blue/purple sheen. I agree that it looks cleaned rather than a coin that has escaped the artificial darkening process