Colin G.

Peter I was also watching that one!!

I may also be interested in some!!

Ah but theirs is encased in plastic which makes it twice as expensive!!

And no farthings minted in 1870, 1871, 1877 & 1889..oh and they were only minted up to 1956

In my time detecting i have never found a genuine G3 shilling, but have found about 4-5 fakes. They must have been real conmen in this area

Scott I am always a bit sceptical about the unbarred A's unless the coin is a crisp UNC on which there is no trace of the centre bar. On many farthings in circulated grades with even the slightest amount of dirt etc. the appearance of unbarred A's is given, however upon closer inspection traces can be found. These areas of the dies, must have filled quite quickly resulting in poor horizontal bars. Without seeing the coin in hand and checking through a loop it will be impossible to tell, and even then it may be inconclusive. Not to say it isn't an interesting feature, but one that is difficult to confirm/dismiss.

Scott, That looks to me very much like the 5 over 5 where the curve of the 5 can be clearly seen. This is sometimes accompanied by the 3 also being over a 2, but the only tell tale sign will be the loop of the two extending past the top of the 3. If you have a look at my 1853 page you will see what I mean. As for the mishape of the 5 without a closer/clearer image I would be inlcined to agree that it will be damage to the coin which in many cases can create the look of another digit, or an unexplainable feature. If you can get a macro shot of the date, I may be able to confirm.

They are a kids toy too, so you can pick them up real cheap!!

I also have a digital blue microscope...they are great, but a pain with windows vista.

Jamie the second one is a Victorian Crown

The copper farthings were only produced up to 1859, with handful of 1860 and 1864 farthings produced, but they were not for circulation. I would be amazed if such a rare none circulation coin had ended up being subject to that much circulation. Not impossible but certainly unlikely. The 1864 farthings also have a raised I before the incuse WW. I think you would struggle to get a positive attribution on a coin in that condition.

Scott, This is a common feature on some 1873 farthings, and can also be found by the date on certain die varieties just above the 8. May be a clashed die (like the striations shown Here )but I haven't yet had a look whether there is a match in the design on the obverse, or there could be another explanation. Have a look at reverse 5 here>> You certainly are an observant collector Scott!!

That is the exact approach I have taken in the past . We are all capable of mistakes, but at least try and put it right

Bought a fairly low value hammered farthing, received a package a few days later with the wrong coin in it. Contacted seller and explained, he said the correct coin would be posted out, no apology. A few days later still no coin, contacted him again, he said that he was keeping my coin and would not send it out until I had returned the other coin to him at my cost. To try and resolve things amicably, I returned the coin at my expense back to him, still no apology or thanks for returning the incorrect coin at my expense. Several weeks later still no coin, and I am out of pocket for returning the coin back to him that he sent by mistake!! It has been a long time since I felt the need to issue a neg, but it may be happening soon!!

They would probably auction it through their site like they have done in the past

It cost me a fair few quid, so I am hoping there are not too many out there

My latest purchase, and a farthing error I have never seen before, or even seen recorded. It is an 1874H with the O in Victoria having been repunched sideways. Similar to the G/G but with the O this time. I would be interested in knowing if anyone else has seen this variety recorded before. I am unaware of it in any of the Colin Cooke catalogues etc. It is instantly apparent when holding the coin even without a lens

Bob, I think it is a good thing and is on the whole a generally good part of our society that does not get the praise it deserves. However it has become just too big, and is now a bottemless pit of made up titles and managers, which costs us billions, whilst the front line medical staff don't get the support they require. The gradual increase in the private health care sector oevr here is definitely having a negative effect on the NHS due to the fact that like any other part of the private sector, it has grabbed most of the good staff and offered them better pay and conditions, so all that is left are the die hard carers who still believe in the system, or the not so good. Maybe a bit of a harsh view, but certainly what I have experienced over the last few years.

Yes I have spent a few over the years when encountered in bulk purchases, because they are not worth selling. You usually end up having to spend them at a post office or large store, but they generally get accepted, and no doubt go straight into someones pocket. My contribution to encouraging future coin collectors

I believe its something to do with the salts in the sweat. I tried an experiment on a 2p piece from a specimen set, and planted a nice big thumbprint on it, it took about 6 months for it to remove the lustre, so the bad thing is if the dealer handles your nice BU coin incorrectly, it could be 6 months before you find out!!

Thank you David - I think it must be an error. It's not that 1886 is a 'deceptively difficult' date after all! I've got 3 or 4 of the damn things, all EF or better. I will have to tell Chris that in this instance, CCGB is wrong. I would agree they should all be similar, if anything the 1886 is probably the easier of the three to get in BU.

Scott, The smaller tooth under the 8 in the date is not a definitive way of identifying the small date varieties because it occurs on other 1858 die varieties also, although it is a wierd feature, due to the fact that it repeats on several dies with distinctively different datal arrangements. I have had six pass through my hands, and they are a scarce variety, although I would state with some confidence that I expect there are several hundred of these floating about. I have one for sale on my site at the moment, which will give you an idea of price, and I have sold others in the past from £5 in poor condition to about £65 for a decent VF. Is this the one we have discussed previously or have you got another one? I can confirm it is definitely a small date

Yup its an Ionian Islands 1 Lepta - Dated 1848 - Krause Ref - KM34 13,483,000 minted Two varieties, one with a stop after the date one without. The one with the stop is a bit scarcer. F $3 VF $10 XF $30 Unc $75 The one with the stop after the date is worth about 10% on the above prices Bear in mind my Krause is the 2001 Edition

It is always easy to identify coins that are from specimen sets, they are always completely free from bag marks, and tend to be produced from polished dies. In auction you will always see decimal coin collections with comments that many are from specimen sets. If you hold a proof, a specimen coin and a currency coin in hand, it is generally easy to tell them apart, obviously do not hold them in hand because they will get fingerprints!!

Mark, It sounds like you have a gaming counter (imitation spade guinea) you can find a bit more info ion my site here http://www.aboutfarthings.co.uk/Gaming%20Tokens.html They are fairly common and worth a few pound generally, although there are some rarer varieties, but it is difiicult to find a great deal of information on these pieces. Thanks Colin