jelida

I must admit if it were mine I’d try to remove the verdigris. How I would try to achieve that would depend on the appearance under the microscope. Treatment would be somewhere between Verdicare and picking with a fine needle, and brick acid! I have found mildly diluted phosphoric acid on a cotton bud works well, the verd fizzes away yet the metal does not seem affected. The coin does then need re-toning however, a quick start can be made with dry flowers of sulphur in an ice-cream container, covered with tissue and the coin placed on the tissue and lidded and placed in a warm place (windowsill, radiator). Check every few hours. But as always, experiment on low value coins first. Jerry

I think they are quite rare, at least it took me a long time to find mine. The Copthorne example (catalogue still online at Colin Cooke) in worn condition attracted a considerable premium if I remember correctly. Jerry

Aha, that one is safe with me.....😃 Jerry

There is a recent Archers storyline where a Saxon hoard was found in Ambridge, and of course Eddie Grundy is trying by nefarious means to detect the site himself. I think it’s meant to be a sort of comic relief, while exposing the darker side of metal detecting. Not really particularly helpful to the hobby. Jerry

As a general rule this is true, though there have been instances of ‘specials’ such as a double weight stater some years ago that was taken on the basis that it was a presentation coin or had some special use and was not currency, similarly a piedfort hammered gold coin. A dubious distinction at best. But one aspect of the latest review is to consider whether to bring within the act individual coins (and artefacts) of particular importance, as determined by the powers that be and creating a significant gray area and ambiguity for finders and coroners alike. My own suspicion is that this would simply encourage non-reporting and black market sale, quite contrary to the whole ethos of the voluntary reporting scheme. I do have some sympathy with those who are concerned about the potential loss of some remarkable objects to study, which is why I would encourage reporting even with some element of compulsion and time allowed for recording and study, but not necessarily state acquisition against the wishes of the finder/landowner. There are already laws regarding export of antiquities allowing for state purchase to prevent loss to the nation, and perhaps a register of the whereabouts of known exceptional objects within the country could be obligatory. That might be acceptable to both sides of the argument. But the review is increasingly driven by politicians and curators down an acquisitive route, and I think in the long term this will not be good for the heritage industry or the hobby of metal detecting. Jerry

That’s what puzzled me, as I bid upper estimate for one and was ‘outbid‘. The reserve must have been above upper estimate! But I like Lockdales....the 1862 B/R penny in VF at £8 came from one of their trays at the Midland, and I also bought my 1863 die no 3 and 1882 no H there at reasonable prices, and an excellent unrecognised F763 for £180. Jerry

Yes, that is also possible. He probably made a simple error - which he wouldn’t have done if he took his own photos, rather than using Lockdales- but then his short fuse and erroneous assumption he was right let him down. Not a great advert for his dealings with potential customers. Jerry

I think what he has done is to use the Lockdales lot 230 pic to sell lot 229 on EBay. I have suggested this to him. I think he dug himself an ever deeper hole by his cursory response, and follow-ups. But I might bid on the coin I missed at Lockdales, just to piss him off further.... Jerry

And this , I now wonder if he is genuine but has muddled his pics? He has sent a copy of his Lockdales returns list. But he does have a very entertaining turn of phrase. Made me laugh anyway....... Returns sheet below. Texts self-explanatory. All good clean fun! Jerry . A deeper hole. Haha Seriously mate get a life. Go bug someone else. Kind Regards Alexander Grant Dapper Coins https: www.ebay.co.uk/str/dappercoins Reply Make an offer Your previous message Dear Alexander, look at the Lockdales catalogue, page 2. Quote 'all rights reserved. No part may be reproduced without permission'. If you do have permission, that's fine. But otherwise that's the law, as well as Ebay rules. Stop digging a deeper hole. Best wishes and have a good christmas, Jerry mralexandergrant: They are my coins that I auctioned. The unsold have been returned to me and I am now selling on eBay. I do not take kindly to threats and you interfering in my business. There is no copyright on the photos. Goodbye. Your previous message Hello Alexander, thanks for that, it looks pretty definitive, I will post this all on the forum. It looks as though you outbid me on one of the coins, but to see the other as 'unsold' when Lockdales confirmed my bid above estimate is strange, I will speak to them this week, and to the originator of the thread who says he has one of the coins you are selling. You do seem to get riled easily, don't forget the Ebay rules on bad language and insults, and on stolen photographs, the latter is always suspicious. Now to get a mate to bid on your coins....... regards, Jerry mralexandergrant: Not that I have to but you have pissed me off a treat here is the sale sheet from lockdales. Shove that up your arse Jerry Your previous message

The conservation so far......read from the bottom. I was outbid on a couple of the coins he said were returns. Jerry New message from: mralexandergrant (411) You are a complete bore go and get a life. Kind Regards Alexander Grant Dapper Coins https: www.ebay.co.uk/str/dappercoins Reply Make an offer Your previous message Hello Alexander, I am a little surprised to hear they were unsolds from the November Lockdales auction, as I myself bid above the upper estimate on two of them and was outbid. In addition to my friends coin, which he has in hand, this does seem rather strange, I am sure you will agree. However I will leave it there, other than to check with Lockdales re the use of their photos on Monday, and to report to Ebay depending on the outcomes, of course. Regards, Jerry mralexandergrant: This is an unsold item from the lockdales auction they all are in the owner they were all passed Your previous message Hello, I think your EBay account may have been hi-jacked, your photo of this coin is taken from the November Lockdales auction lot 230, and this coin is in the possession of a friend of mine and this has been discussed online as a fraudulent listing. You need to check the details of your ad. Regards, Jerry 1854 Victoria Penny. PT. AU. Lustre.

Yup, all from Lockdales....... No reply yet. Jerry

Have sent him a polite message, let’s see if he responds. His account may have been hi-jacked, he has been around some time selling coins.......or he may just be a fraudster. Jerry

Lovely! And a very rare item.........one that NGC got right! 😃 Jerry

Lukasz clearly has a good knowledge of coin rarities, or he could not mis-describe them so regularly; I think it must be a deliberate sales ploy, as it enhances the prices and even if some are returned he wins; it is not a victimless pursuit however, as less knowledgable collectors/investors can be guided by the supposed good reputation of an established EBay seller, and whenever this trust in ‘experts’ is broken genuine honest dealers are likely tarred with the same brush and overall trade suffers. Not to forget the many enthusiastic but less knowledgeable collectors happily enjoying their expensive though ‘ bargain priced‘ trays of ‘mint errors’, rarities and Saxon pennies from Poland where they are now ‘found’ in greater numbers than the Vikings ever took over. They will end up bitten. Jerry

Chris also publishes ‘Collectors Coins’ , decimal edition which I believe includes the special issues and commemoratives that many decimal collectors are so enthused by, and it is true the pricings are not exactly the same but they are only guidelines. And it is updated regularly, ‘Check your Change’ only covers currency issues and has not been updated I believe for some years. Jerry

I’ve used this seller before, a very reliable and knowledgeable chap 🧐. Don’t forget, you will have to pay postage on the Amazon order if you are not a ‘prime’ member, so the price is about the same. If decimals are your thing, it is essential. Jerry

Difficult to be sure from the photo, but that doesn’t look like a manufacturing issue, rather bubbling of the copper due to rusting of the steel core. Looks like it’s been in the ground. Luckily it is still worth 1p, or even 2p depending what it says on the reverse. Jerry

Hmm, interesting idea, but as the dies were heated in an oven slowly to over 500 C, then cooled slowly before they were worked, I can’t see that an uneven anneal is likely, and the mint workers are very experienced at this sort of thing. The sea/waves on the master die/punch should all be engraved at the same depth and I think it unlikely they could be struck on the slant, which is why I think the sea would either be entirely present, or entirely absent with that scenario, and unlikely absent in part or on both sides of Britannia as is sometimes seen. I wonder what effect a convex planchet surface would have? Could that be a cause? Unlikely again, as the blanks were punched out of rolled strip. Jerry

Nice coins. I presume you bought them , Pete? Well, if proof dies are affected , then re-working of damaged dies is not the issue here, nor should die wear be as quality control was much more strict than for currency coins. Grease is certainly widely used for rust prevention of ironwork in storage, and probably even more so in the days before central heating and environmental control. But any fluid, even thin machine oil, would prevent a clean strike if trapped between the die/ planchet surfaces. Poor working die manufacture by the strike from the master die/ punch being of inadequate depth might give this appearance though would be surprising for a proof die, and I would have thought the depth of the sea cut into the die would be pretty uniform and thus the presence or absence of waves would be rather ‘all or nothing’. Examples where high points on the coin are affected as shown on the Heritage blog show that die fill did occur, and that fill does not have to be solid, just incompressible as liquids are, including grease. During the strike grease, like the metal of the planchet, will move and it is perhaps not surprising that it gets pushed against the inner rim as the alloy is forced down into the rim recess in the die, cutting off its escape. Grease trapped elsewhere might cause impaired letter strike, reduced high points etc perhaps giving the impression of a worn die. Can we prove grease as the cause of absent waves beyond doubt? Perhaps not, but affected proofs likely rule out some of the other possibilities. Jerry

That depends on whether it can clear the die during the instant the strike takes, which will depend on its viscosity and escape route. I’m sure it usually did clear within a small number of strikes, exiting on the coins struck and around the collar, but in the meantime as an incompressible fluid it could have left its mark. I have been using an excavator clearing ditches and putting in drainage and gate posts over the past week, and the forces that can be exerted by pumping a few litres of hydraulic oil around never cease to amaze me. It’s not surprising that a covering of grease could prevent full die contact with flan. Filled die remains a potential issue to this day, apparently, if dies have been grease coated for storage. There is a lot on the net. Heritage show some nice examples. https://blog.ha.com/2019/07/something-is-missing-filled-die-errors/ I have no problem with the appearance of these coins being due to die grease (or indeed other foreign material). Jerry

Personally I’d just cover them with a generic description page, clearly they are not a true die variety and could presumably occur with any date, especially if a grease-clogged die is the cause as suggested. Jerry

Take away the correct ‘I’, and I don’t think much persuasion would be needed that the horizontal was an erroneous ‘I’ partially closed in by locally working the die. As the die maker will have had an ‘I’ punch in hand, it just seems more probable an error to me. But as so often in our hobby, there is likely not a definitive answer. Decent high magnification photography might give clues. Jerry

Could it not simply be ‘I’ over horizontal ‘I’, with the horizontal ‘I’ on the punch partially closed in before the correct letter was struck? I appreciate it is difficult to tell from the photo, but that would be a practical explanation and beyond doubt were the horizontal letter an ‘N’ or an ‘A’. Jerry

That’s a really neat find, despite the condition. It’s nice to know there are more than one out there! Jerry