zookeeperz

Looks like the coin has possibly been double struck or even more between the P and E it looks very much like the trident prong tips just sitting below the linear circle? also strange that you mention smaller lettering I was going to say the date looks like it has been struck over a smaller date. possibly an 8 inside the 0 and a smaller 6 under the 6?

The guy went in to realms of coin composition and die position which was over my head let me see ah here is the post. I am sure the the math guru's will understand it "1818 half crown forgery. Here are two photographs of a dud halfcrown which I purchased last week on e-bay. The standard of workmanship is amazing but I spotted it for the following reasons; 1) the coin is en coin i.e. the sides are at 180 degrees to each other. This was normal for British silver coins up until 1887 but the George III coins of 1816-20 are a major exception; 2) It weighs in at 13.63g i.e. some 0.5g light when compared with other coins of the same era. If you can still get into it, the item number was 163026017759 . On balance though, I think the seller was as much a victim as I would have been as his e-bay record shows no history of selling such items. Needless to say, it is going back Monday morning." I just realised en coin is meaning coin alignment and these were supposed to be medal alignment. Although there have been coins struck the wrong way up before on our coinage? 0.5g does seem a bit outside of the tolerance though?

Just been on FB group and a guy bought this from fleabay. Turns out it is a fake . Jesus they get better and better.

Makes you wonder with all the fakes he sells how is still 100% rated. Just cannot believe ebay are allowed to just sweep criminal activity under the carpet as if it never existed

Law should be made all coins that are replica/copies/fantasy should be marked so with a stamp or they are illegal to sell

If I were the auctioneer selling this coin I would describe it as a cameo proof because it actually is. The waters have muddied over the years purely on a commercial basis where the definition of a cameo proof strike the goal posts have not been moved as such but there are not 2 goal posts anymore but more like 10 and unless you are at 5+ your true proof with cameo isn't recognised as such . And you can ask yourself this question also. Shouldn't all proof coins have a cameo appearance and is it a fact that those without were incorrectly struck with 2 polished dies and not 1 Because as far as I have read and seen on videos the cameo finish isn't by accident it is by design?

What is interesting is there is a process where they purposely only polish 1 die and that is what gives the cameo effect but in the 1970 proof set and I dare say other proof sets there are coins that exhibit both characteristics as in both struck on polished dies and no came and the single polished die with cameo. But I doubt they would of struck the coins any different from each other? As in they were either all struck from polished dies or all from 1 polished die? So begs the question how do you get a cameo finish on a coin struck from 2 polished dies? surely they would look like the 1970 florin in that respect with mirror devices and fields without any cameo?

Another thing I am getting sick to death of NGC and PCGS wrongly attributing the colour of coins. Do these halfwits not know that Bronze coins are darker than copper? and seeing as the be all and end all of their grading criteria is RD designation and is solely based on Copper coinage it devalues British coinage by constantly putting RB when they are just as red as the copper coins albeit 1 shade darker because of metal composition https://www.ebay.com/itm/1861-Choice-UNC-BU-Queen-Victoria-Penny-Freeman-29-PCGS-MS65/292522205627 Beautiful coin its bloody red not RB I think they need to revisit their terminology?

Love the Auctiva's slogan at the bottom "Pictures Sell" well on this occasion they bloody well don't lols Choice UNC unc = Ugly Nasty Crap https://www.ebay.com/itm/GB-UK-England-George-V-silver-shilling-1911-choice-unc/323237277670

I tell you what I have noticed and this might just be purely paranoia driven . Some of these coins although not mentioned look proof quality but they look too good and almost as if they are plaster cast and then painted as the colours are what you would dream of having. But when 1 seller has every single coin no matter what grade looking the best colour it can it leaves me with serious doubts. I have seen 3 pictures of a coin 2 of which could of been taken from anywhere on the net and the real coin picture albeit from a distance and magnifying it I doubt it is the same coin. I am just finding it hard to trust what my eyes are telling me and the sellers are not. Very few mention problems with the coins . I don't mean glaring great lumps that doesn't need to be mentioned as it is clearly obvious. But there are a whole host of coins that have either come from the ground or are badly discoloured due to contaminants or abandoned clean ups. Yes there is buyer protection but do we really need the 14 day wait to claim and another 14 days before it is settled tying up funds for an eternity.? Personally there should be a photo minimum size on the lines of what heritage use. Coins cannot hide on there and wysiwyg. Really is no need for all this uncertainty don't you think?

Had to laugh at the tip from the seller. "the mintmark is located within the trident held by Britannia" Obviously reading between the lines he doesn't know where it is exactly because the trident head on his fake piece of trash is missing https://www.ebay.com/itm/Great-Britain-silver-Dollar-1911/332637817930 Even more worrying https://www.ebay.com/itm/Great-Britain-6-Pence-1697-Ruler-William-III-XF/332620320923

A lot of things surprise me with TPG coins. People really do buy the unseen magical element that makes their coin x5 more valuable than the market value. I saw a CGS 82 1959 two shillings sell for £120 this week. The mind boggles at times

It is one thing not knowing every variety of english coinage but surely to god you should at least know what country a coin comes from? . Just unacceptable!! https://www.ebay.com/itm/MS-65-Red-PCGS-BU-1953-Great-Britain-Bronze-1-4-Penny-Unc-Uncirculated/222974628946

Should be a law against selling Fleas

I have found a lot of doubled die coins and overdates in the foreign junk. Also there are quite a few mules out there esp colonial coins like Australia obverse and fiji reverse 20 cents 1916 australian Half-penny with a 2 anna obverse 8-14 known and only discovered in the 1960's and the 1966 20 cents with the wavy line on the top of the bottom horizontal of the 2. These command huge premiums. Also becoming more sort after are the mass of varieties attributed to the middle eastern coins and indian coins. tbh I found most of the variety types purely by accident just trying to brush up on photographic techniques . I have found Numista site more than valuable for that side of things. The guys there are pretty comprehensive in detailing what you should look for. But of course only if you get bored

When you think about it why do we need currency at all. If this doesn't scare the crap out of what is just around the corner nothing will. The good old fruit machine. Much beloved and a constant source of coinage be it £1 or £2 or so you would think. Go into any betting shop in the country and the fruit machines now take either Notes or your debit card. If you win anything you get a printed out receipt once you have finished playing and press cash out. Kind of takes away the fun of hearing all the coins bouncing in the spill tray. But this is how it will be for everything that is coin operated. It will be a swipe and read system. Just how quick it comes that's debatable but come it will.

1938 BU is almost impossible to find apparently?

Yes there is a drive to do away with cash machines in the not so distant future

There will come a time when cash as we know it will cease to exist it will all be contactless. Just scan and go. But not for maybe 50 years or so but it's coming you can feel the undertones

Cheers Mike. I narrowed down the reverses as any other combination doesn't exist or at least isn't in freemans new reworked addition including the appendix section and the only 2 reverses with round top lighthouse are C+D for that year and there are no 7+C pairings and reverse E has LCW above the date and reverse F is the chunky Britannia But it's good R16 So quite a rare pairing

Continuing on from the last lot I turned to the french section. Upon reading on NGC website the KM# 902.1 1943 1 franc french vischey states that "there are no known thin flan varieties in existence". I have 2 . I was just putting some together to knock out and when looking up prices I saw the comments. I don't really tend to check the foreign coins as much. Though I guess I should. I had to take the measurement off the 1944 which is 1.72 mm thick and the 1943 is 1.43 mm thickness. Only quandary is it could mean by no thin flans known to exist being that 1.43 mm could well be the standard flan size for that year although I doubt it as 1942-1944 are listed as having thick and thin flans. Now I begin the endless task of chasing french literature which I am not brilliant at . Enough to order a pint lol. If any of you foreign coin collectors know anything or point me in the right direction any help is always appreciated. Richard

I know it's a little bit in the FUGLY section but it needed a new caretaker and there aren't that many to be choosey about. 1879 narrow date penny.

LCA do exactly that Rob. The leave out a lot of info that should be mentioned in the sales. I know I have suffered twice at their hands. Never again they are a bunch of crooks. They cherry pick for themselves. slab and resell. The first time I was a complete novice and bought the line that a lot of material is overlooked and most collectors are looking for top end coins. I never made scrap value. second time I valued everything at F condition and halved it and put that as a reserve which came out @ £3500. Now obviously there was well over £6000 worth of coins and bloody rare ones too boot. I was told that putting a reserve on would put bidders off so I reluctantly took it off. such a bad move 285kg 6 years putting together a collection Including Irish with 1961 mules and key date coins . catalogue said mainly base metal with a smattering of silver. Total BS. £1175 I got back not even scrap value. And I saw one of my coins on their website so I know I got stitched up. That experience put me off even looking at a coin for almost 8 years. So I think if you consign then it has to be in moderation . Something the size of what I had should not have gone in one lot. the irish should of been split and really so should all the countries. there was more than enough to make decent single lots of their own. If I ever did consign which I doubt but if I did I would defo put a reserve price on. Nothing massive but definitely 65% of what is a normal fair market price. But we live and learn as the saying goes.

I would never use ebay as a yardstick. I was more thinking of the book prices excluding Spinks as to me they are more like and insurance purpose price as in if you needed to replace a coin. You see plenty of coins bought then resold at the next auction and they go for even less . So I guess it's always going to be a supply and demand thing. The more pieces of a coin there are it doesn't make it an urgency to buy it at that particular time. But scarce pieces that very rarely make auctions will always attract a good market. Plus collectors are less inclined to buy mixed lots as they will buy the niche coin that they need for their collection and that is where you see the biggest drop in prices realised. I think they make the lots too large and to diverse sometimes. I like the larger mixed lots personally as a buyer but not as a consigner. But you can't have your cake and eat it. But if they had live bidding the prices realised would increase by some margin. So the only reason for them not doing it is purely so they get to cherry pick for themselves.