Martinminerva

Indeed, just damage / gouges, either deliberate or accidental, and associated metal displacement - see how the H of Half and N of Penny have also "grown" extensions to their limbs. And the gouge in the field below the H has resulted in a raised "hook" at the end of the gouge. Glaciologists would call it terminal moraine !!

Totally agree - post mint damage for sure. Any lack of flatness on the original blank would have been squeezed out when coin was struck. A cud (caused by a piece of die breaking away) would not have a corresponding recess on the opposite side.

Perfect for displaying the 1792 wire money maundy pieces!!

Spot on - just die fill, and very common.

It is definitely 1859 (1839 has the 3 in a very different font to this as does 1869 with its 6) and the date has been dinged - a gouge upwards from south -west to north-east as it were, of the 5. Zoom in on the 5 and it's very clear. The "ghosts" on the letters you mention are just signs of letter repair on the die. Nothing numismatically significant here, sadly.

Corrosion spots often are raised as chemical changes break through and push up from below the surface. Essentially what is the question is: is the dot original metal (caused by a recess or incuse mark on the die and thus "proud" metal when transferred to the coin), or the product of corrosion. Given the number of other marks, I do fear it may be the latter. A gentle pick with a SOFT object (eg. dampened matchstick, or a fingernail) may remove or scratch through a corrosion deposit but won't affect solid metal. Hope that may help...

Looking at the whole obverse, especially all the bits and bobs in front of Victoria, I think these might be corrosion blobs on the flan itself, rather than transferred from the die which is perhaps why it has not been seen before ?

Yes, just a circumferential die crack. Victorian bronze was very prone to it, and around the legend letters especially so as these were points of weakness. Nothing numismatically significant here, I'm afraid.

Yes, correct on all three! Numbers two and three are quite scarce die pairings.

Just see the furore that has broken out on ebay about this! In just one day, over 150 negative comments and counting... https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/NO-LONGER-SELLING-DUE-TO-SIMPLE-DELIVERY/m-p/7813888#M717338 As I said above: And I absolutely rest my case. I will not be selling any of my duplicates on ebay any more. Perhaps I will indeed put a few things on the for sale and wanted threads here and just maybe in time we on the forum can build our own marketplace??

"Rear coins", my arse! Never a truer word spoken, ironically!💩 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335864676756?itmmeta=01JPFXGTJTN1RG45Y420E50A97&hash=item4e33184194:g:z6YAAeSw3gRn1tFb&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA4MHg7L1Zz0LA5DYYmRTS30mrq7ZxPzDEwuz8dTR9vNwPjzLW%2FuMX5XltgQFtpMHHmnRKnKSwHS2EHGaBuZZTzeAyo7vBCaNXWE7rC0eUs1a3UAPqSfoxMXUhGYBRxRctI1SzZkz%2F87wmmn7PLVuqilJL2Hnpyum2FXPyagkamcmyk19tRXQ1uYhivX%2F%2BQ5MpVwJR4wrVH884T3OqmdtYRy%2FMBYuL99oc2ot7nkkIQkglog9iV0i6hktsrzfkuOT9Vj8D4SESULXQdPk7VyUd5VA36awsPuW0yS638Fe%2BmT45|tkp%3ABFBMyKnD_bNl

I am sure they did as it was an auction listing rather than a buy-it-now (I saw it too and took screenshots also, so you're not going mad, Terry). Changing the image and the title is a way for the seller and buyer to avoid others noticing - though they did - and to avoid a hefty eBay fee to boot. Wonder who got it and for what actual price??

Curious... If you look at this screen grab I've just done (at 8.55pm today), the page still exists and works - highlighted in red, but at the END of the list of links. The one bracketed [2] in its usual place is a dead link. Copy the one that works while you can!!

Indeed, really bad. It was working earlier today fine - I saw the new uploads of the 13#+L's of Bernie's and Bob's. One thought - does your web host not have a facility for undoing recent changes, and returning to a previous state where all worked fine? They usually do for exactly this reason. Fingers crossed.

Very true, but websites have a habit of vanishing when the person behind it no longer supports it for whatever reason. Web archiving eg. The Wayback Machine does not seem to preserve pictures, and for coin varieties, they would seem to be essential. We have been talking about Joe Lee's farthingshalfpennyerrors.com recently, and also the about farthings website and others that are no more. Many years ago there was a brilliant website about threehalfpences and groats, but again now totally gone. A book gives permanence, even if outdated in time in terms of new discoveries. We still refer to Peck and Freeman as something of "bibles", and rightly so, the originals of which go back fifty plus years. And likewise, Gouby's has decades of pedigree. The best bet for me is both media - a book for a permanent record and ease of ready reference, and websites for latest discoveries etc. When appropriate, the latters' findings can then be incorporated into revised editions. ESC is now onto its 7th incarnation, I think, and still going strong. Website only research and publication will become totally lost in time, which is just a terrible waste.