Place your bets

[davidrj]

dunno, looks like a high tide possibly though

It is, high tide Freemans 148 or Gouby BP1897C

I like the description "EXC GRADE COIN LUSTRE VINTAGE"

What looks like a dot is going to turn out to be a fleck of dust but a high tide 1897 for £11 is also a result.

you are right! just shows we see what we want to see - I had a squint at it because it had attracted a couple of bids - convinced myself it was a O'NE which I haven't got an example of - never looked at the shield or sea level

back on Ebay correctly described then, not as good as one I already have

Horrid bog standard 1897 penny arrived today, definitely not the coin illustrated I hate ebay some days

A nice, courteous seller he agreed he'd sent the wrong coin - he had two 1897 pennies and had photographed the two side by side - one head one tail

here is the second coin

A clear high tide but not the O'NE variety

the spot looks convincing in the right light, but it did not scan, and the microscope shows it's a ding in an interesting location. C'est la vie, but faith in human nature restored

On the plus side, the seller has asked me to explain the differences, so maybe this will kindle his interest

[pies]

Well i gave my coin to my young great nephew his eyes lit up. So a well spent £2