YeOldeCollector

I'm fond of Commonwealth coins and here's one of mine with the portrait of the man himself.

A wonderful portrait!

That, good sir, is Oliver Cromwell outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. It was created in 1897 by Hamo Thornycroft and erected in 1899. It has been the subject of many debates as what he stood for still divides many people today, with some calling for it to be melted down and others for it to be moved. Either way, it's a lovely work of art and I'm glad you got to see it in person.

There isn't a definitive site as far as I know but there are plenty floating around on eBay.

Personally, no.

It looks absolutely fine.

Welcome to the forum! It certainly looks genuine from the image you have provided.

I've just taken delivery of my batch of Spink 2013 and would recommend it in terms of reference and pictures. This is, unfortunately, your only option if you want a book that contains pictures, prices and a standard identification. Other books lack other features or focus entirely upon identification. If you do have any questions please do feel free to ask!

A fantastic jeton! What date is this associated with? I've been reading a lot about guilds lately and so this really piques my interest! Thank you for sharing.

Tricky.

The legend appears to read "+LEOFSTANOSC" which suggests Scrobes - Shrewsbury. A good find!

Many thanks! Good to see some interest and some questions. I'll try and get one up over the Christmas period.

Thanks, Kev.

But now back to coins. A very crude imitation of Henry III's coinage. Base metal and garbled legends. An interesting piece. An eastern European imitation of Aethelred II's Helmet Type. Very different to the Scandinavian issues, coppery and very crude. Appears contemporaneous and follows the same design pattern as the English issue. My favourite. An Elizabeth I First Issue halfgroat with no rose or date. A very well-defined wire line inner circle and one of the best examples I've seen in a long while. Unfortunately it has been polished by the finder, hence the dark patches but it still looks better than the Spink plate example in my opinion. Very scarce.

It's been a while since I updated this. Here are a few. Due to the drought of early medieval purchases I purchased a few more pieces of Guildford memorabilia to keep me happy. King Edward VII and Queen Alexndria Coronation medal of Guildford, 1902. I managed to acquire this medal presented to a student named Killick at my old school in 1925 for winning the high jump at 3ft 6.5in. I'm very happy to have this. (Thanks to Pat for letting me know it's presence on the market!) I also managed to acquire an original photograph of my old school dated to the 1860s. If that is indeed the headmaster in the photo then it is most likely Reverend Henry Gordon Merriman who purchased Allen House for the school, a c.1660 house which can be seen here in a 1738 etching:

I think it wholly depends upon what you're looking to sell or buy. For example I like selling on my website and often list a small handful on eBay but I love buying from eBay and auction houses around the world as well as metal detectorists. It's personal preference as there's so much choice today.

You are correct! Edward III has a noticeably different style on both reverses & obverses to Edward I and II. It just takes some getting used to. It is indeed Durham mint, where I am typing this from right now. The mint would read DVNOLM or a variation thereof on this penny.

Stunning.

A very warm welcome to you, tvarish!

I am genuinely impressed.

I suspected it to be him as he owes more than £500,000 to a London hotel which he's tried to clear but all of his cheques have bounced.

To add to my Guildford-theme sub-collection. This is a Coronation Medal of Edward VII and Queen Alexandria. I know little about it but it did not cost much. Two postcards of my old school, the Royal Grammar School, Guildford.

Historic Coinage has published the Autumn List today. There are nearly 60 new coins newly-available with plenty or Richard III issues and Henry IV pennies. Please be sure to have a look here.

It looks genuine from the photos but I'd need to see it in hand to be absolutely sure.