YeOldeCollector

Indeed, Cromwell's coins were a bit of a rush to be minted in order to rid the system of Charles' coins and so they are simple in design in order to speed things up. I have the halfgroats and pennies, now I have a halfpenny to match! But don't you worry, I still love the earlier coins of the Anglo-Saxon, Norman and Plantagenet eras but will pick up coins from other houses if they are bargains!

Received a miniature coin in the post this morning. It's less than a centimetre in diameter... Commonwealth (Cromwell) Halfpenny.

Bit of a bruiser!

Picked up this one tonight. Henry III Longcross penny, Class IIIa, Nicole on London. Exceptional portrait.

Ah, well quite a few of my coins probably come from the Brussels' hoard and the Colchester hoard which were of Henry III Pennies. I also know that some of my Cnuts and Edward the Confessors are from hoards but the vast majority are found singly. I did have the chance to buy some of the best known examples of 10thC pennies and agreed to, when I received the coins and IDd them for the woman she told me that she found them as a group. Therefore I had to send them to the British Museum due to the Treasure Act. I'm lucky that I asked the question and that I did not hand any cash over. They are now to be bought by the local museum which is a shame as they would have fitted in perfectly with my collection... I'm always being notified of hoards that have less than a dozen coins in but have yet to be involved in a major hoard containing 100+ coins. So I've only acquired 'purse-drop' and 'underground-safe' coins.

Here's one I forgot to post here: Edward VI Shilling, Tower mint, very base issue. A small chip behind the bust but a superb portrait. I like Edward VI's coins as they are quite scarce and it is if the infamous 'Boy King' Henry VIII's only son, so not a bad example for what I paid.

Well the vast majority of hammered coins are found by metal detecting, for example there is one English coin that was found by a detectorist that sold for £230,000 which is about $400,000. I would have a minute collection if there were no detectorists...

Bought the better coins of a detectorist's accumulation. Here are a few: Henri on London, Class 5c, as struck. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edward I Penny, London, Class 8c. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edward I Penny, London, Class 10cf1. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edward I Farthing, yet another Class 3de. Londoniensis mint.

A Stephen cut half. Voided cross and stars type, B.M.C. 2. Walder on Norwich.

Cheers Bill! You can see a better portrait on one of my other Crvx pennies.

Ties in with my hammered errors and Henry III, so thought "Why not?"

Yep, not my favourite bit of our history... No 1665 this end!

Got a few today, namely a crown that I've been wanting for a while in half-decent condition! Also got two booklets, "Viking Coins of the Danelaw and of Dublin" and "The Norman Conquest and the English Coinage", both by Michael Dolley.

Two new'uns this week pour moi. Haven't got many York pennies of Eddy so this is a welcome addition. Edward I Penny of York mint, Class 3e. Aethelred II Crvx Penny, Byrhsige on the scarcer mint of Exeter.

Two arrived today. Cannot resist a half-decent portrait of Henry VIII. Charles II, Milled Twopence, undated. I'd say EF.

Cheers Tom!

Agreed! Cheers Matt.

Thanks Steve, I really like it too! Gave me a chance to test my new camera on some milleds for a change!

Henry VIII Posthumous Halfgroat, Canterbury. Looks as if someone got a bit hungry with this coin... 1703 Queen Anne Vigo Sixpence, another coin to add to my side collection of Annes. Spink 3590. 1887 Queen Victoria Florin, couldn't resist at £3.99.

Henry III Penny, Willem on Northampton. Class 3a.

Well some coins yet to come. Here are two that have arrived. Henry III Penny, Class 5C, Randulf on Bury St Edmunds. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Henry III Penny, Class 5A, Nicole on London.

Must say Hiho, I am LOVING these medals! Just don't get me hooked, I'm bad enough with my hammereds!

2 new Henries today. As-struck Henry III Penny, Nicole on Canterbury, Class Vb with wedge tailed R. VF+/EF Henry III Penny, Nicole on Winchester, Class 3C.

I shall PM you some pictures soon, it's made of silver but is as struck and so appears golden.

Yeah, one has to remember that these dies were hand engraved in retrograde. So it would be like doing it in a mirror, incredibly hard to do! We have no way of knowing how long dies were in use but they must have been replaced frequently as there is so much variation amongst the coinage. Also, back in the day, money was determined by the actual silver. So the wear on a coin would not matter much at all, as long as the populous could be sure that they were genuine silver examples life would go on as normal. Whereas if a shattered die made the King look like a wild boar then there could have been dire consequences...