1920 Penny Plain. A sad tale

[autocoupler]

A nice 1920 Plain with peripheral die crack, I reckon gEF.  Photos not the best, taken through 2x2 if that counts.



A sad tale. Graffiti in the obverse field either side of King. Reads A McM. Little bugger!!

[nealeffendi]

Lovely coin (sans scratches),would have been an excellent coin to slab of a pricey variety . Fairly late die stage example of the second most common No Dot die pairing.

[robbiegal]

I have a beautiful little 1911 halfpenny
all lustre and cute
with initials on the obverse too

[nealeffendi]

I have a beautiful little 1911 halfpenny
all lustre and cute
with initials on the obverse too

I think we all have similar coins.
Had somebody not taken that coin and marked it as a keepsake/love token they would have spent it and it would have become well circulated. So is it better to have a high grade graffiti coin or a aVG bent and buggered coin?
Some of the graffiti is desirable. Like coins with soldiers/sailors names/numbers/units etc.

[JeffH]

There must be an epidemic! I have a 1911 penny with...(you know the rest).

[robbiegal]

ha ha
I will dig mine out and take a pic

[Fulvio]

So is it better to have a high grade graffiti coin or a aVG bent and buggered coin?

Definitely the graffiti. It adds to the history of the coin in a way that a well-worn sibling that's been in millions of pockets and tills can't match. Of course it helps if the graffiti has some meaning, as in the name of a VC who had it in the trenches or similar, but it all had meaning to at least one person, and probably more than just the perpetrator.

I just wish they'd all picked really common coins to work on, instead of things that would have significant value intact.

[nealeffendi]

So is it better to have a high grade graffiti coin or a aVG bent and buggered coin?

Definitely the graffiti. It adds to the history of the coin in a way that a well-worn sibling that's been in millions of pockets and tills can't match. Of course it helps if the graffiti has some meaning, as in the name of a VC who had it in the trenches or similar, but it all had meaning to at least one person, and probably more than just the perpetrator.

I just wish they'd all picked really common coins to work on, instead of things that would have significant value intact.

Really common coins to work on? Check out eBay item 121314703243
It is a 1813 dump that had one side made smooth to engrave the date 29/10/12 on which the brother of the keepsake owner had died. The owner then reportedly wore it to Gallipoli.

[Fulvio]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Gallipoli-1813-Colonial-Dump-/121314793243

Precisely what I meant. Any coin would have had the same significance. Arguably a 1912 more so, or one from his brother's birth year. Then both the historic piece and the intact (though clearly well-worn) dump would have survived the experience.

Of course I realise this is a pointless discussion. The people who do these things are not collectors, and have no concept of what they are tampering with, nor will they ever. Sigh...

[robbiegal]

here's mine!

[echidna]

Here's mine.
The date is 8/8/14.

[Fulvio]

Here's mine.

WTF? How can they grade a defaced coin MS?

[nealeffendi]

That date has numismatic/historic value. It tells us that 1914 halfpennies were circulating in Australia by that date.
Historically that date was just 4 days after war was declared (and the same day the draconian Defence of the Realm Act was passed). So was this a keepsake of a lad joining up gave to his sweetheart?
The other value is that it tells us that the PCGS grader was asleep at the wheel.:dodgy:

[robbiegal]

maybe that is why it got the MS63
very nice coin
I had a crown once that had initials - really tiny engraved in the legends - only a keen eye could see it (i.e. my coin dealer did!! - because he knows to look for it)

[Robster]

My contribution.!!