There are a few older machines around like the one in Salisbury Cathedral. It’s completely non-electrical. You put a 1-pound coin and a penny in...
I recently wrote an article with a lot of pictures for a coin magazine. Before publication, I contacted the sources (grading companies, dealers,...
The museum is in the Tower of London and is dedicated to the history of the Royal Fusiliers Regiment. The regiment was begun in 1685 by James II...
Visited the museum and couldn’t resist the penny press machine … especially, we were with friends who had their 4 year old boy along. Did one for...
Thanks for the interesting post! Seems like I read somewhere that the company worked out deals with the US and Florida governments before actual...
Yup. Methacrylate polymers dissolve slowly in acetone, but they will dissolve completely if enough acetone is used. Helps to pulverize the plastic...
Yes, acetone would dissolve the acrylic Pure acetone won't damage metal coins. Wouldn't use it on colorized coins though. Would take some time...
Yesterday and today, we visited the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. It’s a huge museum devoted mostly to art and history. Among other items, it has a...
It was only a day trip to the mint; we stayed near Bristol. Then it was on to Oxford and then will be London. However, last year, we spent more...
Visited the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales today. What a great experience it was! Started with Google leading my wife and me to the security...
The dog bone shape is more often called ox-hide shaped. It was often used in ancient times for other metals, like copper. The purpose was to allow...
Gold celtic coins of this type are often call barbarous imitations. Very unlikely a cult of Apollo was involved. A chieftain or wealthy merchant...
Great buys!
Was in the museum a few days ago. Spotted some Celtic gold coins. Can read the description in the picture. There were also some Roman silver...
Visited the Salisbury Cathedral yesterday in England. It’s the most impressive cathedral I’ve seen, and I’ve seen many in the British Isles and...
Thanks for the correction. My answer was for 10 digits. I should have written it out. Arithmetic is hard! Answer disallowing adjacent...
I look at coin collecting as a hobby where I won’t lose too much if I’m careful. If I’m lucky, might even gain adjusted for inflation. I like to...
Checked my new customer number again. It’s 9, not 8, digits. That allows PCGS to have 9 billion customers if they want to avoid leading zeros....
Got a strange notice that PCGS is retiring my old customer number at the end of the year and have stated what the new one will be. Old one was 6...
RM means responsibility mark, which supposedly means the maker/importer has registered their hallmark or design. 925 is the fineness. The three...
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