Edward I Penny Concerns...

Hello,

This Edward I Penny is my first hammered purchase which I have bought from a reputable online dealer in the UK (not ebay) but looking at the image while awaiting delivery, I was concerned with the areas I have highlighted on the image. Surely, if this a solid hammered coin why is it displaying what looks like surface coating which is worn, or am I just been overly concerned?? Didn't cost a lot (GBP £30) and description said worn. Any comments would be welcome...

http://thedesignworks.co.uk/penny/coinedwI.jpg

Thanks, Richard

 

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Looks OK to me. Over the years it will have had surface crud on it.

 

Thanks for your post - hopefully it's just dirt which I should get to see tonight as I have been informed it has been delivered at home. I also understand the potential pitfalls of cleaning coins - so will leave well alone!

Richard

 

Yeah, it looks typical for coins of that era. No reason to hesitate on this coin.

 

You should have the coin curated. Curating coins is what many coin professionals have been doing now for years.

 

Thanks for your reassurrances - hoping to get a first view of it tonight.

 

Its probably been buried in a farmers field for centuries and found by a detectorist.
Over the centuries it will have come into contact with many chemicals that reside in the upper layers of the soil including chlorides, sulphates, calcium,sodium, magnesium and potassium not to mention anything that has washed past it after flooding and heavy snowfall and contamination from fertilizers and chemicals laid by the farmers.
Considering its history it looks fine to me.

 

Richard,

If you ware interested in continuing to collect Edward I pennies, I have a thread going over in the ancients section called English Hammered Coins. That may be useful to find out more on collecting this highly specialized area of English hammereds.

I am an avid collector of these coins for years now. I can tell you that your penny looks perfectly fine. As Davey correctly noted above, was most likely a recent metal detecting find and years of not only under the soil but in actual circulation does that to the coins.

If you post full pictures of the coin I can go into much more detail regarding its history.

To ease your mind further, the pennies of Edward I are almost never copied. This is because they are (relatively speaking) quite common and don't command enough money to make it worth a counterfeiters time. There are some more valuable examples that are worth good money even in a worn state, but it's VERY rare.

Here is a new addition to my collection so you can get an idea of what you should be looking for. And if you ever have any questions about English Hammered coins please feel free to reach out to me. As I noted above, it is a highly specialized area of collecting.

 

Here is the link to the thread I mentioned above:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/english-hammered-coins.267908/

 

HammeredCoin is your man for these! I'm in the "looks fine" camp as well.

 

Thanks JWT!

 

Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to post. I'm really pleased with the coin when it arrived - Its not perfect, but I think for what I paid for it and comparing the others currently available online, this was the best.

 

That's great Richard! As long as you are happy with what you bot, that is the most important thing. There is almost no really "perfect" examples of these coins as the minting process alone rarely would produce extremely fine examples.

If you would like to tell me how much you paid, I can give you an idea if it was a fair number. If not, totally understand. And besides, not all about the value, but the enjoyment of collecting....which is worth something in of itself!

 

Not sure if you missed it but he said he paid £30 or $46.30. Without seeing the entire coin I think he did. I'm using my imagination to fill in the missing parts.

 

Yea, I missed it. Thanks JWT. Without seeing the entire thing hard to say. 30 pounds about right for retail buy if its in the condition I am imagining.

 

I will try and do a full scan of the coin.

 

Hey Richard...do you have a camera? If you do, with only the slightest effort you can take far better pictures with your camera than a scanner. It can be very rewarding. Just give it a try if you can. Look for Doug Smit's page he has a very useful guide to photography.

 

Yes - I have a camera - here are the results...

Full coin - http://www.thedesignworks.co.uk/penny/edwI.jpg
Portrait Detail - http://www.thedesignworks.co.uk/penny/edwIb.jpg

The detail in the images makes the coin look more 'chunky' - in reality the strike is a lot more subtle. Obviously not so clear in EDW or TAS, but really strong opposite.

 

Those are great images!

30 quid well spent!

 

Yip that seems a fair price. Your coin is of class 2a. Minted in 1280. Spink 1385.