Bixley

I have collected the coin and paid the duty. I have filled in form BOR286 to claim back the duty. I will give further updates to the form when there is anything further to report. I am incensed that the Royal Mail handling fee is non refundable. If HMRC have calculated the VAT rate incorrectly then it seems to me only fair that HMRC should repay that money to me and recompense Royal mail for their work. But I guess life isn't fair.

Thank you for your advice everyone. I have been in contact with Kunker and they say that they have never encountered this before. They also say they filled in the form correctly although on box containing the coin I did receive it says the contents are ‘Collecters Item’. The space for the ‘HS tariff number’ is blank. Can anyone explain what the HS number is. Could the lack of a number be the problem?

Can anyone give me a bit of guidance. I recently bought two gold 20 mark coins from a dealer called Kunker who are part of the MA shops network. It was agreed with the seller that the two coins would be sent separately for security reasons. One has been delivered by Royal Mail without any problems. However, the second coin has been held by Royal mail pending payment of charges. These charges are: Import VAT £94.65, Customs Duty £9.28 and Handling Fee £8 giving a total charge of £111.92. According to HMRC Vat Notice 701/21A, investment gold is exempt from VAT and this coin falls into that category being a gold Saxony 20 mark dated 1905. Is there anybody with a similar experience who can advise if am I correct in thinking that I should pay the charges and then attempt to reclaim them using Form BOR286. Or is the best bet to return the item to the seller? Thanks for any help, Bixley

Were you there at the time? 😉

It is in the centre aisle, well known for its bargain assortment of things you didn’t expect to see in a supermarket.

In London in the sixties (showing my age!) it was common for a chap with a basket of shellfish to go round the pubs on a Sunday lunchtime. Winkles and brown bread for tea was a great treat.

At first glance I thought it was an Australian platinum jubilee commemorative coin featuring a dingo and a corgi.

1591?

I offered the suggestion as you mentioned Phillys but there are ducats, coronas and florins there too.

Try Googling ‘Austrian Mint’.

The postie just delivered this:

It would be a service to the community if you could do an analysis which I think outweighs your reluctance to give money to the counterfeiters, just hold your nose when you do it.

Many thanks for the explanation of UP - my knowledge of Hungarian is zero. The edge wording is 'BIZALMAM AZ OSI ERENYBEN' which with the aid of Wikipedia I understand to be the Hungarian motto of Ferencz Jozsef (Franz Joseph), the translation being 'My trust in virtue'. Here is a picture of the edge ornament and stars. Any further information you can give me would be most welcome.

I have just got back from visiting a chum and sorting out the world’s problems. Naturally this necessitated downing a few beers so I a mnot in a position at the moment to take accurate photos .I will get back on to this in the morning.

I think it is a mint mark instead of the ‘KB’ on the other versions. But I’m open to being enlightened on this.

I bought this coin at Coin Cabinet auction number 60 - lot 58 - for 1800 Euros. The sale listing described the coin as follows: 'Gold 100 korona, 1908. I Ferenc József. Crowned shield with angel supporters, KB below. Legend reads 'MAGYAR KIRÁLYSÁG' above, '100 KORONA' below. Designed by: Josef Reisner. / Ferenc József I standing. Legend around reads 'FERENCZ.JÓZSEF I.K.A.CS ÉS M.H.S.D.O.AP.KIR.'. Designed by: Carl Gerl. Milled edge' Choice mint state. Reference: KM-491; ÉH-1488; H-2197; Adamo-K10 Diameter: 37 mm. Weight: 33.8753 g. (AGW=0.9803 oz.) Composition: 900.0/1000 Gold. Note that there is no mention of the coin being a restrike unlike other Austrian coins in the auction which were stated as being restrikes. The auction listing refers to KM491 which in my copy of Krauss World Coins notes this coin as having both originals and restrikes. However, my other reference book 'Schlumberger European Gold Coins Guide Book' says that there are three versions of the 1908 coin, (1) the Original, (2) without UP, official restrike and (3) without UP, official restrike for the USA market. So my questions for the experts are: Is it a genuine original, Is a restrike and when were the restrikes made, Is it a fake, If it is a restrike should I contact the auctioneers seeking an explanation for the mis description. Krauss gives a valuation of an original being worth four times more than a restrike. The coin is the correct weight and diameter as noted on Numista. Over to the experts.......

But the Zimbabwe multi gazillion billion notes are now being collected and are worth more now than they were ever worth as currency.

From yesterday’s Daily Telegraph. The DT seems to have lots of coin stories, I wonder if the have an enthusiast amongst their reporters.

My favourite is the 2007 silver. It portrays all the elements that characterise Britain. A serene Britannia offering an olive branch to visitors coming across the sea with a dozing lion at her side and a trident and shield to hand just in case the visitor proves unfriendly. My second favourite is the 2009 with Britannia carrying a trident on board the chariot.

I just had a look through the lots after receiving an email from the mint reminding me it started at 2pm. What strikes me is the bids are way over the estimates. I have been quite put off bidding for the one kilo completer.

You might well be right. In my innocence I thought the RM would have a huge stack of one kilo ingots ready to deploy at the drop of a hat. But what would they produce the ingots from? I thought the producers / refiners would deliver the gold in ingots.

I’m not sure I’m going along with your last paragraph. Don’t the banks and governments trade in one kilo ingots and would not therefore be taking production capacity away from coins?

Could it be that the Russians are dumping large quantities of gold on the market? That would account for the drop in price and would explain the RM's withdrawal from the market until the price stabilises.

I'm much more impressed with them in hand than I was from the promotional pictures. I had better add that it was only the silver capsule I had to prise apart. The gold is a screw capsule.

With difficulty! A fine but strong blade between the halves and work it round until wide enough to get a fingernail in. There was some slight capsule damage by the time I got it opened. But I hate looking at coins through plastic so just had to get it open. The capsule has not been pressed firmly shut for storage so will open easily again.