sovereignsteve

perfect, untouched if memory serves. I got it on release

I've got one I don't need.

anyone know off the top of their heads how the mintages compare to previous issues?

That begs the question of how many people do you routinely show it to? Does your wife know?😎

why, are they made of special thickness industrial plastic?

I'd love to see the dies for this and the press used to mint it.

👎

Hammer and large screwdriver, but don't forget the cotton gloves to avoid damage to the coin😎

@LiquidMetalsUKWhat is it you do now, something to do with mercury?😉

Dies will wear and eventually fall apart under the immense stresses thay are subject to during their lifetime. Cracks will develop and gradually get worse until someone decides enough is enough and bins them. How often they are simply left in use until they do completely breakdown and fall apart is unknown. Perhaps the deteriorating condition is noticed in "QC" which I assume they had in some form before the coins were released for circulation, and the dies taken out of use?

Logically speaking, there are only two possibilities with regard to "unbarred A" or broken A bars. 1. Broken A punches where the bar is broken off completely or partially. This is understandable as the bar will be a very thin sliver of steel and would be susceptible to damage considering how much hammer they would be subject to over their lifetime. I would imagine these punches would be used for many years in the Mint even after they show signs of damage. After all, such things wouldn't be regarded as important, who cares whether one of the letters or numbers is imperfect in some way. You do see lots of damage to the serifs on other letters as well. This situation with the A is GRATIA is pretty common and doesn't really interest me, most people make too much of these in the interests of adding £££s to the selling price. 2. Genuine mint/engraver errors where an unside down V has been used in place of the A in GRATIA. These are pretty rare and worthy of the cudos and value upgrade they attract.

Fell over this Antonio Canova statue of the three graces in the V&A last week. It really is a "work of art", so beautiful. I wish WW had used this version as the model for his coin.

No comment as to its authenticity or value but grade IMO is pretty much with a slight tilt to the higher end

Yes. Would you want to reward someone who pointed out your error when you didn't have chance to rectify it?

Quick question guys. Does the 2oz silver require a NGC double thickness holder? Thanks