Last month, a penny most people had been looking for resurfaced in eBay and suddenly cancelled by its seller without any reason. The mystery seller listed as Suzanne X, failed to respond to email requests for more information about the 1933 penny bearing the head of King George V. The seller, based in Isleworth, West London, has an impeccable trading record with 100 per cent positive feedback. The 1933 coin was one of 16 pennies being sold as a job lot. However the bid was mysteriously cancelled without explanation. Experts have always worked on the assumption that only seven such coins were minted and, if genuine, this one would be worth at least £80,000.
Photo by dailymail.co.uk: An example of the 1933 coin.
The Royal Mint had no plans to make any pennies in 1933 because there were already plenty around. However, a small number were produced following requests for a commemorative coin. Experts have always worked on the basis there were seven. Of these, three were placed by the King under the foundation stones of buildings, two were presented to the British Museum and two found their way to private collectors. In September 1970, during building work, one of the coins was stolen from the cornerstone of the Church of St Cross in Middleton, Leeds.
Rather than risk a further theft, the Bishop of Ripon ordered that another coin buried at St Mary's Church in Hawksworth should be unearthed and sold. Today the Mint Museum, British Museum and the University of London each hold one of the coins, with three in private collections.
The listing, complete with misspellings, had stated:
"These pennys was found in my grandfathers house. The story my grandfather told me they came of Big Ben. They was used to weight the penderlumif the clock was running fast or removed them if running slow. He used to service Big Ben. He retired in 1968. Sorry the photos are not clear. But you are bidding on the job lot. Selling no reserve, as I dont no a thing about coins. Good luck and happy bidding."
A number of people showed interest in the coin and the seller subsequently posted more images which showed the 1933 date clearly. It is certainly the case that old pre-decimal pennies are still used today as part of the balancing mechanism of Big Ben to ensure it keeps the correct time. There is a possibility, although slim, that one of the 1933 coins would have been used in this way. Assuming the coin is genuine, the owner could be sitting on a lifechanging-amount. However, coin collectors are always wary that criminals might be trying to cash in by creating fakes.
Nick Hart, of the London Mint company, said the history and rarity of the 1933 penny make it a very valuable coin. 'It is not quite clear how many were struck. It is certainly less than ten. 'The price is difficult to be sure of, because they sell so rarely. A genuine coin would fetch more than £80,000, while some versions would be more than £100,000. Two versions to the coin were struck. It is thought that four had a slightly different image of the King in preparation to an updating of his likeness on all coins. These are particularly valuable.
"It would need to be examined by an expert, but I have serious doubts. I would be very surprised if this is a real 1933 penny."
After seeing the image on eBay, Mr Hart said he had suspicions about the coin. He said the spacing of the digits was irregular, which would mean it is a fake.
Source: Dailymail.co.uk
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