I find it amazing the British Mint . . .

ajaan · February 16, 2004 4:21AM

has no idea how many coins they minted. Specifically, a 1958 1/2d in Proof. I emailed them asking about the mintage of this coin. They sent me two article photcopied from The Numismatist, both by Harry Spencer. Neither was any help in determining the mintage of the coin. He does quote Freeman but in the same paragraph says Freeman is off by perhaps a factor of 10.

spinaker2000 · February 16, 2004 4:26AM

And from that info you deduce what?? 15-16 pieces??

edited to add: or by factor did you mean 10x 5-6 pieces??

ajaan · February 16, 2004 4:31AM

Terry, I have no idea. Freeman says 2 to 5 were minted. But 5 specimens exist in museums in the UK according to Spencer. I have 2 of them and know of one more. That makes at least eight.

spinaker2000 · February 16, 2004 4:35AM

what's more important is that even if there were 16 ,( and you have two!!), they were under-priced and a bargain. And you have two!!

ajaan · February 16, 2004 4:38AM

1958 was not THAT long ago, I can't believe the Mint didn't keep track of how many they made.

tlhoy · February 16, 2004 4:39AM

They actually answered you? I've sent them 2 emails ( Jan, 8) and they have yet to answer either of them!
Glenn

cosmicdebris · February 16, 2004 4:39AM

Dupes eh? TIme for a giveaway

ajaan · February 16, 2004 4:42AM

Glenn,
I got a nice letter apologizing for taking so long to answer. It wasn't really that long IMO. They didn't really answer my question though.

MacCrimmon · February 16, 2004 5:55AM

They are nevertheless proofs-of-record...

They are akin to the Swiss specimen strikings in that only an estimate can be deduced from known pieces and auction records.

BTW, I have a half roll of those proof 1958 1/2d.

ajaan · February 16, 2004 5:59AM

<< <i>BTW, I have a half roll of those proof 1958 1/2d >>

and I give out those Swiss Specimen strikes as Halloween gifts to the kiddies.

coinkat · February 16, 2004 9:51AM

Trick or Treat!

Aethelred · February 16, 2004 11:17AM

In the April 1962 British Numismatic Journal, former Under Mint Master Sir Ian Lunsford stated that while many of the proof Halfpennies of the late 1950s have a recorded mintage of 3-10 coins, in fact several hundred of each were made and given to staff at the Royal mint and that this in part led to his being asked to resign as Under Mint Master.

(edited to add I am just jerking Ajaan's chain

)

spinaker2000 · February 16, 2004 11:21AM

ajaan · February 16, 2004 7:36PM

How much do yo want for a copy of that article?

wybrit · February 17, 2004 12:01PM

The British mint doesn't know much about the mintage of any year. There were mintages of sixpences of 205,920 in 1849 and 601,920 in 1861 according to some old literature I still have. No sixpences of these dates are known, so they are probably coins dated 1850 and 1860 repsectively (not likely to be 1848 or 1862 as both of those dates are tough ones in their own right).

There is an independent work by Gouby that sheds much light on the probable mintages of some of the bronze coinage of the 1860s.

1jester · February 17, 2004 8:12PM

"In the April 1962 British Numismatic Journal, former Under Mint Master Sir Ian Lunsford stated that while many of the proof Halfpennies of the late 1950s have a recorded mintage of 3-10 coins, in fact several hundred of each were made and given to staff at the Royal mint and that this in part led to his being asked to resign as Under Mint Master." --Dead King

I find it amazing the British Mint . . .

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