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ozjohn

1920 Halfcrown Upgrade

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An upgrade to my halfcrown collection. Finding a 1920 halfcrown in reasonable condition is difficult although it is not a rare coin the mint quality is problematic and grading these coins is difficult.  There are a couple of marks on the obverse however I think on the whole it is a pretty decent coin

Obverse AU.jpg

Reverse AU.jpg

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Nice coin John! :) 

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Yes, nice bit there. I have seen some with very good hair and beard detail struck up well. I have one with almost a matte proof appearance that may have been a special strike and then there is the extraordinary example that listed on the PCGS site which is some sort of specimen: #512833 - that one looks to be considerably BETTER than 61....

 

Click on the image as it comes up for a very nice enlargement; I like to do that on their site and is a nice feature.

Edited by VickySilver

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Nice coin, of the five types that one does appear to be found in the best condition.

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Very nice coin! While I am primarily a collector of British and Australian predecimal bronze by variety, I’ve also recently considered collecting 20th century predecimal British silver coins, especially halfcrowns. As a starting point, I was fortunate enough some year ago in acquiring at one go a virtually complete 20th century set (by year and type) of shillings through halfcrowns at a Noble Numismatics auction in Melbourne. Condition is mixed, varying from VG to Unc, so I been looking at upgrading these to examples in about VF or better condition where possible, and at adding some of the more significant varieties.

Any advice/thoughts on this or a recounting of experiences of other collectors of these coins would be very welcome…

Best Regards,

InforaPenny

 

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Nice coin , wish it was mine -reverse particularly good:D

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Hi Inforapenny,

Try classic coins on ebay they always seem to have a lot of English silver coins in VF and above condition  at fairly reasonable prices.

 

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Funnily enough I've just upgraded mine too - they are hard to find. It's not quite as good as yours, and it has an odd matt finish that makes me think it might have been dipped (can anyone tell from these pics?) It was only a tenner, delivered, so I don't think I've done too badly.

 

 

DSCF7490.JPG

DSCF7491.JPG

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Hi ozjohn,

Thanks for your suggestion. The Classic Coins site certainly shows a nice selection of high quality images of British silver.

For now, I’ll probably stick to my plan of upgrading here and there as opportunity presents itself. My dilemma is that while my 1903-1905 halfcrowns are in reasonable condition, they are not high grade and I’m not sure it makes sense to try to upgrade them. Of these, the best is the 1903.

In assessing the condition of 1902-1927 halfcrowns, I generally look first at the letters of the motto on the reverse. On my 1903 coin the P of PENCE is worn but fully visible, but the I of HONI has worn away. As a result, my initial goal is to upgrade the other halfcrowns in my set (except from 1904-1905) to roughly this condition or better. Since I live in the US, shipping can be expensive, so I’ve mostly been looking over here.

In any case, I still view this as a side collection, driven mainly by the difficulty and expense of adding to or upgrading my British predecimal bronze, especially the pennies.

Best Regards,

InforaPenny

 

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I think I've the same views as you InforaPenny. I want to see those two letters, the I and the P. I can (just) on my 1903, but not on the 1904 (which is ok, as it's a nice enough coin in hand). As for the 1905, when I eventually get one it'll probably be a flat disc with a date on. :lol:

1903.JPG

1904.JPG

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I think we’re on the same page mrbadexample. In fact the wear on my 1903 and 1904 halfcrowns is remarkably similar to yours. The wear to the lettering on my 1905 is similar to your 1904 on the right side, but only the HO shows on the left with wear at the bottom of the date to the rim, unlike the 1903 and 1904.

Best Regards,

InforaPenny

 

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On 15/02/2016 at 7:22 AM, ozjohn said:

An upgrade to my halfcrown collection. Finding a 1920 halfcrown in reasonable condition is difficult although it is not a rare coin the mint quality is problematic and grading these coins is difficult.  There are a couple of marks on the obverse however I think on the whole it is a pretty decent coin

Obverse AU.jpg

Reverse AU.jpg

That is a very nice example, here is my inferior one (although I don't place much priority in finding better from my budget)

1920_hc_01_03_1300.jpg

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