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Coinery

Just A Thought For Newcomers!

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Spink is a guidline, and probably a fairly good one. Ebay on the other hand, is somewhat of an oddity where prices and indeed "valuable" coins can be poles apart from mainstream thinking :)

 

Welcome to the forum too by the way!

 

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19 hours ago, Fuzzygoat said:

you generally find SPINK to be accurate re prices fo say Victorian coins, I apologise if that’s a daft question but as I explained previously this is a whole new area for me.

NO price guide is accurate - they are only 'guides'. For prices to pay, they are just a rough guide to go on, but they are more useful for showing the differentials between common and / or unpopular coins versus rarities and / or popular coins. For example, a 1902 LT penny is usually about 6 times the price of the high tide, in all grades.

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Guest Dan

Hello can anybody help me with something. I found a coin it is covered in what I think is called patina it appears to be gold to me but I can't see any markings because of the patina. I've heard cleaning is a bad idea so how can I find out what it is?? Anyone have any ideas or advice. Cheers. Sorry for posting this on someones feed wasn't sure how to start a new one. 

 

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15176957149491754976998.jpg

15176958205371411602076.jpg

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I'm thinking that it could quite possibly be an early(ish) Roman Empire bronze, by what looks very much like a bust, and the thickness. But it's in such poor condition it would be difficult to say much more than that.

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Looks like a grot. Probably a follis of Vespasian I think judging by the profile. 

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10 hours ago, Ukstu said:

Looks like a grot. Probably a follis of Vespasian I think judging by the profile. 

Wow - I didn't see that until you mentioned it...  first glance I thought it was a piece of squashed rabbit poo. But I see the bust and see what you mean now about Vespasian.  Maybe too worn to tell, but I see where you are coming from. .  

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Looks like a sestertius of Trajan to me, will be made from a brassy copper alloy, hence the patina; the area that you think shows gold is probably an edge scratch, as a gold coin would not have corroded. Do not attempt to remove the patina, or you will lose what little detail the coin has, and end up with a rough brassy disc.

Jerry

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Much too small for a sestertius I think?

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15 minutes ago, Peckris said:

Much too small for a sestertius I think?

Almost crosses two fingers? I don’t think so, though measurements would be helpful. Coins like this turn up a lot, have handled dozens, and few sestertii are full flan. Unless the hand is small, when the coin might be a little too small, an As or dupondius would be possible, though the thickness seems too great to me. My two equivalent fingers measure 40mm across at this level, the average sestertius is 32 to 34 mm in diameter. Looks right to me.

Jerry

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I think that is near enough, given that your coin has more flan around the portrait than the one we are discussing. Also the dupondius and As are much thinner coins as well as smaller, both being almost half the weight of a sestertius.

Where are you Guest Dan, you could give the diameter and perhaps the weight?

Jerry

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On 12/01/2018 at 3:44 PM, Fuzzygoat said:

Thanks all for your responses, I think the moral of the story is research and more research, it’s hard not to take the plunge and start to buy, but I think I’m starting to narrow down what I would like to focus on, next I need to research the values/ selling prices. 

Do you generally find SPINK to be accurate re prices fo say Victorian coins, I apologise if that’s a daft question but as I explained previously this is a whole new area for me.

On 12/01/2018 at 3:44 PM, Fuzzygoat said:

Thanks all for your responses, I think the moral of the story is research and more research, it’s hard not to take the plunge and start to buy, but I think I’m starting to narrow down what I would like to focus on, next I need to research the values/ selling prices. 

Do you generally find SPINK to be accurate re prices fo say Victorian coins, I apologise if that’s a daft question but as I explained previously this is a whole new area for me.

I like to refer to Spinks as the Insurance Man's price index . As in the prices quoted are what you are likely to receive  from an insurance claim should a coin get lost or stolen. As for market prices it all depends on supply and demand. You never can tell with the sort after coins they will always defy any catalogue pricing weather it be well over or well under. You know it is all down to how many are bidding and who wants it the most. But for the general prices they are usually ok as a starting point but remember with spinks UNC is MS65 or UNC 82 and unblemished. Prices between UNC 80 and 82 are worlds apart obviously because we all want the best we can afford or the best grade damn the expense :) . This is where the crossover from US grading and UK grading causes pricing issues. The US think XF-40 is the same as our EF and price it according to our EF catalogue listings. Absolute nonsense really because whilst they may be correct in the grade of XF-40 it is only VF in UK and nobody but a complete muppet would pay EF price for VF coins although many have and all part of the learning curve. If you are a seller you will always quote Spinks cat prices. If you are a buyer you will quote any other catalogue as they have the more sensible pricing . It's finding the middle ground that's a minor issue. But if you have done your homework and can show other examples even if they are by links to auction sites you would be surprised that even the most negative response to a lower offer can normally be adjusted to suit both parties. Ok waffled too long . Myself personally and I am sure the rest of the brother/sisterhood would have a clutch of different price catalogues. The more you have the easier it is to place a coin in a price range you can work with.:ph34r::D

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Coins & Market Values used to have the lowest prices, but now I find - for some series - the Coin News blue pages are ridiculously underpriced, e.g. bun pennies.

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