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Nonmortuus

Another newbie

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Ok, looking more closely ..

this bun head type Victorian farthing is in reasonable condition say Good Very Fine (I'm usually a bit conservative) nice colour and a heavy strike that has caused slight undulations in planchet finish especially Reverse field it seems and high rims. There seems to be a couple of very tiny verdigris spots on Obverse, with a couple of small stains that don't detract and perhaps very light finger marks. Strike is very slightly off centre causing uneven beading on perimeter of coin.

All in all though a nice example.

Edited by Nicholas
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Again, another purchase beore finding this forum.

Halfpenny R.jpg Halfpenny O.jpg

Good job you found us! :)

LOL

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Again, another purchase beore finding this forum.

attachicon.gifHalfpenny R.jpgattachicon.gifHalfpenny O.jpg

yes mate you can throw that away.

keep looking and learning and dont be to keen on buying any until your sure you will be happy with your puchase.

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Ok so I made my first significant (in my newbie eyes) starter purchase today, I estimated the obverse to be close to if not EF and the reverse to be VF due to wear on the harp and lions, maybe even just F due to some wear on the crown but as I am really new to this I would appreciate your feedback.

post-8826-0-46368900-1436729501_thumb.jppost-8826-0-54294500-1436729502_thumb.jp

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Oh, and a pleasing, problem free, coin, just making NEF for me...though your pictures are a little low-res for a definitive answer. Nice coin! :)

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I will see what I can do to get a better picture but its good to know I was not a million miles away with the grading.

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I agree with Coinery NM, I would like to make some observations if I may, which I hope will help.

It looks to me that you were the winning bidder for this coin

link

which finished on eBay this evening?

If not, please ignore me!

If so:

This is the coin you have won:

1849_flv01.png

I would grade this coin lower on the Obverse than The Reverse, perhaps VF on the obverse and GVF+ on the reverse, nearly GVF overall. Gradings are normally specified in this order, i.e. obverse then reverse, and the overall grading skewed towards the obverse. Did you mean to grade the obverse (the Queens head side) higher than the reverse?

I think you have paid a fair price for this easily available coin, and will sell it for a similar price when you inevitably upgrade

But for 50% more outlay you could get an EF example, which I think you would be much happier with

Do consult us if you want before spending a significant part of your budget :)

Edited by Paulus
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Something I have just noticed is something odd at 6 O'clock on the reverse rim ?filemarks/bruise?

Edit: could just be a flaw, it's something to check-out when you get it though? ;)

Edited by Coinery

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Hi Paulus, thats the one. I went to the Midland coin fair today and couldn't find anything close to that for the money I paid. I did have in my head that the Obverse was higher than the reverse. What is the main reason you would grade the obverse lower? Is it down to the wear on the braid? Again any feedback is appreciated, the more I ask and get back the more I learn :)

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OBV GVF REV VF for me

Edited by azda

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Hi Paulus, thats the one. I went to the Midland coin. fair today and couldn't find anything close to that for the money I paid. I did have in my head that the Obverse was higher than the reverse. What is the main reason you would grade the obverse lower? Is it down to the wear on the braid? Again any feedback is appreciated, the more I ask and get back the more I learn :)

You have to delve into the trays.

Those gems are there B)

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Hi Paulus, thats the one. I went to the Midland coin. fair today and couldn't find anything close to that for the money I paid. I did have in my head that the Obverse was higher than the reverse. What is the main reason you would grade the obverse lower? Is it down to the wear on the braid? Again any feedback is appreciated, the more I ask and get back the more I learn :)

You have to delve into the trays.

Those gems are there B)

You have to do the spadework if you want to find things. If you don't look you will never find. Nobody looked at the florin tray on my table yesterday, so clearly your searching was neither methodical nor thorough. (I didn't have one anyway)

It is blindingly obvious that many visitors to the fair go to see a couple of specific people, but don't broaden their horizons. The table next to me was visited by a group of people looking for some proof sets. Some he was able to supply, others not. Two sets that were discussed for a few minutes were the 1973 and 1979 sets and the difficulty in obtaining them untoned. He didn't have them. Had they asked me about them I could have supplied both which were in a large pile of sets immediately adjacent to the next table, but they just decided they weren't available and went off to pastures new.

You can't force people to look, but a fair appraisal is they are mostly their own worst enemy. Trying to engage people in conversation and establish what they are looking for is well nigh impossible. The best you can usually hope for is 'just browsing' (as they get out a list of things they are looking for)! Producing something off the list also causes problems as the item will inevitably not be at eBay's 99p plus free postage. Their eyes often stop at higher grade pieces, but the realisation that it costs more than the aforementioned 99p results in the euphamistic 'I'll think about it' - i.e. the decision has already been made.

On a more positive note, you also get a handful of people who freely admit they know little about the subject and are just starting out. I once even managed to reduce a wants list requiring a full sheet of A4 paper to half a dozen coins. The person was not aware that certain dates didn't exist. That help would be available at most tables if customers could bring themselves to engage in conversation, but unfortunately many don't.

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As newish member to this coin collecting lark (compared to you codgers ;)) I found that going to places like Midland is a little over whelming, especially the first time round.

The most coins I've seen in one room, and because it's all packed in it's very hustle and bustle and hard to keep track of where you've been and what you've seen. Many times I've found myself looking at the same coin I'd previously dismissed, purely because I thought it was a different coin! Having said that, I'm not one to shy away so I did find people on here who I knew would be there beforehand then went round to have a chat.

Also echoing what Rob has said above, speak to the dealers because not only are they going to know better than you what they've got, but they'll have knowledge you don't and can help in a lot of ways.

Watch out for Rob though, he knows more than he lets on :ph34r: haha

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I was there with my wife and 1 year old so did not get to spend as long as I would have liked, we were there about 90 minutes or so. I did manage to have a chat with a few people running some of the stalls there and explained I was new to the hobby and that I was primarly browsing to get a feel for the coin fair and the people there.

I will be going again next month all being well. It would be great to meet you! I think my main issue is that the grading system seems so subjective that people opinions seem to vary a great deal, not to the degree off some of the bandits on ebay, but still enough to baffle a newbie like me. I did make a purchase but that was purely for my silver stack.

Regarding your tray, I probably did miss. I tried to look at every table at least once (subject to it not being croweded out) and where I could spend some time looking through what was there I did. My lack of experience and knowledge ultimatly probably stopped me buying something there and then.

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Don't be afraid we all learn from mistakes.

I started with my wants list many years ago.Forget that and follow your instinct.Get talking to dealers.

One dealer sees me and gives me 1st dibs on new purchases...The only thing bad is coin collectors stoop.

I need a Radox soak when I get home.

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Hhhmm coin dealers.

Whilst providing good knowledge of coins (and of course I'm generalising) they need to earn a living so they will :

1. Talk down your coin to sell

2. Talk up their coins they are selling

And are very good at doing it.

Edited by Nicholas
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Nick

Thats ilife.

A newby is best avoiding Ebay and get behind a decent dealer.A decent dealer knows my name and can enjoy a coffee/tea before we haggle. ;)

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I think it's a bit of a life-cycle! You can come into coin collecting by a number of ways...pulling from circulation, inheriting gramp's collection, or maybe you just love a bit of history and stumble into it by accident, as I did?

Then what happens is, you may join a forum, buy a book, purchase a couple of coins via eBay, and generally pootle around a bit, making endless mistakes (but good to do so, as long as they're not pricey ones).

Then you discover dealers and maybe fairs, where you expand and grow and, alongside, maybe make one or two better judged purchases on eBay?

Eventually you'll have a couple of silly snatches at the auction houses until, finally, one day, you find yourself sat next to your old dealer and bidding for the same coins! :)

That's not to say this journey is a short one, because it isn't, and it's not for everyone...some people prefer the security of a dealer's judgement, and will happily surf for the best deals amongst them, but not everyone.

People will always need dealers however as they are in it 24/7 and will always be the first to hear of any surfacing rarities, or will at least know a man that has one...you're never close to this with an auction house.

The whole journey is as varied as coins, and each travels a different but recognised path by us all, it wouldn't be so wonderful otherwise! :)

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Nick

Thats ilife.

A newby is best avoiding Ebay and get behind a decent dealer.A decent dealer knows my name and can enjoy a coffee/tea before we haggle. ;)

Agreed! Just laying out the land to a newbie!

Ps. A dealer will out haggle a newbie by blinding them with science - some experience recommended.

Edited by Nicholas

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Well I plan to save my pennies and decide what I really want next. I will be asking advice on here though on any future ebay purchases!

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My intial thread.... but up above you will see my 1849 Florin. Here is the same coin with the new lighting rig so you can see the difference:

1849-florin-new-pic.jpg

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