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Dansco 7070 is pretty much the standard. They have been back in print, so a lot more reasonable than a few years ago, but yes, still expensive. Are you against importing from the US? I'd think some eBay sellers are willing to ship there. Whitman made similar albums (not the cheap folder types), but I'm not sure they are made anymore. Littleton may have a ripoff of the Dansco, but I don't know if they do international post. You could probably get one of us in the US to relay it, but I imagine, if you're willing to ship from US, lots of sellers are willing. Found an old Whitman basic type set. Pretty sure they don't print it currently, but this is (I'm assuming) what you'd be looking for. I do not see any on eBay presently. When they pop up, some people do price gouging. https://www.mercari.com/us/item/m20076526228?sv=0

Sometimes wipes only show up in certain angles. A friend recently got a German piece from Künker in which pics and description say nothing of cleaning, but he shared a video where it's clear. Hairlines over both the fields and devices. He's pretty unhappy about it, obviously. It's the sort of thing that lead to TPGs becoming so popular here in the US. That and whizzing being so popular here for a time. Künker is a really big AH, with hammers averaging more than 2.5x of estimates.

One can born with scars unfortunately. I remember some salesman once said on TV that inclusions in a diamond are a good thing as they give the stone unique character. Who was he kidding? Back to the 1902 matte proof. In my view, the minting process was over when the coins have been struck. The wiping wasn't part of the minting process and was mishandling by workers after minting. The fact that many (but not all) 1902 matt proof have wipe marks do help to make them more tolerable to collectors but you won't find many people thinking the marks are a positive feature. If you buy a modern commemorative coin from the Royal Mint today and it comes with a fingerprint, you would immediately return it due to mishandling in the mint.

There's that semicircular patch under the chin could be due to anything . I think I have said this before. When I look at my silver bits and pieces they start to tarnish (tone) after a month or so. How a 100 year old coin put away remain bright and shiny without some form of cleaning beats me. A obviously cleaned coin with abrasion marks is certainly devalued however a bright shiny 100 year coin attracts little comment for the most part while a toned coin excite some collectors although this is corrosion silver being attacked by oxygen and sulfur in the atmosphere in exactly the same way as iron and steel rust. Perhaps collectors are too picky with non abrasive cleaning such as Goddards or the Al foil/ bicarbonate methods of cleaning, I have seen coins with very heavy toning come to life with judicious dipping and IMO should not be considered as devalued in some way. Having said that any cleaning should be aproached with caution.

Not likely to show up in the UK, but just in case... I have an acquaintance who's father was awarded this medal for his work in creating the Clad Metal system used to replace Silver in US Coins (dime, quarter, half dollar and dollar). It went missing from a drawer in his apartment shortly before he died in December. If by any chance you see it, please let me know. Thank you.