VickySilver

Bit high after all the tariffs....I would imagine lustre is rather better than pictures. Also as I have noticed, some of the bag marks on devices seem to get accentuated on photos, much to my chagrin. Also, IMHO the "edge nibbles" are largely the result of planchet treatment after the upset process. This is probably why even mint states have this quite frequently. Great that you look at the edges which I highly recommend as well because that sometimes tells you something else about the strike vs. wear on other areas such as devices on the coin. BTW, I think the 1915 when well struck is a somewhat better date although certainly not rare....

Yes, sometimes I think that...If I had seen that in hand chances are I would not have minded going a fair bit up the scale.. My others are MS63 but that looked excellent. No, I did not buy the 1839 2/6 at 38k. Mine I bought for 2500 and is the pictured coin on the PCGS pop reports that graded Deep Cam 63; of course it is mine but think it would have a good shot at 65 or above these days...Never got the Gothic crowns even when they were relatively cheap as I actually liked them on the florin size which as may guess I have a number of. But the bank account is not so great these days so probably good from that standpoint. In the good olde dayes I would have had an agent bid for me....

Yes, maybe I can generalise to the "we". I confess I am addicted as I already have TWO mint state (at least by TPG standards) 1904s but this coin looked superior and somehow I missed it at Colin Cooke 20+ years ago when it was sold despite having a good customer relationship with CC. Ah well, you win some and lose others... I miss out on minor lots on ebay all the time, LOL. I have been the beneficiary in the past of well healed buyers being caught off-footed and me getting coins I simply should not have been able to compete for.

Well no secret I live in the US and so 10 AM London auctions mean 5 AM start time here on the East Coast. So I got myself up in time and had a target of the 1904 Halfcrown and to "spy" on results on a few others (the 1839 currency and proof halfcrowns) that I already have but curious as to how they might do So the auction was going on possibly a bit slow & grabbed 1/2 hour more quick sleep, checked the auction progress and saw I could grab another 1/2 hour - which I did. Unfortunately, I slept on through to Lot 326 (non-consequential). Damn! Missed the '04 which looked good from the pictures! Don't know if anybody got that one (closed at 2200 plus commission) but was wondering if anybody held it in hand; the obverse bust of Eddy appeared to be very well struck with few or nearly no marks & the reverse very pleasant By recall the two 1839s went for I think 4k and 3.8k plus commission.... Oh well, just a bit of a rant....(and I saved 3k or so quid!).....

Hmm, not sure of that and think it is the small copper residual. These chemically reduce in mild redox reactions like the one with baking soda, aluminium and vinegar....

I rather like gold and some good results on proofs with their obnoxious red spotting on some with copper alloys....

If the coin is valuable enough (possibly 5k pounds or above) they may not charge any at all - which is customary for many larger auction houses. I sold one of those "big ticket" coins, well two of them, and got back 105% of the sales price. In other words, they paid ME 5% of the buyer's commission. Contact them and ask what they might do for you.

Yes that is what I did. However, thanks to John I filled in enormous date runs of 20th C. Minor silvers in decent grade at reasonable cost. There were a couple of denomination date combos that never did work and still have 3-4 1908 shillings that weren’t up to it as examples. But he did notify me of some very rare patterns which sold at sensible prices that would not be possible to replace nowadays and for these also I have been grateful. And for some reason (chance?) he would occasionally find the odd exceptional piece similar to the OP that would have me wondering at the source and oddly not particularly favoured in his catalogue descriptions or priced higher than other lesser pieces.

Very nice piece there. I confess that I would be tempted to "conserve" the surfaces a bit. I rather like these nicer early '20s silver and especially the HC and florin.

Yes, I did not see the 1841 penny as proof with a less than desirable (or acceptable IMHO) strike. I do confess to getting the 1958 Halfcrown in proof however....LOL

If I can remember correctly, this coin came from the late John Welsh who some may remember. Always funny getting coins from him as a good number had enthusiastic grades or preservation (LOL) but on the other hand coins such as this or a number of patterns he managed to get for me were also had. I am not absolutely positive and perhaps some know more but I think he got hold of a couple of the ex-Pretoria mint collection coins [somehow]....

The reverse photo just does not demonstrate the matte-like surfaces.

I got this specimen about 20 years ago and have treasured it since - 1920. Not quite as nice as the satin specimen “duck tailed” but pleasant nonetheless. I am challenged by posting decent photos let alone two or more. I will try to show the reverse in a subsequent post.

Maybe, though George himself not overly possessed of such....LOL

Although I somewhat agree, I think my point was that there was a big rise that seems to have tapered in the last year or two. I say that because I bought the Terner specimen of the 1937 Sov in 65CAM and so followed it as a test case & that is what I have seen. Frankly, with regards to this set, I do not understand the interest or rise in these except from a speculative sense...

ANYWAY, maybe back to the original topic (and this comes from one with borderline A.D.D.).....IMHO, not all coins have risen in price recently and some remain a bit forlorn. IMHO this is at least a bifurcated market with the big ticket gold coins like the Una and all seeming to reach for the heights of Heaven and other coins languishing just a bit - such as those that got me started in predecimal so many years ago (Wreath crowns) and that have made little headway if any. And true it is that some coins such as the aforementioned proof sets of 1950 and '51 have risen a bit, but this is mainly on the strength of some having relatively nicer cameo coins in them, which if TPG graded can rise to the heights. Some "middle ground" coins like the 1937 proof sov have not moved much in the last 2-3 years but had in the 5-10 prior to that. Does this represent a relative softening in price rises? Other mid ground coins like the 1839 proof half crown have stalled a bit with the exception of especially high TPG graded coins and those that have the big grade number. The latter are dangerous territory grounds for the collector and have served dealers well; I say that because at least in my opinion, that the TPG grades can be a bit subjective and yet very much influence the price fetched, especially in venues such as Monaco or Heritage or the big London auction houses... More comments?

Beautiful peripheral toning!

Yes, good show and please do report on results. I recently went to first ammonia and then to the reduction method on a Liberia 1965 30 dollar proof coin with great results... Please do rinse the funk of liberally...

Please note the vast difference in the type of hairlines from the OP to the last cited....

Well, there certainly can be planchet prep but generally what would be on the lookout for is DIE PREP and if that was the case the lines you see would be raised, or in relief. Many planchets, and even those destined for special proofs or patterns were NOT treated well and these can be seen in perusal of the coin....

This is one area that they are pretty consistent (re: hairlines). I would see this as a 62 at NGC and probably cameo, not quite Deep Cameo. These look fairly obvious to be post strike as many could not resist the odd swipe at the coin's surface. I have seen many graded and have a couple of 63 Cameos that are just a bit better. I really like the nice clean cheek on George as usually this is besought with some issues, though less so on the Jub. proof. The real treasure is to find one on the currency - that is with a nice clean cheek and high point bony structures. For some reason the sword shaft seems to find more than its share of marks (on currency).

A couple of comments, obviously from my perspective (but then again I probably had way too much chemistry, pharmacology, etc.): Pure acetone not generally a problem and not nearly as toxic as many may lead readers to believe. In the States, we get it at Home Depot for about $8 per quart and that is quite a quantity. It will react on long exposure to copper surfaces. I recommend it applied with the aforementioned soaked cotton buds or "Q-tips" as we call them on this side of the Pond. Please do not scrub surfaces, and I suggest tamping the surfaces or worst case very light circular strokes sans pressure applied. The cotton on these buds is sometimes not cotton or is of tight wound fibers that are possibly more likely to damage coin surface. Even after acetone treatment, I wash thoroughly with tap water then apply WITH MY FINGERS and rub into the surface mild dish detergent. I then rinse even more thoroughly and then tamp dry with a high nap white cotton towel. My favorite solvent, and not just for organics, is the aforementioned ammonia which should be without colorizers or additives if possible. I then do soaks for varying period and use the soaked cotton buds to again work the surfaces in like manner to the acetone. This will reduce some oxidants and not damage the metal on silver, gold or copper nickel but can not guarantee copper and would therefore probably not use it on copper... There are also the redox tricks which will pull away generally more problematic surface oxidants. Many ways to do it, and experimentation is suggested on lesser coins. One method is to microwave vinegar for 2-3 minutes and then throw in a thin sheet of aluminium, and then baking soda in modest amounts (such as 5 ml/one teaspoon), and then the coin. This one is more fun than the others but have to take care. This REALLY works well on gold coins with those infernal red copper spot oxidations... Blah, blah, blah,,,,,,Anyway, just a couple of points....

Surprise! Uh, no. Nice!

How about one of the major driving forces behind this "pop top" business? Registry sets! Yikes. The TPGs rate people's submitted sets but note that all coins must be from that TPG and no others included. I probably let my pride get the better of me, but thrice with regards to sixpences and shillings (Victoria and George V) and Victoria half sovereigns, I suggested to each poster on one of the chat rooms that possibly I might blow their set(s) out of the water but chose not to party at their end of the pool & of course they took exception. I guess my real point is that there are many coins that are not slabbed or not entered into registry set competition.

Wow, that looks to be of shallow relief - is that to relieve us of the sight of the [still] Dumbo ears and goofy visage? The commem version above looks to have the ears toned down a bit and the more vacuous appearance of the 5 pound coin? Also, thee appears to be a square ear type of rendition on the commem.