Paulus

Hi Horsa, welcome along! And I'm the guy you sold that 1695 crown to!

Welcome MRD, it will always be ESC for me (mainly!) And if you are an Aussie (as well as residing down under) be prepared for a thorough drubbing in the ashes saga ... 10-0 to England between July and January, weather permitting?

Thats a great business strategy by London Coins I must say...."We have a lot of business on the go so lets leave the phone off the hook so that we dont get any more..."....God forbid that any new clients get through to us whilst we're busy doing admin... You could always get them slabbed by CGS and sell them that way! If you wanted to wait an extra 3 months! But yes that might add value to some, in my limited personal experience ... I have been taking an interest in realised prices for slabbed coins on eBay recently, there seems to be an enormous range, for reasons I can only speculate! I have bought the odd cheap one that seems an obvious bargain, (4 so far), the best bargain (IMO) being an MS63 1901 3d for £11 delivered! I wonder who produces the London Coins auction catalogues, it is impossible to believe that they all emerge from the premises I visited in New Ash Green, Kent, recently! (Same premises as CGS for those who didn't know!)

And milled silver :)

Anyone thinking of turning up in person? I am going to try to but work commitments might prevent, I don't think there is on-line bidding or can someone say different?

Have you read about the ghost of Matthew Boulton on it? Pffft. That's nothing. I saw Jesus in a Big Mac I AM John Lennon, and he was even better than Jesus...Oh, no, don't get the press going again! I can clearly see the Turin shroud in one of my **RARE** Churchill Crowns / Dollars / Quarter Sovereigns, I am tempted to post one for a laugh, after all who can contradict me? :D

Relax, chill out and assess coins for yourself using your standards. Nobody is forced to buy a coin just because it has a number on the label. Frequently the number assigned will be at odds with your assessment. For a better chance of satisfaction, go with your own feelings about the coin that you will have to live with until disposal. I have a 61 that is better than a 65 of the same type, both in the collection. The real bonus is the strict pricing applied in the US where a 61 is a non-coin and hence can be purchased cheaply. Number collectors will turn their noses up at excellent examples of coins simply on the grounds that another example has been graded higher. Make the most of the situation on the ground and fill your boots. Great advice Rob, I certainly would not 'buy the slab' instead of the coin, or rely on any TPG's grading, but I was rather shocked by this one! Thanks for the heads up on potential bargains when they get it wrong, I guess that applies to all coins offered for sale to one extent or another!

Is this another example of why we should be sceptical of American TPGs' grading of English coins? To my eyes this is massively over-graded at MS63, but would be more than happy to understand why it might be worthy of such an attribution if someone thinks it is! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271212063871?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648

Welcome along Hudson, something for everyone here and the best free and impartial advice available anywhere!

Blimey Chris, anyone would think you owned this site the way you carry on!

Pictures speak a thousand words! Bring it on Peter....... I've got a major task it setting up a system for good photography (better than ebay quality) I have bought cameras and LED lights...now practice In my experience, you'll want to keep LED lights as far away from coins as you can manage. Most decent cameras will make use of even a small amount of light, as long as it exceeds the minimum required - the only issue is white-balance. In this respect, I have found that low-power Compact Fluorescent bulbs make an almost ideal light source. Can anything beat natural daylight? When I use natural light, coins look horribly contrasted. The colour is cold and nothing like reality. I couldn't agree more, I really struggle in natural daylight, too hard to control perhaps?

I agree with Peck, in these very low grades even rare coins aren't worth much. For a 1903 HC in a low grade, there is probably a range of £30-£150 from Good - Fine. Beware of edge knocks, dinks, scratches and graffiti too. If you are anything like me, you will get far more pleasure from owning an attractive coin, compared to a low grade rare date for the same price

Not a HC but a 1658 Cromwell shilling, which 'Uncle Buck' (Coinery's nickname for Bucks Coins) is selling as EF but I would grade as nVF http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-OLIVER-CROMWELL-SHILLING-1658-BRITISH-SILVER-COIN-EF-/360661479541?pt=UK_Coins_BritishHammered_RL&hash=item53f9197075 Any comments? I anticipate Nicholas might be quite scathing!

They use cameo to described a frosted bust. The difference in cameo and ultra cameo is in the eyes of the person writing out the label. Yes, it's hyping and only comes into play when you have someone buying the label rather than looking at the coin and then making a decision. Brilliant, thanks Rob! Frosted, eh ... ! Guess it looks a bit frosty ...

Maybe one day I will have that sort of budget for coins, but I doubt it! Back to earth, I have an NGC slabbed 1953 proof shilling that is described on the slab as 'PF 64 Cameo', can anyone shed a light on the 'cameo' bit or is it just American coin hyping?

Interesting 99p auction start! As they state, the coin might be withdrawn at any time! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1831-WILLIAM-IV-PROOF-TWO-POUNDS-ULTRA-RARE-LOW-MINTAGE-NGC-SLABBED-/161033625626?pt=UK_Coins_BritishMilled_RL&hash=item257e5a201a What do these American TPGs mean by 'cameo' and 'ultra cameo', anyone know?

I would agree with Vicky's grading of the obverse, GVF ... attractive too!

The problem is that any seller who wants a reasonable return has to overprice in order to recoup the ebay charges. When you are losing 15-20% in fees, it has to be recovered by charging more. If sellers still had the option to bypass Paypal, it would be possible to reduce the charges and so lower prices to the buyer. Many of my sales and purchases on eBay have ended up outside of eBay and Paypal, even with my first transaction with a buyer or seller Once a negotiation starts, it becomes immediately obvious that it would be mutually beneficial to cut eBay and PayPal out of the equation (once you have established some trust!). EBay hate it of course, but there are ways and means that are not complicated, and the best thing is it builds you an invaluable network of trusted contacts for repeat business! So I think you may want to experiment with the Bay Rob, see what you think! I used to. I stopped when they made accepting Paypal obligatory. Having previously had a fallout with them which ended up at the ombudsman and me a few hundred pounds richer, it was a decision that I was never going to rescind. eBay's policy of buyer good, seller bad is hardly welcoming, and to ensure you get a fair return, you need to start above £1 which means people ignore the listing. On balance, the hassle of listing for a week or ten days, but not selling because you aren't offering the item on a 99% discount is unattractive. I also find the whole experience very 'seller beware' and slanted towards the buyer. What I am saying has worked well for me is the 'BIN or best offer' listings that quickly migrate to a negotiation and deal outside of eBay and Paypal, and future deals with satisfied/delighted buyers. This can happen on the first deal, and is very common I think! Obviously the buyer and seller don't get the fantastic insurance offered by a regular eBay purchase, but when dealing with proper collectors this has yet to prove to be a problem for me ... might be worth a go for a handful of your hard-to-shift coins?

The problem is that any seller who wants a reasonable return has to overprice in order to recoup the ebay charges. When you are losing 15-20% in fees, it has to be recovered by charging more. If sellers still had the option to bypass Paypal, it would be possible to reduce the charges and so lower prices to the buyer. Many of my sales and purchases on eBay have ended up outside of eBay and Paypal, even with my first transaction with a buyer or seller Once a negotiation starts, it becomes immediately obvious that it would be mutually beneficial to cut eBay and PayPal out of the equation (once you have established some trust!). EBay hate it of course, but there are ways and means that are not complicated, and the best thing is it builds you an invaluable network of trusted contacts for repeat business! So I think you may want to experiment with the Bay Rob, see what you think!

I have done quite well both buying and selling with 'BIN or best offer' recently, I agree 'BIN only' meets with little success, especially if over-graded and/or overpriced (obviously) There is a no quibble return policy with BIN items on the Bay which obviously helps the buyer somewhat

You crack me up Rob, I have never had the balls to send such a forthright message to an eBay seller (well perhaps I should!) My last 'outraged' message was about an apparently UNC coin, the coin was GF at best and I asked him if he was sure about the UNC grade quoted, and did he know what UNC meant. His response was 'Yes, and you are so rude' ... he was an American though!

No mincing there, then, Rob! Honestly, just his attempts to bamboozle was deserving of your response, he can't truly believe a word of it himself? Surely, no-one's THAT delusional...are they? I think some are that ignorant, greedy and uncaring, none of which excuses him in the slightest

She should have bought Premium Bonds I thought Green Shield Stamps were a long-term investment (actually of course I didn't, but there was a bit of a frenzy for a while!) Everyone should avoid these worthless pieces of cr*p ... for the same money as a new RM CN you could have a Roman, or 1887 SH, silly really

Rob please forgive me but I did belly laugh at his reply! Ignoring the many factual inaccuracies, is it remotely possible that English is his 5th language and he used various on-line translation apps to convert from Mandarin -> Vulcan -> Swahili -> Yoda and then into pigeon English? I would love to read your reply to him! :D

Really? Blimey, I look forward to that!