Paulus

lol what's a 'Plattipus shiller'?

Hear hear Dave, and one of the few coin topics I get wound up about! (If that wasn't a;ready obvious!)

Well said Ski, I find myself agreeing with pretty much everything you have said. I am a collector of only 5 years' standing, and sense a lot of 'emperor's new clothes' type nonsense about a lot of what I see out there slabbing wise. I think I would find it quite depressing to be a collector of US coins and virtually forced down this route, in fact I am sure I wouldn't even have been bitten by the bug in the first place! I sense an investor attitude rather than a genuine collector attitude to it all ... but it's not as if, for sure with English coins, the slab is a real guarantee of grade OR authenticity, at least as a form of provenence to subsequent custodians of the coin. If ever there was an area where there was potential for vested interest, conflict of interest, hype, marketing and hijacking of pure historic and innocent collecting pleasure to spoil this hobby, for me this is it. Along with forgeries proliferating further, ubiquitous slabs would extinguish my passion within a short period if they became almost compulsory as part of the coin trading process. If all my collectable pieces were confined to slabs I am sure I would be admiring my collection only on Photobucket (other on-line photo sites are available), where I would be able to see them in more detail than I could through a slab's protection, and I think that experience would soon become artificial/superficial for me ... and that would probably signal the end of my love affair with the whole deal. You are only left with the knowledge that 'oh yes, I own that coin', not the tactile experience you have with your coin collection in the raw. Another old fart's view maybe, but crucial to me, I cannot see me collecting coffins, they might as well be in a bank vault and just an heirloom!

For CGS it would be £119.90 plus £15 P+P for 10 coins....(taken from their website, no mention of reductions for bulk.) ski Thanks Ski

Being lazy I guess, but does anyone know how much it costs to have say 10 coins worth £100-£200 each slabbed by a TPG? Do any of them offer a low cost option for bulk lower value coins? Sometimes I see coins listed for sale where I wonder whether it would cost more to have them slabbed that the value of the coin! I have only ever sent one coin to be slabbed and that was to have it authenticated, it was rejected as anticipated and money well spent as they (CGS) gave reasons and I was refunded by the seller as a result. If I needed to sell my collection in a financial crisis I would seriously consider getting a dozen or so of my higher grade higher value coins slabbed for sale to the American market, it would just make financial sense I think.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271104866320?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648

Genuine bids???? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JEFF-STELLING-JAMES-BROWN-MUSICAL-DOLL-SOCCER-SATURDAY-/160921187356

Totally agree, and true of too many dealers still, they are really missing a trick!

I am very interested in the 1687, Peck 554, please PM me if you are considering selling this coin individually!

Showing your age John. One day you'll be old enough to be happy with a Glenlivet and not the blonde from down the road. That's when to really complain! Happy birthday John, I wonder which would cost more? (in the long run!!)

That's just modern crap, the guy's talking out of his bottom. The genuine originals came in a twist of blue wax paper. Another sad old git who remembers them. Those were the days, when salt overload wasn't a requirement for eating crisps. Lets face it, when was the last time you had a choice of salted or unsalted? These days I think that only applies to butter!

I just hadn't seen such a low grade slabbed, and yes it does seem a little harsh! VG 8 is equivalent to Fair I believe, i.e. 'very little detail visible'

VG 8 lololol http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1696-ENGLAND-1-2-CROWN-SILVER-COIN-NGC-slabbed-VG-8-scarce-/330824632342?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4d06af4816

I would agree with GVF for the Obverse, can we see the Reverse, how are the dates?

1718 Shilling in VF (?) for comparison:

Agreed, they would have to be Fine or thereabouts at that price!

Here's mine, 1.8g, hope it's okay!

Not at all, I have little idea about such things! I have bought it as a nice grade 1825, the wonky 5 is just added interest ... Michael says on his web site that others have suggested it may be 5/3 but that seems unlikely/impossible! So I thought I would throw it open for debate

I can't see the images up-close on the phone but, my instant thought was, if Michael could at best say 'it MIGHT be' a 5/5, then you'd need to find some other very convincing 5/5 dies for it to be anything other than a '5' in the market place! If Michael, with his seat well established in the micro-market, can't give you a letter of affirmation, then it's a difficult one, to say least! Would be great to research it and get it in Spink's, though! A satisfying YES! Good luck, Paulus! Can't define why it inspires me Stuart, normally these claims do the opposite, but I respect Michael and the coin is worthy of what I paid regardless! Looking forward to some research though and if one day I got a new variety recognised that would be amazing!

If the underlying digit has a longer more curved tail and the top is straight, it could be a 5/3 just as easily as a 5/5. The first would be interesting, the second not. Thanks Rob. Again, according to Michael, the consensus has been that it is 5/3 but he thinks it is 5/5! When you say 'interesting' if it is 5/3, what is the rarity do you know/think? You would need to see it in hand. If a 5/3 then I've not seen one. Spink or ESC wouldn't list a 5/5 because there's no point as by extension, any reasonably large mintage with have a good number of repaired and reworked dies, all of which would lead to a new variety. People get too tied up with a slightly misaligned set of punches when it is well known that to impress a character requirs more than one blow. It's rather more surprising that so many dates and legends are entered without any visible double cutting, particularly so you are trying to recut a hardened die. That situation frequently leads to a series of offset cuts on account of the greater effort and hence less accuracy required to make an impression on the die. That makes perfect common sense, thanks Rob

If the underlying digit has a longer more curved tail and the top is straight, it could be a 5/3 just as easily as a 5/5. The first would be interesting, the second not. Thanks Rob. Again, according to Michael, the consensus has been that it is 5/3 but he thinks it is 5/5! When you say 'interesting' if it is 5/3, what is the rarity do you know/think?

I have just acquired this from Mr Gouby and would be interested in your thoughts. High Res pics when received. According to Michael it might be a 5 over 5, a variety unlisted in my copies of Spink and ESC. I don't normally collect varieties such as this, preferring to keep my money for such elusive-in-affordable-decent-grades as Charlie 2 elephants and plumes (now there's a rare combination!), but this one has sparked my interest. I don't know how long it has been in Michael's stock but I also wonder if some of you know of it as it has apparently been the subject of some debate, although possibly not on this forum. ALL comments welcome!

That's how I started too, with a 'Check my change' approach to 50ps and £2 coins when I cant find any early milled silver at the grade and price I want!! Now in danger of being sucked in to piedforts!!

May get £3 on the Bay

I collect pennies but am not aware of anyone really collecting misalignments, other than as an interesting curio. To be honest, I rarely check alignment so whilst certainly not common, it's hard to accurately estimate rarity. Interesting all the same, and a good spot! I think if it was 180 degrees out it would cause more interest. I have a 1948 penny that is 160-170 degrees so nearly there. Just checked mine, most are 360 degrees out ...