Jump to content
British Coin Forum - Predecimal.com

50 Years of RotographicCoinpublications.com A Rotographic Imprint. Price guide reference book publishers since 1959. Lots of books on coins, banknotes and medals. Please visit and like Coin Publications on Facebook for offers and updates.

Coin Publications on Facebook

   Rotographic    

The current range of books. Click the image above to see them on Amazon (printed and Kindle format). More info on coinpublications.com

predecimal.comPredecimal.com. One of the most popular websites on British pre-decimal coins, with hundreds of coins for sale, advice for beginners and interesting information.

Sword

Accomplished Collector
  • Content Count

    2,355
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    114

Posts posted by Sword


  1. 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.

    • Like 3

  2. 9 hours ago, Menger said:

    Personally I see mint wipe marks as a positive - they add character. I don’t personally believe that manufacturing marks should reduce the grade.  The green would be a problem if PVC or something but surely not …? 

    A facial birthmark or scar can be argued to add "character". I would still rather not have them...

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1

  3. On 4/11/2025 at 12:32 PM, Citizen H said:

    1887 ½ Crown - Victoria 2nd portrait Jubilee

    this is a better one I now have than before. I did pick up on the ridge on the edge, there's no bash to the outer edge I then took a closer look and the SOIT has another strike to the letter I & T.... is this a rarity ?  

    ridge 1.jpg

    Minor double entered letters wouldn't be considered as having any significance. If would become exciting if an incorrect letter was first applied. E.g. the 1820 S over T in "SOIT" is a rarity. 

     

    • Like 1

  4. It's somewhat debatable as to how much "mint wipe" should be penalised, if at all. I don't like it, but would grade it MS61 myself if I am sympathetic with the wiping done at the mint. 

    If you were to ignore that (not that I would), then as there are no contact marks, the grade could be anything. It's probably something unexpected like PR64?


  5. The reverse design is very similar to that of the half sovereign and unscrupulous people started gold plating the sixpences to pass them off as gold coins. Hence the sixpences were "withdrawn" and replaced with new ones with "SIX PENCE" on the reverse. 

    Some examples has the "R" of VICTORIA over another letter. "R over V" is one of the varieties due to the letter "V" being wrongly used initially and then corrected with the correct letter "R" afterwards. The other varieties being "R over B" and "R over I". They are interesting but none of the varieties are rare. I have brought an "R over B" a little while back.

    • Like 2

  6. I am not a fan of the top coin. Yours is better struck and the top coin has some contact marks especially on the forehead. (I had a look at photos on the PGCS website).

    However, the top coin is more lustrous than yours particularly for the reverse. 


  7. On 2/17/2025 at 9:12 AM, Citizen H said:

    Hello Sword, it was an over cast day the photos were taken, they live in a plastic sleeve thats been maybe 20 odd years ago so could be why they dis colour ?  they were bought from Coins of the Realm and found them to be reputable.... unless anyone else knows other wise?  

    Should be fine if they were brought from a reputable dealer. Gold brought 20 years ago would be a decent investment. 

    • Like 1

  8. But what do you actually get as a buyer for paying this "protection"?

    What does Buyer Protection include?

    With Buyer Protection, you benefit from:

    • 24/7 customer service: Get support around the clock if you need help.
    • Private sellers paid after delivery: When you purchase from a private seller, payment is sent after the order has been successfully delivered.
    • Secure transactions: All payments are encrypted end-to-end and handled by our trusted payments partners.

    😂. Secure transactions are expected as the norm. Hardly something you can ask money for this century ... I won't bother commenting on the other two "benefits".

     


  9. How is the fee calculated?

    When purchasing from UK-based private sellers, the Buyer Protection fee is calculated as:

    • A flat fee of up to £0.75 per item, and
    • 4% of the item price up to £300, and
    • 2% of any portion of the item price from £300 to £4,000

    There is a cap on the total fee amount you'll ever pay. Any portion of the item price over £4,000 will not incur any additional fee. When purchasing multiple quantities within a listing, the flat fee up to £0.75 is only charged once.

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/buying/paying-items/buyer-protection-fee?id=5594

     

     

    • Like 1
    • Sad 1

  10. A really nice story. If it were me, I would keep the 53 in the tin. The coins are in nice circulated condition and have already lived in the tin for a long time. It's already quite a good number and I probably would not want to add more to the tin. Any new ones can go into a separate container. You always have the option of mixing them later if you so wish. 


  11. 12 hours ago, Peckris 2 said:

    There are also scarce varieties in 1888 and 1889 where the second I of VICTORIA is missing part of the upper serif (die infill) making it look like a 1. Only significantly more valuable in higher grades.

    I just can't bring myself to spend a lot more on this "inverted 1" variety when it is now well known it is due to a filled die and so not a "true" variety. The correct thing to do is to delist it as a variety. But there is no inclination to do that of course.

    • Like 2

  12. I rather like the double florins myself but they are somewhat unloved and can be obtained significantly more cheaply than crowns. The main varieties for the 1887 is the "Arabic 1" (like you 1889) and the "Roman I". These are my examples: (1887 is the Roman and 1888 is the Arabic)

    1019684658_2015-05-1923_00.30-Copy.png.3ba86607802f98acc42aaf53c27ae606.png

     

     

    • Like 6

  13. Crowns were not struck for George III until very late into his reign in 1818. The standard of striking of these crows was very high and they were delivered to banks wrapped in soft paper. Pistrucci placed his whole surname on both the obverse and reverse to indicate that he was the engraver for both. This was considered to be self indulgent and he was obliged to use just his initials B.P. in future. The St George and Dragon design became iconic but the garter belt was removed for later use. 

    You won't be able to see it on your example due to wear, but the letters WWP (initials of the Master of the Mint) was put on the buckle of the garter. 

    I imagine your example is worth about £100. The edge dinks would have taken the price down a bit.

    • Like 3
×