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Sword

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Posts posted by Sword

  1. On 10/3/2025 at 3:33 PM, Citizen H said:

    Victoria Half Crown, 1898, it was very mucky covered in crud, It was left in soapy water...over night... as I forgot it was there, very impressed by it condition its turned out to be, just goes to show that gentle cleaning does pay off..... 

    If the coin is not high grade and is very dirty, then cleaning it is OK. But you need to be very careful with high grade examples. For high grades, dabbing with a cotton bud soaked in acetone should be fine, but don't rub, as this will cause hairlines.

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  2. Note the broken B in "BRITT". This is due to a broken punch or blocked die and is not a true error. However, some people would call it the RRITT error and they really shouldn't. You can make out the letters WWP next to HONI on the reverse. WWP are the initials of the master of the mint, William Wesley Pole. There is the letter W by the letter N of PENSE for Thomas Wyon the Younger, the chief engraver.

    I don't have a 1817 shilling, but have brought a nice sixpence of the same design some time ago.

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  3. On 8/30/2025 at 5:19 PM, Citizen H said:

    8 Reales 1852, MEXICO there has been a recent chat about Counter stamps and chop marks.....I didn't realise I had one!?!??! 😕

    (These coins, made of 90.3% silver, not only consolidated the post-independence Mexican economy but also circulated in markets as far away as China and the Philippines.)

    Some of those chop marks are definitely Chinese characters. These circulated widely in China alongside other foreign silver dollars. 8 Reales is still on my list of things to get. Great history!

    2 hours ago, Peckris 2 said:

    I think the silver content and weight will check out as good? From what I can gather, this particular coin is rather like the Maria Theresa thaler which is still minted - not for any fraudulent reason, but because it's both a very desirable coin in its own right, but also because it's still used in some places!

    I wasn't aware of that. I think the original ones are still very affordable if one is not gunning for a top grade example.

  4. 11 hours ago, Citizen H said:

    ..... admittedly I do sympathetically wash the grubby ones over removing the hand grime and god only knows what else they have been covered in...  

    I don't think there is any problem with washing really dirty low grade coins gently if necessary.

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  5. I don't think the colour is "artificial". I think that perhaps someone has tried to clean it in the past (look in particular to the area in front of the horse). The tarnish is more easily removed from the worn areas of the coin and hence the appearance after "cleaning".

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  6. 16 minutes ago, Kipster said:

    "a young, enthusiastic person with a genuine interest in coins that would be excited about the job enough to stay for that kind of money"

    R7 rarity for someone good?

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  7. This coin highlights that the criteria for grading milled coins are not sufficient (or appropriate) for "grading" hammered coins. 

    One can assume that milled coins generally have decent round full weight flans and much less weakness or flat areas. Then one can concentrate on assessing the wear as it is the dominant factor in grading milled. Lustre + hairlines, etc are other complementary factors. 

    But for hammered, the wear is not the single dominant factor and is often not even the most important factor. The grading done by TPG on hammered coins often seem to ignore flat areas (can be much more important than wear) and shape of flan. Hence, I find grading numbers rather meaningless for hammered.

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  8. 32 minutes ago, Citizen H said:

    Elizabeth 1587, Mint Crescent ,

    there's a crack that runs through both sides. the reverse side looks repaired, would this have been a mint repair?

     

    1587 A.JPG

    1587 B.JPG

    No, repair is never done at the mint. It's much less hassle just to strike another piece than to repair.

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  9. On 4/23/2025 at 7:57 PM, Citizen H said:

    Anne

    Half crown

    1709

    It just to show you.....it wasn't been until I photo the coin and enlarged it did I notice

    that some historical vandal scratched M & S either side of the bust......Gits! I hadn't seen this in all these years..... only if these could talk, 

    P1180541.JPG

    Make the most of the situation. Try selling it to Martin Scorsese and see if you can make a profit.

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