1887 Crown Faults

[Vickycoins]

Hi members. I came across your site whilst researching the 1887 Crown faults. Does anybody have a list of what they actually are? In my case I have several coins in really good nick, but what surprised me is the possible variations of this coin. I don't get much time to get the glass out to see what I have in my collection, but today I happened to pick out one of the 1887 crowns and note the top of the 8 missing, the right side bottom serif of the 1 missing, bottom serif of D in D:G: missing, the trailing plume appears to have six lines, the milled edge is still quite sharp, the coin is in EF or probably better weighing 28 grms. Any comment will be appreciated

[Rob]

The book is still in the process of being written, but I do know there are over 300 variaties of 1887 coins in all denominations.

[Vickycoins]

Wow, really! That does surprise me Rob so based on your comment how does one determine any sort of value for the 1887 Crown as described?

[Rob]

4 minutes ago, Vickycoins said:

Wow, really! That does surprise me Rob so based on your comment how does one determine any sort of value for the 1887 Crown as described?

That's simple. When there are so many varieities, the number of people actually seeking to collect them is inversely proportional to the number of varieties. Some will undoubtedly be very or extremely rare, but equally, so will the number of people chasing them. i.e. they are unlikely to attract much, if any premium. For most varieties the published figures will give a good enough estimate. The world is full of unique coins, but it doesn't follow they are worth tens or hundreds of thousands each, and once someone highlights a new variety, people check and suddenly the world is awash with them. Yours may or may not be on the list. Filled dies are not a variety per se, rather a result of die use. The incuse parts of a die become filled with metal dust which results in a partially struck up character, but this is only any use when determining an early or later strike. It certainly doesn't, or shouldn't change the value. If anything it ought to reduce it as the outcome is not as strong a strike as it could be. 

People get too tied up on value. Do a little bit of homework so you aren't going in blind, then collect according to what you find interesting/attractive or whatever your criteria are. Some you might overpay for, others will be obtained cheaply. In the overall scheme of things it doesn't matter if you are happy with what you have. Even paying twice market value is not the end of the world as long as it isn't habitual.

[Vickycoins]

Thanks again Rob; your reply actually makes a lot of sense so published figures it is then, unless one day I get lucky I suppose. I appreciate your in-depth explanation, nice to get an appropriate and meaningful response! I have more questions about different coins so will be back as and when.

[Mr T]

On 15/01/2017 at 10:46 PM, Rob said:

The book is still in the process of being written, but I do know there are over 300 variaties of 1887 coins in all denominations.

Who's writing it?

[1887jubilee]

Who is writing the book?   I am. Crowns are a pain because the one with the broken 1 and 8 are also available in proof! Yes the plumes are noted, yes the 3 different basic obverses and all the different sizes. but as Rob points out the only person interested in paying a bit over the odds is probably me. Any help would be appreciated then perhaps we can all learn something.

[Vickycoins]

I wonder how many 'collectors' were/are aware of the differences? I will take a closer look at mine in due course and let you know the result. Thanks for responding members.