Charles I unite, opinion wanted

[Richard2]

I'm very interested in buying this Charles I unite ( not eBay), but first wanted your honest opinions on it. My only worry is the obverse side. Does it look ok? What are the lines running across it? What's it worth?

many thanks Richard 

[TomGoodheart]

The lines you see on the obverse are die polishing.  Basically the soft blank die is filed smooth before the design is struck into it.  You can check because the lines appear to run continuously under the design.

Value, I'm afraid hammered gold isn't my area.  I'd grade the coin at gF - nVF  Looks like a pleasant example (at least compared with comparable hammered silver coins such as shillings of the same period.  But then those were circulated much more and less care seems to have been taken in their manufacture!)  At auction somewhere between £1000-£1400 I'd guess, although I'm happy to be corrected on that!  Of course, 'worth', ... well, you might say its worth is whatever someone is prepared to pay for it! 

[Richard2]

That’s good to know about the die polishing, I haven’t seen that before. Does that happen on hammered silvers of the period.

Thanks

[TomGoodheart]

Yes, seen on silver too.  See the obverse of this shilling:

 

[Richard2]

Thanks again

[Rob]

It happens on all hammered coins because the diestock is essentially a length of bar of a given diameter, the end of which serves as the die. When it is worn out the end is ground down, polished and re-engraved. That's why you can often see traces of a previous die under the current die detail.

[Richard2]

Didn’t realise that Rob ,thanks