Frosting and Proofs

[ozjohn]

Just a thought. Perhaps a little off subject it would be nice if the Royal Mint produced a frosted proof 1970 last of LSD struck in silver so we could see how those horrible Cu Ni. coins would have looked like if they were struck in a decent material as the Royal Australian Mint does with its masterpieces in silver offerings.

[Rob]

Use the Maundy sets for reference. They are 925 silver and the portrait agrees with the 1970 issue. Although there is a slight difference in colour between Ag and Cu-Ni, it isn't mind blowing, so any pre 1970 proofs will do if they have frosting.

[ozjohn]

It would have been nice to see the larger coins halfcrown etc with the Gillick effigy of Betty Windsor fully struck in silver. A set like the 1970 last of the LSD would have been a good vehicle for such an issue. As for maundy money I suppose they are struck in silver but do not carry the reverse designs and any case a bit small in size to appreciate  the designl.  Maybe even a reissue of the 1960 crown would be an idea as well. Frosting them would be a bonus. Like I say the RAM issued in their masterpieces in silver a re-issue of the new decimal coins as a 50th anniversary edition including the 2 & 1 cent originally bronze coins struck in silver which are close in size to the maundy coins.

[zookeeperz]

on the subject of proofs . Would it be reasonable to assume on a standard proof coin the field would be mirror-like as in I should be able to see the reflection of my finger if i put it close to the coin but not touching it? If that is true with all proof coins (not including special coated proofs or matt proofs) why is this 1970 two shilling so un prooflike?. Even the strike doesn't bear any resemblance to a proof quality coin. If it isn't a proof coin what is it? error of some kind? struck on a standard 1967 blank? intrested in your comments as always. thanks

 

[zookeeperz]

[Rob]

Looking at the contact marks it has circulated, so the proof surfaces have been lost.

[zookeeperz]

2 hours ago, Rob said:

Looking at the contact marks it has circulated, so the proof surfaces have been lost.

I would of thought though if it had circulated the marks would be much more widespread and deeper like proper clonks and edge bites. Remember this is blown up magnification so those little contact marks are hardly visible under a loupee . I mean I have seen impaired proofs where they have circulated but they still resemble proof coins. but the contrast between that coin and this coin are worlds apart even the detail is well below par

[Unwilling Numismatist]

Looks like it would benefit from a gentle rinse, but as Rob says, it's been about a bit.

[Rob]

Or stored in less than desirable conditions.

[Peter]

Liz was a looker or maybe......

[craigy]

On 3/26/2018 at 6:27 AM, Statesman said:

Hello, 

A little new to coin collecting, still havn't found that 1933 Penny, LoL. I was originally from the UK, 40 odd years ago, but now living in Oz, and have always wanted to buy some UK coins "that I remember well", so I recently purchased a 1970 Last pre-decimal proof coin set and the first UK Decimal proof set. When I received them both, I was quite disappointed that they didnt have a frosted relief I was expecting.

AS a comparison, I also purchased a 1975 Australian decimal proof set which are frosted on the relief and do look much nicer

Are these UK proof coins really proof as it says on the package or are there differing types of proof coins?

 

Many thanks for any information :-)

Cheers  Chris

a 1970 frosted proof would be like the holy grail, must be a set or 2 out there 

[Peckris]

20 hours ago, ozjohn said:

It would have been nice to see the larger coins halfcrown etc with the Gillick effigy of Betty Windsor fully struck in silver. A set like the 1970 last of the LSD would have been a good vehicle for such an issue. As for maundy money I suppose they are struck in silver but do not carry the reverse designs and any case a bit small in size to appreciate  the designl.  Maybe even a reissue of the 1960 crown would be an idea as well. Frosting them would be a bonus. Like I say the RAM issued in their masterpieces in silver a re-issue of the new decimal coins as a 50th anniversary edition including the 2 & 1 cent originally bronze coins struck in silver which are close in size to the maundy coins.

That would have been unprecedented. Remember that the 1950, 1951, and 1953 proof sets were all CuNi. Yes, it would have been nice, but the RM couldn't anticipate the kind of nostalgia that's around now, nearly 50 years later.

 

11 hours ago, zookeeperz said:

 

As Rob pointed out, that's a circulated example and has lost its proof coating and become just an ordinary 'impaired' proof. 

 

1 hour ago, craigy said:

a 1970 frosted proof would be like the holy grail, must be a set or 2 out there 

No, there are not different kinds of proof out there, it's just that they introduced frosting in the early 80s, and before then it's a bit hit and miss. Your Aussie set doesn't look any more frosted than your 1970 set, except for the bronze. You can see frosting on the relief of all those 1970 CuNi except the sixpence.