Considering 2 William & Mary shillings - Opinions?

[wlewisiii]

I have some money coming sometime in the next two weeks that I plan to use mostly for coins. Two I have been considering are these 1692 & 1693 William and Mary shillings. As these would be two of the most expensive coins I've seriously considered, I thought I would ask what people here think. Both are from ebay & photos are from the ads. 

The first is this 1692. Asking price is £325/$440.73

 

The other is this 1693. The asking price for this one is USD $795/£585

 

Thoughts? Quality seems fine, especially the second, but I don't have enough experience at this end to be sure the price is good. I'm looking at a 1927 "Wreath" Crown but I know that pricing better for a "modern" AUNC coin. This is a classic "horse of a different color" (colour? heh)

Thank you for any advice. 

[Paddy]

I am a bit out of date buying this sort of thing on Ebay, so both those prices seem high to me. If I was going to splash out that sort of cash, I would go for the second one as it is appreciably better. Is either sale open to best offer?

I tend to do my buying through auction houses these days. At least you can be sure the price is "current market value" or close to it. Bear in mind most of the Ebay sellers are buying at auction and flipping to Ebay for a profit.

[wlewisiii]

For me in the midwestern US, auction houses are ... difficult... at best. 

Both do have best offer listed. I know there is a web site with current auction results tabulated, I'll have to look see. 

[wlewisiii]

Yeah, nothing even close to those prices at www.londoncoins.co.uk unless you get even higher up the food chain  Hmm. Might just be better to look for something different. 

Could be a good time to finish/upgrade the double florins

 

 

[Paddy]

It might be worth checking out UK auction houses that do still ship to the US. This one doesn't preclude US and has a few shillings in the current auction:

https://www.easyliveauction.com/catalogue/60e4343a274a32c193156da1ff265135/0af8d24542e81eb9357e7ef448a6646f/general-auction-silver-gold-coins-sets-numismatics-meda/

 

[wlewisiii]

Thanks! 

I did do a bit of snooping around and find I could get all 5 double florins in AUNC/UNC for less than the more expensive one. But a good auction house is even better  

 

[Coys55]

2 hours ago, wlewisiii said:

... Thoughts? Quality seems fine, especially the second, but I don't have enough experience at this end to be sure the price is good. I'm looking at a 1927 "Wreath" Crown but I know that pricing better for a "modern" AUNC coin. This is a classic "horse of a different color" (colour? heh)

Thank you for any advice. 

There are a lot of fakes around so I wouldn't touch a wreath crown on eBay these days. Prices at auction are generally lower anyway, even allowing for the add-ons and postage.

The last two I bought were a 1928 and a 1931 from lockdales in 2021.

[wlewisiii]

While I can understand being worried about fakes, the wreath I am considering is from a UK seller with 100%/22286 transactions and accepts returns. Price is consistent with what I see on londoncoins. 

Seems about the best I can do from this side of the pond. 

[Coys55]

1 hour ago, wlewisiii said:

Thanks! 

I did do a bit of snooping around and find I could get all 5 double florins in AUNC/UNC for less than the more expensive one. But a good auction house is even better  

 

If you wanted to be really fussy a full set would include the 1887 Arabic 1 and Roman 1 variants and the 1888 and 1889 Inverted 1 (or is it a die-filled normal I serif or broken punch?) for second I in Victoria variants. All three variants are listed in Spink so I think it's reasonable to include those in the set. I did anyway...

Edited 8 hours ago by Coys55

[wlewisiii]

I did include the two 87's but planned to look at my copy of ESC when I get home from work to learn if there were other variations I didn't know about   Now I know what to check on! 

[copper123]

Personally I would not pay that amount for the coins but I must admit there are very few around in that grade and getting any sort of decent grade shillings or sixpences and half-crowns is a right struggle , go with your heart .