Edward VII Half Crown 1903 Query

[Guest richbedforduk]

I found a 1903 half crown. When I looked at the listing I was surprised.

I was going to copy & paste an extract, but it will not let me.(It's the 2007 Rotographic list).

So here's the rub.

EF £1200. Fair enough, I can live with that.

VF £450. Ok, obviously must be less than the EF value.

F £150. Going in the same direction, I'm still getting it.

Then nothing!

Surely it cannot simply drop of the scale, not from that height. A VG or a G must surely have a value worth noting?

[Rob]

Leave aside coins produced since the last war as really modern things are only valuable as collectables in UNC due to the overhang of material available.

If there is no value given, you can use a rule of thumb extrapolation which has held for many years until recently since when the top end has taken off. For readily available pieces, generally speaking an increase of one grade meant that the price approximately doubled. Obviously this isn't a hard and fast rule, but if you didn't have a clue was a reasonable guess. The last couple of years has seen an UNC coin stretch the top end to a factor of 3 or 4 compared to EF in quite a lot of cases. When you are looking at low grade coins, the value will frequently be somewhere around melt with the obvious exceptions of things such as the 1903-5 halfcrowns, 1905 shillings etc where they are at least scarce in any grade and will always find a buyer with a premium to melt. Demand always outstrips supply and so the prices as shown listed get stretched. However, there is also a point where the lack of detail becomes a problem as desirability also includes a bit of aesthetics and not just the number on the back. At this point you have to decide what you can live with and what you are prepared to pay. A price of £50 for a presentable low grade piece is probably not far wide of the mark, so the tripling of values in the example shown would likely be ok for a downwards extrapolation. In the end it's all down to supply and demand, and the 1903 is definitely in demand.

Edited March 25, 2011 by Rob

[Peter]

I found a 1903 half crown. When I looked at the listing I was surprised.

I was going to copy & paste an extract, but it will not let me.(It's the 2007 Rotographic list).

So here's the rub.

EF £1200. Fair enough, I can live with that.

VF £450. Ok, obviously must be less than the EF value.

F £150. Going in the same direction, I'm still getting it.

Then nothing!

Surely it cannot simply drop of the scale, not from that height. A VG or a G must surely have a value worth noting?

The rates in the 2010 CCGB are 2.2k 0.45k & 0.08k be aware the top end rates have risen...mid range stayed the same and Fine dropped.

Anything less than F probably wouldn't interest a serious collector.I haven't got an 03 or 05 but a reasonable selection of other high grade 2/6's until I can afford a top grade 03 or 05 they won't be on my radar(beware of forgeries especially 05)

Edited March 25, 2011 by Peter

[Guest richbedforduk]

I guess where I'm coming from is this.

I'm more of a record collector. Price guides there work on listing stuff over a minimal value. Say a fiver for instance. So the value is the cut-off for listing or not listing.

I'm surprised that a coin worth about £50 doesn't get listed because the listing of values is grade based rather than value based.

This 1903 HC is the only one that I've noticed, so it may be a one off.

[Rob]

The real demand is at the top end. Bottom end things are extremely volatile in reality with the highest price to grade inevitably paid on ebay. I would have thought you could pick up a fair 03 for say £30-40 in a dealer's tray and an 04 for £20-25. The 05 will probably be on ebay or another auction venue and not in the tray. In the case of the first two, you are unlikely to be run over in a stampede however.

[Gary]

The 1903 HC is quite hard to find in good condition. A quick ebay search reveals 11 examples ranging in grades from VG to Very Fine with BIN prices from £110 to £750. Auction start prices range from £75 to £237. Only one (grade NF) started low and has a price of £22 with 2 days to run. I got my example (grade VG) from ebay in 2007 for £32. I dont have a 1905!

For a coin below fine to be listed in a catalouge it has to be extremely rare! Usually no higher grades are available. The 1903, although scarce, is still quite obtainable in Fine and VF if you have the readies

Edited March 25, 2011 by Gary

[Peckris]

It's quite telling that the 1903s in F are up for between £200-£300, with no bids, and the one in VF is up at £750, again with no bids.

[Guest richbedforduk]

I suppose it makes sense to show the coin.

I know that it's not one to retire on, but it's not one to bag with the scrap either.

[Peter]

I suppose it makes sense to show the coin.

I know that it's not one to retire on, but it's not one to bag with the scrap either.

Richard

It grades as poor

[1949threepence]

With silver, unless it's a particularly rare date, then grades below fine are best just measured in silver bullion value, IMO.

[Red Riley]

It grades as poor

Yes I would agree.

[Red Riley]

It grades as poor

Yes I would agree.

Michael Gouby has a better one (Fair/Fair+) at £90 and a truly awful one at £40, so Rob's estimate of £50 is probably not that wide of the mark. From the point of view of assessing value, E-bay BIY's are as much use as a chocolate tea pot.

Always worth checking Michael's site as he has seems to have half the world's coins on it at any one time!

Edited March 26, 2011 by Red Riley

[Guest richbedforduk]

It grades as poor

Yes I would agree.

Well there is poor and there is poor. I am happy with a poor coin if the poor value is about £40-50. That'll do nicely thank you.

[Peckris]

It grades as poor

Yes I would agree.

Well there is poor and there is poor. I am happy with a poor coin if the poor value is about £40-50. That'll do nicely thank you.

Yes indeed. It's a rare date, and if it fills a slot for you, then that's cool. My 1905 isn't really much to write home about but it fills that "oh I've got one" gap.