My first coin

[pies]

Hi all well i finally started my collection with this edward vii florin If i've graded it correctly its "fine".More to come hopefully

How do you all get such good quality pics up here

[Paulus]

Hi all well i finally started my collection with this edward vii florin If i've graded it correctly its "fine".More to come hopefully

How do you all get such good quality pics up here

Welcome Pies!! That's a very nice coin, much better than Fine I would say! If you paid Fine price you did incredibly well!! I would great as Good Very Fine, let's see if I get shouted down!

Nothing wrong with the pics either, if you want them much bigger (in size and bytes) than the site limit, a lot of the members here (me included) upload them to a site like Photobucket and embed the links.

I would value that coin at £40-£60, can I ask what you paid?

[Coinery]

Hi all well i finally started my collection with this edward vii florin If i've graded it correctly its "fine".More to come hopefully

How do you all get such good quality pics up here

Welcome Pies!! That's a very nice coin, much better than Fine I would say! If you paid Fine price you did incredibly well!! I would great as Good Very Fine, let's see if I get shouted down!

Nothing wrong with the pics either, if you want them much bigger (in size and bytes) than the site limit, a lot of the members here (me included) upload them to a site like Photobucket and embed the links.

I would value that coin at £40-£60, can I ask what you paid?

I'm with you on that, Paulus, I'd say the top of your estimate too, on account it's quite pretty for its type!

[azda]

Why you think the Grade is Fine is beyond me. I'd go better than Paulis and say NEF, maybe even EF iny humble opinion. A nice coin indeed if you got it for Fine money.

Well done.

[pies]

cheers all,paid £25 no really got the hang of this grading stuff yet.I'll just have to get some more to try

[Paulus]

cheers all,paid £25 no really got the hang of this grading stuff yet.I'll just have to get some more to try

Maybe not, but you have got yourself a bargain there. I will offer you £30?

See recent posts on grading ...

For Eddie 7 Florins, notwithstanding scratches, edge knocks etc, good hair and ear detail on the obverse and a clear date and face on Brittania on the reverse are some of the things to look for. As well as that, go for eye appeal, you have to like the coins in your collection, and enjoy the hobby

[Peter]

Hi all well i finally started my collection with this edward vii florin If i've graded it correctly its "fine".More to come hopefully

How do you all get such good quality pics up here

That is a £100+ coin....wanna job?

[Peckris]

Conservatively, GVF. But it wouldn't outrage me if someone graded it EF/NEF either. Nice coin! and well done!! I wish I could find coins like that for £25. I'd ask where you got it, but I'm absolutely sure you want to keep your source secret for now

Oh, and the picture is "fine" A good size on my display - those who post "dinner plates" use an external hosting site such as Photobucket, but I prefer your comfortable size of picture!

Edited June 1, 2012 by Peckris

[SEnumis]

Welcome Pies from another newbie. The Standing Britannia Florin is a really beautiful and lively looking coin and it looks in good condition too (I'm not too hot on grading).

Edited June 2, 2012 by SEnumis

[Generic Lad]

That's a nice coin, and attractive toning too. For the price I'd say you did very well!

[Paulus]

cheers all,paid £25 no really got the hang of this grading stuff yet.I'll just have to get some more to try

Just an observation, you thought the coin was in Fine (I think all are agreed it is MUCH better than that) and yet you paid a Near Very Fine price for it ... do you have any up-to-date price guides?

[pies]

Got a copy of spink,problerm i find is its just a list of prices with little to reference to as to what to expect a fine vf or ef to look like .So i think i will get some more books

[Peckris]

Got a copy of spink,problerm i find is its just a list of prices with little to reference to as to what to expect a fine vf or ef to look like .So i think i will get some more books

Spink's usefulness is in being able to use it to identify virtually any English coin back to Roman times. Also, the photos - with very very few highly rare exceptions - show you what the coin looks like in the highest grades known. So you can compare the detail on any coin you are looking at against its photo in Spink, and judge how much has been lost, and therefore what its approximate grade is.

Derek's book is the only way to check all major obverse and reverse types from 1797. You really should get it.

[pies]

What it called

ta

[TomGoodheart]

What it called

ta

THE STANDARD GUIDE TO GRADING BRITISH COINS

[pies]

Ordered cheers

[Coinery]

What it called

ta

THE STANDARD GUIDE TO GRADING BRITISH COINS

As Declan said, even the most seasoned will consistently pull that book off the shelf...more regularly than anyone would care to admit, I suspect, especially if you are constantly switching between hammered, early milled, milled, later milled, decimal (maybe not decimal) coins, etc. It is a bit like taking your driving/TV glasses off, or coming in from the sun...no matter how good you are, there's a period of adjustment between grades, values, expectations of types, etc.

If only there were a book as good that could get your eye in for all the other types out there! Things would probably be more standardised than is currently the case with CGS's.

[Peter]

My 1st impression is whether I like a coin or not.I put everything together before I will make a play for a coin.

I liked lot 1422 in London Coins auction but not sufficiently...I ummed and arrd.I would of bought it for £125 within a heartbeat from a dealers list.I'm sure the estimate is light.

It is an example where the grade is secondary.

http://www.londoncoins.co.uk/?page=Catalogue&startres=50&category=9&searchtype=3

Edited June 2, 2012 by Peter

[Coinery]

My 1st impression is whether I like a coin or not.I put everything together before I will make a play for a coin.

I liked lot 1422 in London Coins auction but not sufficiently...I ummed and arrd.I would of bought it for £125 within a heartbeat from a dealers list.I'm sure the estimate is light.

It is an example where the grade is secondary.

http://www.londoncoins.co.uk/?page=Catalogue&startres=50&category=9&searchtype=3

These are my favourite of all the 'full-size' farthings, I especially love the colour of the copper for this period, when unpitted, that is! I recently sold a 'no obverse stops' coin that I also ummed and aahhhed about keeping instead!

Why didn't you go for it at £125?

[Peter]

My 1st impression is whether I like a coin or not.I put everything together before I will make a play for a coin.

I liked lot 1422 in London Coins auction but not sufficiently...I ummed and arrd.I would of bought it for £125 within a heartbeat from a dealers list.I'm sure the estimate is light.

It is an example where the grade is secondary.

http://www.londoncoins.co.uk/?page=Catalogue&startres=50&category=9&searchtype=3

These are my favourite of all the 'full-size' farthings, I especially love the colour of the copper for this period, when unpitted, that is! I recently sold a 'no obverse stops' coin that I also ummed and aahhhed about keeping instead!

Why didn't you go for it at £125?

£125 I would of wasted my time..."he says as wiping egg off face"

[Mongo]

Nice coin pies! I like the look of Edward VII Florins, particularly where the cape seems to be waving in the wind.

Noob questions:

What is the cause of the darker parts around the edge of a coin, while the centre stays clean? and what is a coin with that called/listed as?

[Generic Lad]

Nice coin pies! I like the look of Edward VII Florins, particularly where the cape seems to be waving in the wind.

Noob questions:

What is the cause of the darker parts around the edge of a coin, while the centre stays clean? and what is a coin with that called/listed as?

That is a form of toning, eventually impurities in the air and impurities in the silver will cause the coin to discolor. Old coins were often stored in cardboard or paper containing acid, this left many coins with spectacular toning.

Cleaning a coin will strip it of its toning and will reduce its value, good toning can add tens or even hundreds of dollars/pounds to a coin. Beware though, some coins are artificially toned and are considered "doctored" by collectors however detecting which coins are legitimate and those that are artificially toned is hard.

Some collectors prefer "blast white" uncleaned examples with no toning while others prefer a nicely toned coin like the Florin in this thread. A "blast white" uncleaned coin is generally more desirable than a blackened or grey coin, but an uncleaned grey or blackened coin is better than a coin dipped or cleaned to get a "blast white" appearance.

Some attractively coins that show old toning were offered in the recent Goldberg auction such as these posted below:

http://64.60.141.195/photos/69jpegs/196103.jpg

In general, (alloyed) silver will tone fairly easily (and copper can tone, but it usually just darkens and "red" specimens are considered to be the most attractive if uncleaned), copper-nickel can tone but not very easily and is usually only seen on coins part of old collections (see http://www.ebay.com/itm/1919-5c-NGC-MS64-STAR-Electric-Lemonade-Toned-Buffalo-/200649229115?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item2eb7a0433b for a nice example of copper-nickel toning), pure gold does not tone but sometimes the copper or silver in gold alloys can cause it to tone.

[Mongo]

Brilliant! Thanks for that Generic Lad, when I first started looking at coins I asumed that "toned" was never a good thing. I saw a couple like the florin pies posted, and my first impression of those was that someone tried to clean them, but only managed to clean the middle! I have much to learn.

Sorry for highjacking your thread with that question pies.

[azda]

Brilliant! Thanks for that Generic Lad, when I first started looking at coins I asumed that "toned" was never a good thing. I saw a couple like the florin pies posted, and my first impression of those was that someone tried to clean them, but only managed to clean the middle! I have much to learn.

Sorry for highjacking your thread with that question pies.

There is also ugly toned and artifically toned coins, so do beware. Generic Lads link seems to be an artifically toned coin

[Generic Lad]

Brilliant! Thanks for that Generic Lad, when I first started looking at coins I asumed that "toned" was never a good thing. I saw a couple like the florin pies posted, and my first impression of those was that someone tried to clean them, but only managed to clean the middle! I have much to learn.

Sorry for highjacking your thread with that question pies.

There is also ugly toned and artifically toned coins, so do beware. Generic Lads link seems to be an artifically toned coin

Yeah, the buffalo is most likely artificially toned

Though NGC is supposed to have a fancy machine to detect artificially toned coins I don't think it really works, just type in "rainbow toned coins" and you'll find plenty of NGC/PCGS coins that are obviously artificially toned

In general, I find that American collectors will pay extra for toning (fake or otherwise) while British collectors are more apt to look at the details remaining in the coin and wild toning detracts from British coins when compared to US coins where people will pay extra for "rainbow toning"