VickySilver

I have what appears to be an original 1936 6 coin silver proof set with the crown IMO a fully proof coin. Most really are not as I've said however. I also have "probable " proofs bought from Spink 20 years ago - 1932 and 1934 - that have the blessing of Steve Hill, if that be of any comfort.

The non-1927 Wreath proofs were presumably distributed officially to museums - probably some found their way into private individuals hands on occasion as well I have never seen ANY record of montages of either these crowns or of the minor denominations. The proof Jubilee crown was available by subscription to 2500 montage with a lottery for the gold specimens. Lesser folk had to manage with so-called specimen coins that were special but just not so special. Some of the George V proofs are very much scarcer than others - the 1930 half crown comes to mind.

Sorry to derail the conversation on Wood! I’ve often laughed at the way they spew that term. I am unable to sign on to live bidding at DNW on Apple iPhone or iPad. Does anyone else have that problem? They don’t take Adobe or whatever system (can’t recall which) .

Technically they were currency, though mainly these were given as Christmas presents and so did not function that way. IMO proofs were struck but very hard to distinguish.

I have seen waay too many of these, and have on good authority agreement with me. I have known this series for 25 years and will state again: suspect most slabbed as “proof” to not be. I have currency specimens far superior in strike and surface to this one.

BTW, colour differences on high points are not of necessity wear or rub - the crystalline structure in struck up areas tighter and may oxidize variably from the surround and yield differences.

No doubt you have seen the CGS graded 85 Specimen 1935 that I posted some while ago that was wracked with verdigris!

Yes I concur. That is very sad damage to a nice coin that really puts a major hit on value.

Wow, I would think not other than maybe it's whereabouts. That would have been a coin of interest to me at the time but missed it. This is from the era of much mint play/sport and there are quite a few examples of shoddy quality control. I have a brass and also copper nickel pennies of 1965, 66, 67 and the trial nickel halfpenny of 1970 but no lead pieces. Not quite sure of the anticipated function of a lead piece, but interesting. Is this your coin?

I am not always a fan of theirs but the idea of a technical grade IMO has merit. If a coin is essentially exactly as it left the dies with no wear at all, then it CAN be uncirculated. However a soft strike or dies that are corrupted can make details of a coin not crisp. That is not wear IMO, even if the appearance is such at first glance. An interesting point is that when a planchet is not fully struck, the scratches and galling, etc. on the planchet are not "removed" by the striking process.

I believe that Southall reference above will cover what is known or at least published. Many of the Pobjoy figures seem to not be accurate at least with respect to the Viking On Horseback issues. Unfortunately I am getting a figure of over 51 quid net to ship this book to the States. If anybody knows of a better source for book, do let me know.

Palladium is a catalyst for chemical reactions and exposure to certain substances will release gasses, etc. including hydrogen (H2) gas

What did it go for again? I have heard no bargains to be had - SURPRISE!

Ah, found it at lexicon books: Lexiconbookshop.co.im Mike Southall Coins of the Isle of Man L29.95 plus shipping

So how did it all sort out?

Ah, there is a coin shop on Man, and I forgot the name. The proprietor has written an excellent book that is a bit expensive that I mean to get one day. I'll see if I can find more in the next day or two....

The reason that I offer that opinion is that the surfaces are without the oxidation/toning of even a minimal sort that one would expect to see on a coin 90 years old.Or at least very little. Also even though the coin is base 0.500 silver and it is just seeing it from the photo, there is just that little bit of loss of lustre that one sees on a freshly minted coin or that can be seen under the light [usually] yellow to brown toning. I have a very nice set that I put in a Capitol Plastics Holder (done custom) and I did used to lightly ip many of my coins including some in that holder. PM me if you'd like pictures sent in an email...

LOL Well, dipped in any case but I don't see wear as much as bag marks.

I like it at the discount over print copy, but all else equal would take the printed version.

Nice. I have noticed a couple of the Falkland sets are quite rare - specimen an proof sets of 1992, 1999, and 2004.

"Ah, Grasshopper, be patient." I remember the show Kung Fu with David Carradine.... One (1929) will show up at a lot LESS than 300 USD I would imagine. Have you looked through the pages of Coin and Medal News? Coins like this John Welsh used to have for many years - not sure if he is still about. I wouldn't have used him for more expensive issues however.

Update: no update. I have found a few RM issued proof sets that are excessively rare (more than likely) as they simply do not appear for sale and searches for them are for nought. I wish we could shake loose some numbers on many of the sets struck for foreign entities but that is rather unlikely as we don't to my knowledge even have numbers on the Queen's Beasts coins. I suspect that some of the silver crowns and sets that include them were made only to very small numbers, and much less than authorised mintages; the currency copper-nickel possibly even lower if they were not released as huge batches to the Central Banks or whatever local banking authority was used. I think this makes for an interesting area to collect in the old sense of the word as they may never have much value but generate some entertainment in the hunt.

As Richard has said, the experiences in the past with LCA are that they tend to go with your maximum bid as the sale price even if it seems unopposed. More recently the experience has been variable. I have to say that in America the old Stack's used to go with maximum bid too - not sure if the more recent reiteration of Stacks Bowers is the same.

Here are some key obverse areas you may already know: Brow ridge Mustache edge Cheekbone - this is notorious for marks, even moreso on the crown coin Both top and bottom of ear On the reverse: IMO, the lions are not the key. Rather, the shield edge Rim edge and border teeth (goes for obverse as well) IMO, this would make it into the uncirculated with minimal bag marks. The obverse rim at 10-11 o'clock a bit rough and possible rim tap at 1 o'clock

Yes, that would be 1922. As the article by Graham stated, they were of different gold alloy (and different weigh, thickness, etc.) and were tests for the alloy of the Egyptian series - the accepted alloy was an 0.875 gold/silver that was counterstamped with an "A" on the reverse near the rim. What were they asking price wise? In light of this half crown, I would have to guess at least 40k USD.