VickySilver

Please provide photo help: 1868 RRITANNIAR 3d, perhaps the nicest I've seen (well I bought it). This is PCGS # 536335

PS - I will look up my proof 1934 and do a denticle count as well as see the other details. Hadn't seen this post till now. Sorry.

Yes those do most certainly appear to be rust spots on the die that have struck the flans leaving the raised spots.

Thanks for the complement & bought for much more than an ordinary one - about 12 years ago if memory serves. IMHO yes, you are mostly correct although I have seen some toned Morgan $ coins that appeared to have "DC" designation.

The obverses look really bad. I have seen on spurious that they are frequently worn to hide poor die work, etc. Interesting that the alloy may be different & that you must have a small magnet to pick up specific areas on the coin's surface. The denticles look quite bad on the reverses as well, with that on the right worst. The magnetism suggesting nickel, which would be a part of the genuine .500 alloy by recollection. I believe that there were extensive alloy testing going on with coins that went into circulation.

So true! I apologise for digressing as I was really only trying (with Nick's help) to show an example of cameo.

I concur with Rob and CK in that there are IMO more likely a number closer to 20 than 10, and CK in that cameo is usually more desirable. In some series such as in my post elsewhere, cameo contrast is very rare which I attempted to show in the 1936 Wreath. There is also DC for deep cameo, as in my 1839 half crown & will post the coin number from the PCGS pop site for Great Britain: 504887. I know it is only a photo, but please tell me how this is only a "63". BTW, the coin is at least as nice in hand!

US bidders are naturally bidding in dollars so to them this more a price of about 600 pounds over the last several years.

I believe the florin above is ex-Norweb: 7.8M yen is above 71k USD. Another was sold by Spink about 10 years ago for 15k USD.

Unless its the same piece, there was another specimen being batted about a couple of years ago...I seem to recall it having a bit more marking on it. I love the 6d series but this coin unreachable for those of us on an ordinary budget....

Well you are more the photo expert than I, but it seems that this would still not excuse the first for a softer obverse strike and even so the reverse as middle lion on bottom right quadrant of shield better struck on second than first. Obverse on second snaps because of better hair, ear, the second tie (which is almost invisible on the first!), brow detail and the lack of nose "hits" on the tip and naris that the first has. The first also has some modest rim damage at the 7 and 11 O'clock positions with the NGC restraining tabs making the second appear a bit worse IMO.

Thanks for the picks, Nick. LOL. Yes, my point as the second only 2/3 price of first. Just prior to the first was an 1842 that looked to be overgraded & sold for 3.3k with commission.

There was an 1918KN in 65 that was especially nice....

The rims, denticles and devices look very poor and not regular; the weight loss is about 10%. Admittedly but a picture and not in hand but this still looks bad. The color off even for a putative 50% silver content coin. Appears counterfeit to me.

It certainly looks it, although toning/aging can be done artificially. Haven't seen one this late on before.

That looks distinctly UNLIKE a Royal Mint product. Garbage comes to mind.

Likely so. Or occasionally one side is milled out just inside the rim, and then another coin milled down to fit in the space & then joined together so the seam is just inside the rim rather than on the edge. The earlier posts on this were not so good. Values tend to be quite a bit higher for the real thing.

Wow, congratulations on a Great Coin! Grade is nice, but it's the coin that deserves it!

Nice way of saying the OP coin is NOT a proof, I would think. Better struck, yes. Proof standard, no Details still not sharp enough, field not right, rim just not close..

Although not strictly British coins in topic, there is of course a bit of a link: - What has become ultimately of them? I seem to recall them being ?absorbed by ICI or some such... - Are their minting records, such as of the specimen trials they struck for foreign governments (presumable with the Royal Mint's blessing) available? The reason I ask is that I was not only generally curious, but saw that the recent DNW lot of the 1977 Seychelles 1 Rupee and 50c appear to be very similar to "specimen strikes" that are being slabbed by PCGS (evidently by the ebay vendor and well known American foreign coin seller Margulies). I think that perhaps these were marketing pieces possibly related to them attempting to ramp up business between the 30s/40s and later 1990s. In the Seychelles case cited, these are of interest because I am not sure that currency 1977 with the defunct obverse portrait of Mancham are unknown - or at least to the best of my knowledge & so those at DNW appear as what I would term "specimen" strike, and not quite proof. Just how rare or common are these?

I still say RIDICULOUS and still post minting damage no matter how it is couched. For that money, there should at least be a DNA traceable bit of Victoria spittle on the coin!

Hey, I love those Vicky (surprise!) 3ds!!! there were really nice bits in DNW today.

Looks like you're "Green" for tomorrow!

Wow, I can only barely get on DNW site,but not to live bidding - anybody else with that problem this morning (afternoon in London)?

Yes, I finally got in also and got several of the currency Vick 3ds I've been trying for. The 1853 3d was listed as a proof, but looked rather like a currency to me - but let it go at 850 plus the juice...