VickySilver

March 19, 2002. Lot 2100. I tried to cut and paste but won't let me... I must say the pictures do not do it justice as the field surfaces are nearly reflective proof like (and no, not smoothed).

Rob, I will try to post the image, or at least where it can be seen. It was a Teletrade win as I said. In hand it is a VERY nice specimen (which I realise doesn't mean a lot, but will say it is amongst the best I've seen).

That is their higher grade "AU" but usually GEF if correctly graded (IMO).

Recent ebay treasure steals are few and far between. I confess that the bulk of my high grade 20th C material was obtained from ebay in the 1998-2005 period. Seems that there was no market for it at the time - also plenty was to be had such as GEF Gothic florins and the like. A good acquaintance of mine got a proof 1838 Sov. for 1200 quid and later traded it for 10k quid! I used to occasionally patrol the US site Teletrade and it really had a massive amount of junk for sale, mainly US "widgets" as I like to call them (slabbed bits of modern schlock) but did manage the IMO accurately graded NGC58 1864 crosslet penny for 38 quid equivalent. Sorry didn't mean to pirate the thread.

2000 Coincraft have it (1903 2/6) at 30 and 100 quid. 26 is a bargain no matter how you cut it... 2012 Krause have it at 160 and 500 USD. IMO, thats not too bad for a world average.

Well said, and I could not agree more. To think that evidently the training of generals was basically rehash of classical battles and an update from the Napoleonic wars led to so vastly many more senseless deaths and maiming is so very sad.

When I think of WW I, I remember visiting so many village churches with commemorative plaques listing all the villagers that died in that terrible war - many lost in single futile charges at German machine gun nests - an absolute waste of human life. And not to reiterate Lord K's excesses in the Boer war. Better stop whilst ahead....

Uh, please see my earlier post of the George V Jubilee crowns and the CGS85 that not only was inferior to both the PCGS65 specimen but also the NGC65 specimen! And by a lot. Also, it had developed an ugly green ?PVC spot in the slab...

OK, I think another couple of points being missed here is that catalogue valuations are projected averages. In other words, even electronic valuations on the internet are dated as soon as generated. Also, a piece sitting in stock in somebody's small antique shop may have a low price - much lower than posted valuations, and yet languish there. Not great probability, but possible. The same piece for sale in some remote European non-internet sale may go for quite low. Then a similar piece may come up slabbed at a Heritage sale and go for many multiples. Anyway, those are a couple of ideas. In other words, a dated valuation must serve in a variety of circumstances - that is a difficult task to come up with such.

Almost want to say it looks like an underlying counter-clockwise "3" - at least that might also be a possibility despite lack of changes beneath lowest arc of the upper 3.

Nothing outstanding for me in recent months but some really good buys in the past. Still scan the listings...

Nice shilling in any case - at least there is no neon toning!

Yes, sorry not EF and definately cleaned to show the "copperiness" in all its pinkness....

The bit abut toning is interesting as lustrous copper is certainly subject to environmental intrusion of gasses, and I believe there have been some experiments about this posted on some other boards (PCGS?).

Well, possibly/probably not dodgy. This looks to be a flans clip issue - the basic blank was punched out of a strip too close to the "edge" and was subsequently struck with proper dies.

Some, myself included think the collector market for lower priced classical bits is stale and perhaps falling away [down]. The middle ground coins then trying to hang on and the big spender coins in a seeming free rise. The lovely bit is if somehow one has a coin bought at formerly "middle ground" prices and has now climbed to "big spender" status. Then the pleasant dilemma is whether to sell or somehow hang on to it and hope for further gains...

Peck, I think that was my point - for 3k there might be a bit more interesting bit.... That mid-range for coins, if it is that, between about 3k and 7k is a battleground IMO with the coins generally not being marquee coins but being nicer bits. Just what is the market for them is really the broader point I was getting at. And I am not sure anyone can give an absolute answer to it. I watch the market and coins quite carefully and cannot reach absolute conclusions. Those that can ought to feel free to elaborate methinks....

Nice bit regardless, I usually think of "fine" as not collectable but this OK. I wonder the market for such a 'tweener coin?

OK, I was thinking 1860/59 (not bun head) and the like which I would imagine you would agree fairly obvious. Not to mention all our silver overdates....(excepting some of the multiple digit types).

OK, I confess to be a "lumper" and not a "splitter" - maybe comes from being a biologist, where a few of us classical types don't care a lot for pigeonholing as there was and is a tendency to get lost in the forest for the trees. So, my vote (for whatever it counts) is to have an entirely separate catalogue for wide and narrow, and data variants (save the overdates), and the like. To present a countering view, I think, to what has been proposed - I think an overdate is far more obvious to the observer than a date spacing die variant. And quite frankly, though admittedly a matter of personal perspective, I think listings in a general catalogue ought to be obvious as to type to even a beginner or slightly advanced collector/cataloguer.

OK then, I'll add a bit more. Definitely (IMO obviously) not a stellar example. Darker than most to be sure and the price maybe 20% high. There are some cheek friction points and other bag handling stigma. Honestly I would skip it. It does serve the counterpoint to all those specimens mercilessly dipped. Seen entirely too much of that - _ohn _elsh famous for it but even _ark _assmu__en on occasion….

Not a bad bit, best seen in hand as usual. I was not overly impressed by their other offerings however.

Yes, believe it was in the 4700 quid range....Whoever bought it might want to prepare for a nasty surprise when they see it or try to pass it on!

Hmmm, IMO a specialist publication would be fine for those narrow dates and datal position varieties and not a general publication. Recognised varieties such as the basic 1926 ME or 1864 serif and crosslet types don't bother me at all and have been generally established for a long while.

Not to mention the notorious fashion in which he "died"....