Paulus

Me too, I really hate Photobucket. Dropbox is a good sync'ing service which you keep a separate folder for on your own computer. One of the things you can do (they supply the folder when you download and run the free software) is put photos you want to share in its 'Public' subfolder. Dropbox then uploads the picture(s) and you get URLs which you can share with people. You only get 2 (2.5?) GB of free online storage, but they boost that by 500 MB every time you recommend Dropbox to someone else and they start using it. I'm on 3.2 GB at present but I have no idea where the "point 2" came from! Another site which seems to me to be friendlier than P'bucket, is Image Shack, where you can upload pictures, get URLs in various formats, and choose whether you want the pictures to be public or private. PB worked fine for me before the recent change, now there are adverts everywhere and it seems more difficult to use, I am looking elsewhere too

The 'lustre' component of the grading would take this into account, the point was made to me that there wasn't a specific category for 'eye appeal'. I also asked about the location of marks, dings etc, and yes, if there are problems in the middle of the face, for example, rather than half-hidden in some design detail, then these would count as more 'serious' problems and the coin would score less. Would it though, bearing in mind lustre has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with toning. You can have a deeply-toned coin with obvious full-lustre underneath. My point is you could presumably have two full-lustred CGS coins, one with ugly toning, and one with beauty personified, and they would both come out of the computer with the same grade? Duplicate Post

The 'lustre' component of the grading would take this into account, the point was made to me that there wasn't a specific category for 'eye appeal'. I also asked about the location of marks, dings etc, and yes, if there are problems in the middle of the face, for example, rather than half-hidden in some design detail, then these would count as more 'serious' problems and the coin would score less. Would it though, bearing in mind lustre has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with toning. You can have a deeply-toned coin with obvious full-lustre underneath. My point is you could presumably have two full-lustred CGS coins, one with ugly toning, and one with beauty personified, and they would both come out of the computer with the same grade? I really don't know! I wonder if Bill knows or has a view?

The 'lustre' component of the grading would take this into account, the point was made to me that there wasn't a specific category for 'eye appeal'. I also asked about the location of marks, dings etc, and yes, if there are problems in the middle of the face, for example, rather than half-hidden in some design detail, then these would count as more 'serious' problems and the coin would score less.

Just to add a few things I was told or witnessed when I visited CGS last week: there are 3 graders for every coin (not 2) 'cabinet friction' is graded as wear, in the same way as any other wear there is no specific plus or minus for 'eye appeal' (like there is for some of the US TPGs - apparently) rejected coins may be slabbed but are not graded or valued, and are only included in the population report as 'rejected' their photography is all indoors using a standard desk lamp bulb for lighting, and an Olympus SP500UZ camera with macro, 3Mb resolution, and a white balance adjustment the main factors in their grading (against benchmark coins exhibiting varying degrees of these factors) are: Hairlines Friction/Wear Striking Marks/Problems (bag marks, dings, edge knocks, etc) Lustre These factors are manually assessed against the hundreds of benchmark coins available and entered into a computer program that produces a grade for that grader's assessment. Although they wouldn't tell me the different weighting applied to these factors in their algorithm, I was told that of these 5 the 2 that would count most against a coin's grade were hairlines and marks/problems Coins will also be marked down for 'non-progressive spots' (e.g. carbon spots, haymarking, adjustment lines, fingerprints), and would definitely be rejected for 'progressive spots' (e.g. verdigris) It was all very interesting! I recommended to them that this information should be provided to the paying customer, who currently only gets to see the final grade!!! Incidentally, while I was there I asked more about what it was about my Northumberland shilling that gave the game away when it was (thankfully) rejected in March 2012 ... and I found out something about these forgeries that I didn't know before. Apparently one of the most telling factors is in the formation of the 6 - most of the forgeries have a sharper intersection between the top curve and the circular bit (pardon my ignorance on what these bits are called!):

My opinion: Coin 1 : EF Coin 2 : Fair (scrap value)

Do any forum members collect these? I have been given a couple and it started me looking at various sites and the Bay, do they have any numismatic appeal do people think?

I've never seen one finer! If only to stick to examples like that, I'd only have about 4 in my collection! I will always remember where I've seen the finest sixpence of its rare type! Well done for plucking that one! If you die before me, can you let someone know I'd like to have it! Can I have some high-res images? PLEASE! Lol, someone's got the 'I wants' ! Loveliest sixpence I've seen in ages! Would be amazing for any MM but, a considerably rarer type as well, you'll not see a comparable example! ! I can't even conceive of a better one! Eye-wateringly pretty! I have a hunch that Rob's collection is full of such exemplary pieces! What's great about coins like this, is the detail you don't ordinarily get to see on lesser examples, such as the broken shield punch, showing as a fracture in the top right corner! I want to chop that shield out! It's also the rarest of the acorn die-pairings according to BCW, as if being a nice coin wasn't enough! I'm sure if you ask Rob nicely he will send you other pics of his Lizzy I coins, then you will really be in trouble!!!

I've never seen one finer! If only to stick to examples like that, I'd only have about 4 in my collection! I will always remember where I've seen the finest sixpence of its rare type! Well done for plucking that one! If you die before me, can you let someone know I'd like to have it! Can I have some high-res images? PLEASE! Lol, someone's got the 'I wants' ! Loveliest sixpence I've seen in ages! Would be amazing for any MM but, a considerably rarer type as well, you'll not see a comparable example! ! I can't even conceive of a better one! Eye-wateringly pretty! I have a hunch that Rob's collection is full of such exemplary pieces!

Maybe we will get to see Rob's personal collection one day, I imagine it to be rather special!

I've never seen one finer! If only to stick to examples like that, I'd only have about 4 in my collection! I will always remember where I've seen the finest sixpence of its rare type! Well done for plucking that one! If you die before me, can you let someone know I'd like to have it! Can I have some high-res images? PLEASE! Lol, someone's got the 'I wants' !

Yey, glad it is still working for you Rob, it still says 'Copied' for me (but only for a split second!) Just a random scrap silver coin you chose for testing purposes there then!

I would echo everything that's been said so far. I'm still a relative newbie (15 months in to more serious collecting) and I have enjoyed (nearly) every moment of the roller-coaster ride! The main advice I can offer is: Buy the highest grade you can afford (as many, many have said) Come here for advice about anything at all (to do with coins!) Don't spend what you would consider significant money 'blind' (i.e. without seeing the coin 'in hand'), unless it is from someone whose grading and description you trust, or from a dealer who offers a 'no quibble' return (most reputable dealers will do this). This might rule out a lot of high-price online auction purchases (eBay for example), unless you are willing to take a degree of risk Do not trust someone else's grade for a coin (including slabbed coins) unless, again, it's from someone who's grading you have learned to trust Get the reference books that are relevant for your area of focus Do not confuse investing in coins with collecting them as a hobby Learn to grade a coin yourself Only buy coins that have eye-appeal to you - regardless of the grade or rarity of the coin (there's many more but I have run out of steam for now!) ENJOY!

Can't get pic to upload. AT last. Completed? Have you got the 4 coloured Commonwealth Games ones? Now wotcha gonna collect?

Rob, you can still easily paste the pics into the Forum ... with the coin selected, simply click in the IMG code field (it will say 'Copied' when you do this) then Ctrl+V in to your post

Well what I was doing is right-click copying and pasting, but I can't work out how to do that in the new version of PB ... I am currently using IE for PB (instead of Chrome) as (for me) this is still using the old version, but that will change on the 18/3. I have noticed that if I put the pics on this forum, I can then right-click copy them, so something similar might be the answer!

If they're going on the 'bay, you could do a lot worse than BIN & BO! You can sit them on eBay for a year for under a fiver! The right buyer will turn up before then! That's where I have knowledge, and where I am leaning, for coins £100-£400 anyway, I think the effective 15% or so sellers' premium and 0% buyers' premium swings it, will ensure it is open to eBay.com too, it's only a few pence

Absolutely right, insured postage too! Me too, though it's only 5% in Paulus's neck 'o' the woods! Good old Croydon Auctions, their website is a bit rubbish though! When is the next auction??

I think their strictness could well have the reverse effect than that intended : as a result of how they graded your coins there is absolutely no way I would ever risk sending any of my best coins to them, to be marked down in the same way. So if I was ever likely to reverse my attitude to slabbing, there is now no way I would do so. I believe I can grade quite well, and I find I am very often in agreement with Derek (who wrote the book). I must admit, it's a bit galling to have some coins I admire, bought for my collection as EF and at EF prices, to be graded as VF, knowing that they would almost certainly be graded as EF once again by many dealers and sellers as raw coins! Some of the coins in this batch were sold to me by very highly respected dealers at a grade or more higher than CGS have given. The jury is still out for me, but their apparent over-strictness and unwillingness to move with the times a bit is certainly a double-edged sword at best! I am also a fan of Derek's grading, in my few dealings to date I had to break 3 coins back out of the slabs CGS delivered to me! I just couldn't swallow the grades and/or valuations! It sounds like you may be doing something similar? Did they value them favourably overall? Most CGS buyers will take a look at the UIN to check out the valuation on the CGS website, and you can be sure you'll be getting under that, even before selling fees! I've been looking forward to your response Stuart! On balance it's what I expected, some well below and a couple a bit above what I expected! But you're right, I'm not taking a loss by selling some of them at the CGS valuations in their slabs, in a couple of cases they are ridiculous even in the sense of what I could get by ripping them out and starting them at 99p on eBay! But it's all part of this little learning experience, and I have learned a lot from it so far ... especially regarding how to grade ... the next bit of learning will be the reaction of buyers of the ones I sell in their coffins! So far it has been money well worth spending, especially after the 'free' time I spent with the graders today! Their benchmark coins are something to behold!!

Absolutely right, insured postage too!

Hi Nek, welcome to what must be the best coin forum for British predecimal in the world! My grading would be (and I am not an expert): Coin 1 (British Guiana issue) GF Coin 2 Fine + Coin 3 NVF Coin 4 Fine + Coin 5 VF Coin 6 VF + Coin 7 VF (cleaned?) Coin 8 Near Fine (NF) Why 1818 onwards and not 1816 (as your interest)?

I think their strictness could well have the reverse effect than that intended : as a result of how they graded your coins there is absolutely no way I would ever risk sending any of my best coins to them, to be marked down in the same way. So if I was ever likely to reverse my attitude to slabbing, there is now no way I would do so. I believe I can grade quite well, and I find I am very often in agreement with Derek (who wrote the book). I must admit, it's a bit galling to have some coins I admire, bought for my collection as EF and at EF prices, to be graded as VF, knowing that they would almost certainly be graded as EF once again by many dealers and sellers as raw coins! Some of the coins in this batch were sold to me by very highly respected dealers at a grade or more higher than CGS have given. The jury is still out for me, but their apparent over-strictness and unwillingness to move with the times a bit is certainly a double-edged sword at best! I am also a fan of Derek's grading, in my few dealings to date

An 1894 penny. Quite nice - except for the fingerpriints. They gave it an AU78. Can I ask which TPG it was? I think Red already told you. AU78 rules out NGC and PCGS, so it's gonna be CGS. Yes, of course, brain wasn't in gear! Out of interest, are CGS definitely the only TPG that use a 1-100 scale?

I learnt a lot about their grading process today, spending over two hours with one of their graders (Paul Radford), who has been with CGS since the start. One of the reasons their grading appears so strict is that there is no concept of 'compensation' - a whole series of negatives in several different categories will simply mark the coin down, so if one side is half a grade or more lower than the other, then so is the grade for the whole coin, in essence! (In other words, they don't 'average' the two sides when arriving at the single grade).

The results are in! 1820 HC - VF40 1823 HC - VF45 1834 HC - EF65 1852 FL - EF60 1884 FL - AU75 1825 SH - EF60 (new variety 5/5) 1697 SX - VF45 1712 SH - ungraded (scratches) On balance pretty much as I expected, especially given how many people said how strict they are, and having seen their grading process in person earlier today (quite impressed!). Very pleased that none of them came back as cleaned or tampered with in any way (they absolutely will not grade those). A bit disappointed with the 1823, it is a lot better than 45 in my inexpert opinion! A few people (including myself) thought the 1834 might make it to AU. Pleasantly surprised with the 1884 making AU, it must be the weaker strike - as Nick suggested - (which still marks the coin down a bit,) rather than wear. Nick was remarkably accurate with his predictions, going for 60 on the 1852 (spot on), 78 on the 1884 (3 out), but a little high (55-60) on the 1820 and 1823 G4 HCs. So the next stage will be to put 6 of them up for sale (all bar the 1823 and 1834). All options will be considered including: Private sale On-line auction Tradational English auction house American auction house such as Heritage Removing some of them from the slabs if I feel this might help Bearing in mind of course any import/customs charges, buyers' and sellers' premiums, and postage fees that might apply to some of these methods. Any other options? Again, all and any comments and advice extremely welcome! Thanks to all who have contributed so far