Paulus

And better pics of this one

Better grade Masonic halfpenny token

No it wasn't, I'm lying

That would be me

Thanks Peter. Sometimes you get to know a seller's pics, sometimes their coins are consistently better in hand than their pics suggest His pics above, mine below

Seller is a very prolific eBay seller, based near Yeovil. It was one one those where I could tell the minimum grade from the pics but suspected it would look nicer in hand, and so it has proven I believe My previous no hearts sixpence was not all that and was letting the side down a bit! £35 delivered.

It was indeed, I don't do so many of those these days - was it on your radar?

They are now stating that there is a maximum fee of £99 per coin

No hearts sixpence upgrade just landed

Yes that's more my cup of tea, very nice!

Welcome to the forum! A few of us are members of that FB Group, including Chris (the owner of predecimal), Nonmortuous, and myself, amongst others I'm sure

Welcome Bob, I echo everything that's been said so far, there seems to be strong consensus on these nuggets of advice. Everyone makes the odd mistake as a newbie, try to keep the mistakes inexpensive! Do post pics on here before expensive purchases

Same here

Ah yes, read that and forgot!

Whereabouts are you @1934 Wreath Crown?

From the same matched set as the crown I posted pics of recently, here is the half-crown, together with the notorious 'Mint-wipe' on the obverse Would love to see other members' pics of their examples of this proof

Thanks ozjohn, that looks to be a stunning example - it would surely photograph even better outside of the capsule?

It feels like a moving feast with more breaking news to follow shortly (or not). My guess is that after a cut-off point (which may have already just passed, as the submission form, with the old pricing on it, has now been removed from their site), any new submissions, from existing members or new, will have to be accompanied by the £499 fee (which as I read it is a on-off payment towards future life-time submissions, not an annual fee). There needs to be clarification, and there is no info (yet) on turnaround times.

Entirely agree - again. I've been speaking with Bill Pugsley (CGS Forum Chair) about this today to try and make some sense of this as a business model

Quite agree - and it will inevitably be based on the value that CGS themselves assign. It should be a flat fee. Do estate agents do more work when selling a £500k property compared to £250K? I doubt it, but they get paid twice as much!

Yes, I saw that too, but things are being finalised as we type I think. My understanding is that it is a one-off payment of £499, not annual, and when that is 'used up' then you have to pay more each batch you send in. It would actually work out cheaper for me on coins valued between £200-£1100, as they were charging £21.95 each for these. But paying £500 to have a £25K coin graded seems steep! I believe also that you will be able to use their site for free once again as a non-member, it will just for be for slabbing that you will need to pay the fee, or 'find an agent'

Looks like CGS have just changed their pricing model. You will now need to send them £499 for lifetime 'elite' membership and as a prepayment for grading coins as below: " The Coin Grading and Encapsulation service is only available to members (CGS Elite Member). The cost of becoming a CGS Elite Member is £ 499 however the first £ 499 spent on grading fees is deductible off the membership fee. So if you are expecting to spend at least £ 499 on CGS grading then becoming a CGS Elite Member is for you. The CGS Elite membership runs indefinitely and will be set up as soon as the £ 499 payment has been received. The cost of CGS grading per coin is the greater of £ 15.75 or 2% of the coins value. A payment of £ 15.75 per coin is payable (or deducted from the £499) when the coins are submitted. At the end of the process and before the coins are returned to the submitter any additional fees relating to the 2% valuations becomes payable. If you are looking to have a few coins graded where the total grading fees will be less than £499 you may be able to find an agent who will help you. You will not be able to deal direct with CGS. "

Yes it does, I can't verify whether they have graded one at 82 or 85 or not - I expect you have looked as well. As far as auction 'estimates' go, I believe these are often set artificially low to attract interest - in other words they are not necessarily a form of valuation. The only true validation of any price guide or valuation on a coin is of course what it actually sells for, including commission.

Finest known CGS 1703 VIGO sixpence

Well said Coinkat, a lot of issues simply don't seem to exist fully struck up, what you are left sometimes is with is grading relative to the best known examples ... I am considering an Anne Vigo acquisition right now which is a case in point ...