Paulus

I would definitely NOT say UNC, GEF overall for me

Yes, it's graded CGS 78 (UNC). It is UIN 2175 so it was graded quite a few years ago, not for that auction. And in all likelihood, not graded at the request of London Coins.

I got this one from London Coins auction (December 2014)

That will be the famous Semra then

This is probably not the best site to ask how to stop collecting coins! For many it'a a life-long obsession, I'm 8 years in and now am only interested in higher grade, mainly English, pre-decimals

Welcome to the Forum BJ (ooo-err!), there is an amazing resource of superb advice on here

@brg5658 very kind of you to say so Brandon, I look forward to your pics, which I'm sure will be top notch as usual! How do you tag people like you did me in your post? I've attempted to tag you back (just by typing the @ + your user name) but I'm not sure that it has worked? @brg5658 Edit: Got it! In my 5th year of using this Forum and never knew about that!!

A stab at GVF, but as Rob says, better pics required

Chris (CHP) has created a Facebook Group called "Pay your court debt/fines in £20, £50 and £100 coins NOW"

Very nice, was there still a 'host coin' for these, or is that a stupid question?

This is mine, I would like a better grade with the host coin showing through more

I would say aF for the first and GF (Obv) nVF (Rev) for the 2nd

Yey, Chris is here!

Hi Matt, it's a simple cheap desk lamp like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lloytron-L961BK-Flexi-Desk-Black/dp/B002TLC3EY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1452511686&sr=8-7&keywords=desk+lamp The rest of the room is lit by daylight through the windows, or a ceiling lamp, it doesn't seem to make any difference. Hope that helps

Welcome to the Forum Mycoins Not my area at all but AFAIK all sovereigns must contain precisely 0.235420 Troy ounces of pure gold at the time of minting, pursuant to the Coin Act of 1816. So a genuine 22ct gold sovereign should weigh 7.98g

I agree Rob. Rejection reasons I find logical are: Unauthenticated (i.e. a forgery) Cleaned or dipped Tooled Artificially Toned (although the definition and identification of this may be controversial) Environmental damage Graffiti

Here's a link to my coin collection pics Frank https://pwcoins.wordpress.com/

There'll be tears before bedtime ...

Hi Matt Here's a bronze example using the same set up: p I should have added, the background can be important, worth experimenting. I bought some different coloured crafty materials from the local Tescos (sheets of non-relective foam-like material. Depending on the tone of the coin you are photograhing, lighter or darker backgrounds may work best. The key to the bulb is that you get best results with daylight white - the local DID store should stock them, I got mine on-line. Often bulbs are 'warm white', giving a yellow hue, which in theory can be corrected using the white balance settings on the camera (if you have them), or post production, but I have had far better results with daylight white bulbs. Thanks to Stuart (Coinery on here) for that tip (he even sent me some!)

My current set-up is: Camera: Panasonic DMC-LX7 "The DMC-LX7 is equipped with a 24mm ultra wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMILUX lens featuring outstanding F1.4 brightness at wide-end and F2.3 at tele-end. The extraordinarily rich amount of light allows not only using higher shutter speed for blur-free images in lower light situation, but also giving impressive expression by reproducing exquisite gradation and mellow defocus. The Nano Surface Coating is applied to minimise ghost and flaring." Macro: On Tripod: Yes, 8" from lens to coin Lighting: Single desk lamp angled at 45 degrees at 2 o'clock to the subject. 6500K Daylight white bulb. Flash: No Zoom: 0.2 m White Balance setting: Auto Shutter on 2s timer Pictures cropped in Paint.net Example: I have also had good results in natural daylight, but you have to wait for the right conditions and the amount of light is variable. I much prefer being able to control the amount and angle of the light. You may find this article useful: http://coinimaging.com/photography.html

1819 crown - "Re-toned"

1826 sixpence - "Cleaned" 1821 shilling - "Scratches"

I have submitted around 70 coins to CGS over the last few years, a handful of which have been rejected for various reasons. None of my last 20 coins have been rejected, so I guess I have learnt! Here are some rejected coins, together with with reason for rejection 1763 'Northumberland' shilling - "Unauthenticated" (forgery) 1718 shilling - "Field Damage" (thought this was a bit harsh)

Plenty of time to branch out into other areas!