Sword

Thanks!

It is 26020 for the halfcrown, 12776 for the florin

Unfortunately, the photo loophole was closed before I could download higher resolution photos of the 1935

Sure. Here they are. I was lucky and was able to view photos for a couple of hours before London Coins closed this loophole for ever. The toning makes it rather difficult for to see the details in the hair and beard in the photo.

Oh, nothing special. Just two common George V types that I wanted. (1923 Florin CGS 82 and 1935 halfcrown CGS 82) The 1923 has a nice gold toning. The 1935 is BU.

I have just brought a couple of coins from Guy and am really pleased with them.

Many thanks for the advice Tom. I confess that I have never handled a hammered coin before and so your tips are really appreciated. I totally agree that eye appeal is even more important for hammered. (I really won't enjoy owing a near mint coin that has weak king's feature for instance) I have been looking at coins from the DNW, LCA and Lockdale websites for quite a while to get an idea of the sort of coins available. I think I will need to save up for an Edward VI shilling next. Having said I am aware that a VF problem free example is pricey.

Thank you so much for sharing that.

Many thanks Rob for your expertise! Much appreciated. Is it more usual for the legend to read MAG and HIB rather than MA and HI?

Looking at the table in the link, I do find it rather amusing that the grading terms in foreign languages can't be taken literally either. I can read very little Japanese and hope that I haven't translated too badly: Sheldon Japanese Grade My Translation AG3 収集不適品 Not suitable for collection MS63 未使用品 Goods that have never been used MS66 完全未使用品 Completely unused goods MS68 空前絶後品 Never seen before and will never see again

Most people would admire a 100+ years old circulating coin graded MS68 (or CGS equivalent) as an object of high rarity. I certainly can't see any interest for a modern proof coin wrapped in plastic moments after birth and later graded as MS70 or CGS123...

LCA stopped people from viewing the CGS photos within 2 hours of the of the OP. Too much of a coincidence to me. So it seems quite likely they got wind of it somehow. I find it strange that anyone from LCA is a reader of this forum due to the large number of frank comments regarding them though. LCA should also realise that they won't persuade more people to pay their £99 by this behaviour.

Thanks for sharing your experience! I think LCA's grading and their descriptions have gone downhill a bit in recent years. Things like hairlines often don't show up on photos and so accurate + comprehensive descriptions are so important. Having said that I have also placed a bid on their weekend auction.

I agree that it is probably best to leave it alone. It looks rather nice for its grade and the "stuff" is not distracting and has blended in rather well. If you decide to clean it, then it is the right sort of coin to experiment on and gain some experience. You don't want to attempt your first cleaning on a UNC valuable coin. (Personally, I have not attempted any cleaning myself)

NGC MS62. No wear as far as I can tell but a rather large number of contact marks and scuffs on the obverses.

It's interesting that some Edward VII coins can tone so darkly around the legend leaving the rest of the coin untoned and lustrous. Here are a couple examples of mine. They are common coins but I like the tone.

There were times previously when the main forum was dominated by heated discussions on the merits (or lack of) of TPGs. This was undoubtedly off-putting for a number of people. However, TPG discussions now take place discretely in its own sub-forum. People entering the TPG sub-forum should know what to expect. I think I have exhausted the things (both good and bad) I can say about CGS for now. But since this is the called the negative thread, I will join in the fun and add this: https://taxfreegold.co.uk/cgs-uk.biz.html

Personally, I think there is (or was!) some premium for coins in CGS holders providing the grade is high. E.g. CGS 80+ for later milled crowns and CGS 80/82+ for smaller coins. Most of us would agree with the cliche "buy the coin and not the slab". However, I think a grade on a slab does influence opinions. e.g. if a crown is graded CGS 80, many would assume it is UNC unless observations proved otherwise. The coin is somehow given the benefit of the doubt. Looking at Non's 1913 HC, I confess I can't tell from the photo how much of the loss of details in the obverse is due to wear and how much is due to weak strike. But if it has a grade CGS 75, then many people can believe it is weak strike if they have only a photo to go on. I have no reasons to think that CGS has graded the coins in this tread inaccurately. But as Paul and Azda have also pointed out, grading early George V by photos alone is just difficult. Weak strike can be mistaken for wear. With regard to my own 1911 HC, the original auction description was "UNC toning over original mint lustre". With the coin in hand, I don't think the CGS 80 grade given later on is unreasonable. CGS has annoyed me on numerous occasions by long grading times, using scratched or even cracked holders, slabbing foreign matter with the coin etc but I think their grading is generally OK. (I have always been suspicious of the grades they give to their own coins however) I do agree with Azda to some extent that LCGS / CGS slabs might be less desirable in the future. Now there is no guarantee of any kind. They have become first party grading. People are now more likely to break open their slabs and eventually the meanings of their grades can fade.

I suppose they would be flexible in this case. They have been flexible enough with slabbing rare pennies with verdigris providing the grades are low. I think either Tom or Coinery has mentioned before how would they deal with hammered coins with small flan cracks. Guess we might never find out due to the lack of hammered coins submitted to them.

The old CGS website gave a list of things they would reject a coin. These included flan flaw, flan crack, lamination, etc.

I think it is important to wipe all possible properties from photos before posting them. To be safe, I also use a camera without GPS.

Yes, you can crack the coin out and resubmit it again

Enough of the company CGS and back to George V halfcrowns. I have brought a 1911 a few years back. I had it slabbed with CGS afterwards and it got a CGS 80 grade. Interested to hear how you think it compare with the ones posted earlier.

The new grading company is exactly the same as the old company with just an extra letter added to the name. Actually, not quite the same as they now have a worse attitude.