ozjohn

Hi Paulus, In the end it comes down to price v quality. They all look to be UNC coins and all UNC Edward coins command big money even dated 1902. I do not have a set but have picked up the crown, halfcrown and florin as matte proof coins over time but the Maundy, sixpence and shilling escape me along with the gold. One thing I have found with coins is as soon as you buy one that you have been looking for more always seem turn up. Then you start to ask yourself is the one better than the one I have just obtained is it cheaper etc. I think, although I know it's hard, you have to know when to stop.

Perfection. Beer o' Clock in Brisbane temperature 28 deg. C. Who can ask for more?

Never taken much notice of IS Wright auctions although I visit their shops when in Sydney or Melbourne. They still seem to have postal bids! Maybe they will move to the 20th centaury sometime in the next 84 years. Have you tried contacting IS Wright? http://www.iswright.com.au/shops.php

Checked out the poor replica 1905 halfcrown on Ebay which went for over GBP 200. Are people out of their minds? I've seen plenty of these on Ebay before that have been passed in at GBP 9.99 which was the listing price. If anyone can't spot this listing as a fake perhaps they should take up another hobby.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/British-1905-Half-Crown-Coin-/161995770377?hash=item25b7b34a09:g:j0kAAOSwDuJW2Dcm

That was the thing that surprised me was the fact that the expert did not seem to indicate that polishing such an item with metal polish was a bad idea and should not be repeated.

I was watching Antiques Roadshow the other day and a Charles 1 medallion was being appraised. It seemed to be genuine and looked like it was gold on silver. The owner talked about how it was in a very dirty condition and he polished it with metal polish to clean it up. It was very shiny indeed.. No mention was made by the expert on the effect such cleaning would have on the value of the item in fact it seemed not to draw any comment other than it had removed some of the surface metal and would not have to do it again for a long time. As we all know this would be the worst thing that could be done to a coin and it would lose much of its value if polished. Is this true for medallions? Your comments are invited.

The finest was in inverted commas and more a dig at CGS' inconsistent grading.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1925-George-V-Silver-Florin-Scarce-CGS-75-/252206534010?hash=item3ab8ae4d7a:g:ZPYAAOSwbdpWaIki. I'm not having a go at the seller as that's his business to sell coins. However it does show how the price is elevated once a coin has been graded. Which just goes to show buy the coin not the grading.

Perhaps you may consider a 1927 proof set for some where about GBP 800. More expensive but you get the wreath crown, halfcrown, florin, shilling, sixpence and finally threepence in a presentation case.. A type set for the third George V coinage with the bonus of the rare florin of which only 15000 were minted which was the total number of 1927 florins minted for 1727.

Another of CGS "finest" graded at 75 listed on Ebay a 1925 florin http://www.coingradingservices.co.uk/img.php?u=0034282&f=o&s=f . How this qualifies for this grade I do not know. Wear on the ear, beard and cheekbone with horrible toning on the obverse of which I do not know wasn't rejected on by CGS. However the reverse is better but still with the horrible uneven toning. I don't know about CGS but lustre and eye appeal are part of the PGS grading procedure.

PS I would not submit my coins to CGS if they were the last grading service on earth. They are rubbish entirely devoted to their commercial interests via London Coins. Various people on this forum suggest submitting coins to these people for ascertaining that they are not fakes etc. without any proof as to their expertise in this area. I would treat their pronouncements with caution as I would with their grading.

Yes see my 1920 halfcrown upgrade post its heaps better than this one.

An upgrade to my halfcrown collection. Finding a 1920 halfcrown in reasonable condition is difficult although it is not a rare coin the mint quality is problematic and grading these coins is difficult. There are a couple of marks on the obverse however I think on the whole it is a pretty decent coin

Hi Inforapenny, Try classic coins on ebay they always seem to have a lot of English silver coins in VF and above condition at fairly reasonable prices.

Ebay item # 262269184358 which is an 1843 halfcrown of 13.5g weight all most certainly a base metal reproduction was sold for GBP 113 and attracted 22 bids. What more can I say.

I would grade your sovereign at NVF with surface digs on the obverse side located on the chin and neck of the queen. Spink Coins of England 2016 catalogs your coin at F 600 VF 1300 & EF 4750 GBP. Probably worth hanging on to.

I've had this coin for a while and was brought graded as VF for $12.00. After looking at this thread I took it out of the cardboard coin holder to compare it with the other posts and noticed that the milling was almost pristine with very sharp edges. (Hard to show using a scanner). However it does show how poorly some of these coins of this period were minted. On the whole I think the reverse is a better strike. Although it doesn't show on the scan the coin has good luster. than the obverse

find

This coin has been in my collection for the best part of 30 years and has never been dipped in that time. I am sure there are many people out therewho will think it has been dipped. Moral to the story if you cannot fid something nice to say don't

Every coin seems to be dipped?? A die crack over the lion or ghosting perhaps. Who knows but that is how the coin was made?

Mr T. I think the mint quality of the florins is probably the worst for the reign with most UNCs looking like GVF or worse which may help to explain the difference you have described.

I have been trying to complete the run of jubilee florins 1887 thru 1892. 1887 seems to be the easiest date with the rest uncommon especially in the higher grades. I can understand this for 1891 and 1892 as they are low mintage years however 1887 thru 1890 should be fairly easy as they are of mintages of over a million. When you look on Ebay for these dates there are plenty of double florins but the normal florins are very thin on the ground with the exception of 1887.Does anyone know the reason for this? I have heard that double florins were unpopular at the time as they could be confused with a crown even though the reverse was completely different. Even so I cannot see anyone wanting to hoard an unpopular coin I would have thought they would pass them on asap. Any way there seems to be plenty of double florins except for 1892 as none were issued and very few florins for the other years. I do have a high grade 1892 which I obtained many years ago but 1889 - 1891 in high grade elude me.

Don't send it to CGS for regrading they will be sure to reject a toned coin like your one.

Overall a nice reverse bright while still retaining some mint lustre and some small nicks and scratches. No real evidence of cleaning as such but as to dipping who can tell if it is done well. With adding the caution if in doubt do not dip.

True but when it comes to halfcrowns with the exception of 1892 the other dates are fairly common whereas in the case of florins this is not true. As mentioned initially in the post the double florins are common although some with different 1s may be rarer also I cannot see people hanging on to what was considered to be an unpopular coin.

As always with reference to The Standard Guide to Grading British Coins I would grade this as Near EF. With reference to the grading guide it just misses the EF grading due to the wear at the beginning of the queens plat on the obverse and on the reverse similar wear on the breast on the harp decoration also the body of the thistle. Overall still a pretty nice coin. Attached scans of the godless florin in my collection which I think grades at EF perhaps a little better but not UNC. Noting that the reverse scan is upside down the bottom The crown and lion with One Florin around it is a little weak due to the strike as the opposite crown and lion is fine. As an observation about grading it seems to be more about disagreement than agreement.