Nonmortuus

No problem Paul

Go on Pete. Put them with the other one. Paul

A couple a upgrades this week although I am still struggling with 1914 Halfcrowns.

My only shilling for the period being discussed:

These four are probably my best first world war year's half crowns but it seems to be the case that if the obverse strike is good the reverse strike is weak. I am still looking for upgrades.

Thanks Jerry, I just want to know if they are any good or not as an option for storage going forward

I am trying to complete a date run of George V Halfcrowns, missing the two hard ones to get at the moment in a 25 and 30 but I have other dates I want to upgrade like my 1914

I have been looking to upgrade my 1914 Halfcrown for a while but every example I find has wear on the upper ear/its not fully formed. Looking at the CGS population report even the top graded 1914 Halfcrown they have on record (CGS 82 UIN 37819) has this issue. Is this a common thing with how 1914's were minted or are there examples of this date with the ear fully formed and in near perfect condition?

Hi Jerry, did they turn up? If so were they any good?

Thanks for the reply John, what time span does 'this period' refer to? Just 1914? 1911 through to 1919? I ask as the ear on my 1919 is pretty well struck up and the 15, and 16's are not as bad as the 14 above.

3 x 1916 and 2 x 1918. I am constantly looking at upgrades and as I am still relatively new to this I am finding it extremely helpful to have them in my collection to compare. What I would have considered EF 8 months ago has most certainly dropped to at least aEF based on the comparisons between what I own. I will eventually move them 'spares' on but for now I like having them in my collection, especially if I snag a bargin or two along the way

A few newbies, Half pennies and Half Crowns. I am never sure whether to post here or coin acquisition of the week. These are upgrade for me but I imagine are nothing compared to a lot of those in people collections. Should I stop posting on this thread?

No problem Jerry, I am happy to try and help and I hope they are what you are after

Jerry I did a quick google and found these. Are these the type of thing you are after? Marketing bumf: No rim coin capsules has 0,3mm extra in inner diameter which allows to fit same diameter of coin to coin capsule. In this case, for example, 27mm diameter coin will be perfect coin capsule 27mm. http://store.pellers.eu/coin-capsules/capsules-without-rim

For half crowns the 32mm Quadrums are spot on. The 16mm for threepence are a bit tight and fiddly but once they are in they are fine.

Thanks Pete, just arrived and spot on as always

All paid ☺

Yes please Pete

No contest really but it just shows the difference between the two given that MS64 is covered by CGS 78 to 82.

I picked up a couple of 1957 Halfcrowns recently, one off Pete and the other off ebay but they offer a good comparison on grading from CGS and NGC: CGS 82 NGC MS 64:

Oh Rob to add to my post above, I make sure all other lights are off.... no room lights, no TV, nothing. I found with the room lights on I would sometimes get more or an orange tone or would find reflections of my clothes, for example a red T-Shirt, would impact the colour of the coins e.g. a red tinge would appear on the coin from the T-shirt being reflected.

Here you go Pete: http://www.baldwin.co.uk/media/cms/auction-archive/auction-99/10%20BALDWINS%20AUCTION%2099%20-%2008%20-%20BRITISH%20COINS%20%28other%20properties%29.compressed.pdf

@Rob what are you using as your lighting? I have spent a bit of time messing about with my camera set up, camera setting, angle, lighting etc (not as much as Paulus!) and have found that the lamp used makes a huge difference. I bought a cheap day light LED lamp off amazon and some black neoprene for the back ground (as it is chemically inert). Paulus has also now purchased one of these lamps as they make that much of a difference. I really want to get a second and third lamp and try to light from multiple sources. The 3d above is as vibrant as the pictures when the light catches it but I think another 1 or 2 light sources will maybe show how it looks in hand without trying to get it to catch the light. Set up as it stands: Nikon COOLPIX L120 14MP Digital Bridge Camera - (Will be going to a Nikon D3100 once I can afford the Macro lens) Macro turned on Black Neoprene background (other colours are avialable) Day light LED Lamp (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00QGNCA62?ref_=pe_1365641_54848841 or something similar as long as the LEDs are daylight rated) Camera is mounted on a Tripod and positioned over the end of my desk. The lamp is right by the edge of the desk. Neoprene is placed on lamp base with light directly above it and camera positioned as to not cast a shadow on the coin. For Halfcrowns & Florins the camera is about 8" away and zoomed in slightly For smaller denominations I tend to place a book (spink) on the base of the lamp and then use the neoprene etc to ensure the coin fills the shot without me having to zoom in too much.

A common coin but a nice cheap addition with bags of eye appeal if you like toning