What would you pay given the description

[azda 979]

Great Britain. ND (1847) Gothic 1 Crown, Victoria. AU Details, Polished - Damaged. KM-744. S-3883. Boldly detailed with a thin ring of toning around the edges. As is often seen on this type, the surfaces are bright as a result of polishing, but are relatively uniform and attractive in appearance. 3 and 9 o'clock on the obverse appears to show some repairs as the legends has been re-tooled to accentuate the legend detail

Edited January 14, 2010 by azda

[Chris Perkins 228]

You can't buy that blind. With all those problems listed and the wonders of coin dealer understatement, you simply have to see pictures.

[Red Riley 2]

You can't buy that blind. With all those problems listed and the wonders of coin dealer understatement, you simply have to see pictures.

I agree, but to be fair they have been quite honest. Personally, I think most Gothic crowns will have seen a bit of Duraglit, or similar at some stage. They were effectively collectors coins from day 1 and 19th century collectors were far less concerned about polishing than we are today, and I don't think it stops at Gothic crowns. Quite often I have seen silver coins in the highest grades where the fields under a magnifying glass reveal the tell-tale signs of abrasives. I think this is something we need to get real about, it need not reduce the grade that much, but its affect on the selling price may be considerable and we should really be on our guard.

Anyway, going back to the original post I just wouldn't touch this coin at all unless you must have a Gothic at the cheapest possible price. Even then it would be an unsure investment as your only market if you decided to re-sell would similarly be the 'must haves'. A dealer would only offer you a fraction of list price as the market would be so uncertain.

[azda 979]

The coin in question was listed in a spink auction in New York last night, was watching 3 and got none :-(