1920 George V Half-Crown

[Rob75 0]

Hello all,

I have attempted to grade and value this 1920 Half Crown and would be grateful to know how accurate/inaccurate my first attempt is.

I would say the coin is G/VG and worth approximately £1.

However, I have looked around at various examples on the net and for some it could be classified as poor, so slightly confused.

Any advice would be great.

Many thanks,

Robert

www.thechestofcoins.com

[Peckris 579]

Hello all,

I have attempted to grade and value this 1920 Half Crown and would be grateful to know how accurate/inaccurate my first attempt is.

I would say the coin is G/VG and worth approximately £1.

However, I have looked around at various examples on the net and for some it could be classified as poor, so slightly confused.

Any advice would be great.

Many thanks,

Robert

www.thechestofcoins.com

The grade is barely Fair, but the legends are complete so that's in its favour. The value is dependent on the price of silver : that is 50% silver, so £1 may be slightly conservative? (What's the current buying price for pre-1947, guys?)

[Red Riley 2]

I would describe this as being pretty much a classic 'fair'. The terms G (good) and VG (very good) tend to be used more widely in America than Britain. Personally I dislike them as they are frankly dishonest descriptions; a layman using standard English to describe this coin would certainly not use the word 'good'!

Anyway, rant over. I am not sure of the current prices but for 50% silver, don't believe it would be worth dramatically more than £1.

[Peter 615]

I've been getting x10 for pre 1947 and x20 for pre 1920 but once you factor fees and paypal this can reduce by 15%.

So basically a 1920 1/2 crown is worth 12.5p x 10 less 15% = £1.06

[Peckris 579]

I would describe this as being pretty much a classic 'fair'. The terms G (good) and VG (very good) tend to be used more widely in America than Britain. Personally I dislike them as they are frankly dishonest descriptions; a layman using standard English to describe this coin would certainly not use the word 'good'!

In record collecting, their "VG" is the same as our "VF" which makes much more sense! They then go down to "Good" (= F), "Fair" (ditto), and "Poor". Then they go up to "Exc" (= Excellent or EF) and "M" (= Mint or Unc). More rational by half.

[RLC35 288]

American collector's grading is "as a general rule" one grade higher on the scale than English grading (above Good). There is a lot of latitude though, since everyone see's things from a different set of eyes. I use the following as a rough comparison of American to English grades.

English = Poor To be equal, the American coin would have to be = Fair

English = Fair To be equal, the American coin would have to be = About Good

English = Good To be equal, the American coin would have to be = Good...These two grades are about the same for both systems!

English = Very Good To be equal, the American coin would have to be = Fine

English = Very Fine To be equal, the American coin would have to be = Extra Fine

English = Extra Fine To be equal, the American coin would have to be = AU

The varying degrees of grading between the above grades are also open to interpretation, though not shown.

Derek's book "Guide to Grading British Coins" goes into the comparison's much better, and is a much better one to use!

[Red Riley 2]

Thanks Bob,

I like the elegance of the traditional system from Poor through to Extremely Fine and their variants; ignore Good and Very Good altogether and have serious misgivings about Uncirculated.

[Peckris 579]

American collector's grading is "as a general rule" one grade higher on the scale than English grading (above Good). There is a lot of latitude though, since everyone see's things from a different set of eyes. I use the following as a rough comparison of American to English grades.

English = Poor To be equal, the American coin would have to be = Fair

English = Fair To be equal, the American coin would have to be = About Good

English = Good To be equal, the American coin would have to be = Good...These two grades are about the same for both systems!

English = Very Good To be equal, the American coin would have to be = Fine

English = Very Fine To be equal, the American coin would have to be = Extra Fine

English = Extra Fine To be equal, the American coin would have to be = AU

The varying degrees of grading between the above grades are also open to interpretation, though not shown.

Derek's book "Guide to Grading British Coins" goes into the comparison's much better, and is a much better one to use!

Hm. I've always understood that the grades are the same or equivalent up to Fine. Then the American VF is very slightly less than our VF, their EF is our GVF, their AUnc is our EF, and their lower grades of Unc (or MS) are our AUnc. Not a whole grade? But things may have changed.

[RLC35 288]

Peck,

You are right, there are a lot of different understandings, but not a lot of firm documentation. Prior to Derek's book being published, most of the English grading that I was familiar with, was only "written" grading comparison's, and not "visual" comparisons. Derek's book gives good visuals of English grading, plus a cross reference to US grading. For me that is very helpful.

In my experience, the biggest grading errors, with English coins are made on my side of the Pond, since most "run of the mill" Dealers here don't have a clue how English coins are graded, thus they grade by the seat of their pants. I tried to negotiate a coin listed with a well known American Dealer, because the fingers on the trident were wearing flat, and he had the coin graded as extra fine. His reply was...well I bought it for extra fine, so I have to sell it for that! Needless to say, we didn't get together on the coin, though I really wanted to buy it.

With the normal discussions within each of our Countries on our own grading, you know there is going to be a lot of mis-understandings and conversation when two countries start comparing a 100 point English system to a 70 point American system.LOL!

Have a great weekend!

[Peckris 579]

Peck,

You are right, there are a lot of different understandings, but not a lot of firm documentation. Prior to Derek's book being published, most of the English grading that I was familiar with, was only "written" grading comparison's, and not "visual" comparisons. Derek's book gives good visuals of English grading, plus a cross reference to US grading. For me that is very helpful.

In my experience, the biggest grading errors, with English coins are made on my side of the Pond, since most "run of the mill" Dealers here don't have a clue how English coins are graded, thus they grade by the seat of their pants. I tried to negotiate a coin listed with a well known American Dealer, because the fingers on the trident were wearing flat, and he had the coin graded as extra fine. His reply was...well I bought it for extra fine, so I have to sell it for that! Needless to say, we didn't get together on the coin, though I really wanted to buy it.

With the normal discussions within each of our Countries on our own grading, you know there is going to be a lot of mis-understandings and conversation when two countries start comparing a 100 point English system to a 70 point American system.LOL!

Have a great weekend!

True enough! (you too :-) only it's Monday evening here - see, we can't even agree on our clocks )