A grading attempt...

[Mongo 1]

I took a gamble on an auction with a poor picture, this was listed as UNC. I stuck a bid of a tenner on at the end, and won it for £8.50.

The coin is bright and shiny, especially on the reverse which has very nice lustre, and there is some tiny wear to the high point of the cheek, the scan does not really show these things.

My attempt at grading would be EF+/GEF, I know it is difficult from the quality of my scanner, but what is your opinion? Thanks!

[Nick 329]

I took a gamble on an auction with a poor picture, this was listed as UNC. I stuck a bid of a tenner on at the end, and won it for £8.50.

The coin is bright and shiny, especially on the reverse which has very nice lustre, and there is some tiny wear to the high point of the cheek, the scan does not really show these things.

My attempt at grading would be EF+/GEF, I know it is difficult from the quality of my scanner, but what is your opinion? Thanks!

I would say EF with the reverse perhaps slightly better. There are quite a few surface marks and there looks to be some wear on the ear and slight rubbing to the beard and hair.

[Mongo 1]

I would say EF with the reverse perhaps slightly better. There are quite a few surface marks and there looks to be some wear on the ear and slight rubbing to the beard and hair.

Thanks Nick. Seems I may of been a bit generous, but not to far off for one of my first attempts, I am learning

[Peter 615]

I would say EF with the reverse perhaps slightly better. There are quite a few surface marks and there looks to be some wear on the ear and slight rubbing to the beard and hair.

Thanks Nick. Seems I may of been a bit generous, but not to far off for one of my first attempts, I am learning

You are learning well

[TomGoodheart 403]

You are learning well, young Padawan.

There. I corrected it for you.

[Peter 615]

You are learning well, young Padawan.

There. I corrected it for you.

Can he catch a fly with his chopsticks or do they get caught in his fly

[Peckris 579]

I would say EF with the reverse perhaps slightly better. There are quite a few surface marks and there looks to be some wear on the ear and slight rubbing to the beard and hair.

Thanks Nick. Seems I may of been a bit generous, but not to far off for one of my first attempts, I am learning

I'd say your estimate of GEF is spot on. I've allowed for the dramatic enlargement as a result of your scan, which always magnifies any flaws even if invisible 'in hand'.

[Mongo 1]

I'd say your estimate of GEF is spot on. I've allowed for the dramatic enlargement as a result of your scan, which always magnifies any flaws even if invisible 'in hand'.

Thanks Peck, the coin does look really attractive in hand. I will have to invest in a decent camera soon. I have ordered myself a x30 loupe, hopefully this will help me in educating myself to grade more accurately... Trial and error I guess!

[Peter 615]

I'd say your estimate of GEF is spot on. I've allowed for the dramatic enlargement as a result of your scan, which always magnifies any flaws even if invisible 'in hand'.

Thanks Peck, the coin does look really attractive in hand. I will have to invest in a decent camera soon. I have ordered myself a x30 loupe, hopefully this will help me in educating myself to grade more accurately... Trial and error I guess!

Have you bought the book on grading?

and yes don't be too harsh on yourself with grades.Bag marks are acceptable on UNC coins.

Your 2/6- is welcome a home at Peter Towers.

[Mongo 1]

I'd say your estimate of GEF is spot on. I've allowed for the dramatic enlargement as a result of your scan, which always magnifies any flaws even if invisible 'in hand'.

Thanks Peck, the coin does look really attractive in hand. I will have to invest in a decent camera soon. I have ordered myself a x30 loupe, hopefully this will help me in educating myself to grade more accurately... Trial and error I guess!

Have you bought the book on grading?

and yes don't be too harsh on yourself with grades.Bag marks are acceptable on UNC coins.

Your 2/6- is welcome a home at Peter Towers.

I am awaiting a £10 amazon voucher, so the grading book should soon be on its way! along with Chris Perkins price book too

[Peckris 579]

I'd say your estimate of GEF is spot on. I've allowed for the dramatic enlargement as a result of your scan, which always magnifies any flaws even if invisible 'in hand'.

Thanks Peck, the coin does look really attractive in hand. I will have to invest in a decent camera soon. I have ordered myself a x30 loupe, hopefully this will help me in educating myself to grade more accurately... Trial and error I guess!

Have you bought the book on grading?

and yes don't be too harsh on yourself with grades.Bag marks are acceptable on UNC coins.

Your 2/6- is welcome a home at Peter Towers.

I am awaiting a £10 amazon voucher, so the grading book should soon be on its way! along with Chris Perkins price book too

I think that's a lovely series of halfcrowns. You'll find the 1927 proof hardest, and a decent 1930 ain't cheap. A top notch 1934 will set you back a bit too (less than EF is affordable), but the rest are pretty affordable even in high grade. The easiest is 1936 of course, but 1928, 1929, 1931, 1933, and 1935 are all fairly readily available in GEF to BU.

[Paulus 1,975]

I took a gamble on an auction with a poor picture, this was listed as UNC. I stuck a bid of a tenner on at the end, and won it for £8.50.

The coin is bright and shiny, especially on the reverse which has very nice lustre, and there is some tiny wear to the high point of the cheek, the scan does not really show these things.

My attempt at grading would be EF+/GEF, I know it is difficult from the quality of my scanner, but what is your opinion? Thanks!

I like gambling on poor eBay pictures, got some of my best bargains that way, and listings with only one pic ...

EF for me, never quite sure of the difference between EF+ and GEF, I am only 6 months in myself!

[Peckris 579]

I took a gamble on an auction with a poor picture, this was listed as UNC. I stuck a bid of a tenner on at the end, and won it for £8.50.

The coin is bright and shiny, especially on the reverse which has very nice lustre, and there is some tiny wear to the high point of the cheek, the scan does not really show these things.

My attempt at grading would be EF+/GEF, I know it is difficult from the quality of my scanner, but what is your opinion? Thanks!

I like gambling on poor eBay pictures, got some of my best bargains that way, and listings with only one pic ...

EF for me, never quite sure of the difference between EF+ and GEF, I am only 6 months in myself!

EF+ and GEF are interchangeable really. They simply indicate "better than EF but not quite UNC".

I was trying to find wear and not succeeding. Yes, the thistle on the reverse looks worn, but the spines of the fleur-de-lys on the crown are razor sharp and they'd be the first points to wear normally. The harp is superbly crisp, but not all the lions' faces are equally sharp. There appears to be no wear to the legend and the portrait looks much like I would expect an average strike of an UNC example. I would tend to dismiss the less detailed elements as die wear, as they are inconsistent across the coin - some parts looking crisp and unc, others a bit more blurry. Of course, a scan doesn't help with anything except detail - there's no indication of tone or lustre.

[Mongo 1]

EF+ and GEF are interchangeable really. They simply indicate "better than EF but not quite UNC".

I was trying to find wear and not succeeding. Yes, the thistle on the reverse looks worn, but the spines of the fleur-de-lys on the crown are razor sharp and they'd be the first points to wear normally. The harp is superbly crisp, but not all the lions' faces are equally sharp. There appears to be no wear to the legend and the portrait looks much like I would expect an average strike of an UNC example. I would tend to dismiss the less detailed elements as die wear, as they are inconsistent across the coin - some parts looking crisp and unc, others a bit more blurry. Of course, a scan doesn't help with anything except detail - there's no indication of tone or lustre.

Thanks for going into all that detail Peck, it is heplful to know the exact points to look at!

I just had my amazon voucher delivered via email, so have just ordered the Guide to Grading book. Should be here in a day or two!

I will post some photos tomorrow. My camera is not the best, but maybe you could cross reference the photos with the scans and help me to nail down a Grade for the coin

[1949threepence 3,367]

I took a gamble on an auction with a poor picture, this was listed as UNC. I stuck a bid of a tenner on at the end, and won it for £8.50.

The coin is bright and shiny, especially on the reverse which has very nice lustre, and there is some tiny wear to the high point of the cheek, the scan does not really show these things.

My attempt at grading would be EF+/GEF, I know it is difficult from the quality of my scanner, but what is your opinion? Thanks!

I'd have said EF/GEF. For £8.50, you weren't ripped off by any means. Fair price for a nice coin.

[Mongo 1]

I will post some photos tomorrow. My camera is not the best, but maybe you could cross reference the photos with the scans and help me to nail down a Grade for the coin

To quote myself! My camera really does suck balls, so I will not bother posting some photos

[Mongo 1]

I'd have said EF/GEF. For £8.50, you weren't ripped off by any means. Fair price for a nice coin.

Thanks threepence. As a rule I only put in a bid equal to what I would pay for a grade lower than listed... when it is a dodgy photo, or I am unsure of the grade.

[Peter 615]

I'd have said EF/GEF. For £8.50, you weren't ripped off by any means. Fair price for a nice coin.

Thanks threepence. As a rule I only put in a bid equal to what I would pay for a grade lower than listed... when it is a dodgy photo, or I am unsure of the grade.

As with any auction just know your limit.

There is nothing worse than getting outbid on something you really want whether a live auction or Ebay.

Bid what you would happily pay and not a penny more

[SEnumis 0]

You are learning well, young Padawan.

There. I corrected it for you.

Can he catch a fly with his chopsticks or do they get caught in his fly

Spidey will catch the fly. I would go for EF too.

[Mongo 1]

You are learning well, young Padawan.

There. I corrected it for you.

Can he catch a fly with his chopsticks or do they get caught in his fly

Spidey will catch the fly. I would go for EF too.

Not right now... Spidey is getting fat from munching too many crickets!