Mid-December Spink Auction now Online

[Coppers 58]

Just received notification from Spink. Some nice pennies in this sale. Here is a link to the auction....

https://www.spink.com/auction.aspx?id=14007

[jaggy 528]

Thanks for posting the link. Very useful.

[Nicholas 51]

Talk about dream coin - look at the cover coin LOT 540 and the next LOT 541....take them both?

[Rob 3,152]

Yes, the only things that are very attractive are equally unaffordable. Unfortunately the dragon mark is one of those gaps that is unlikely ever to be filled.

[Peckris 579]

Talking of the Spink catalogue, how would you lot grade this?

[Paulus 1,975]

Talking of the Spink catalogue, how would you lot grade this?

Spink grading.jpg

Can't quite tell whether there is noticeable wear to the hair, but based on the pics GEF-AU

[azda 979]

GVF-NEF

[Peckris 579]

GVF-NEF

How do you come to that conclusion Dave - where do you see wear, especially on the reverse?

[azda 979]

Perhaps poor picture coupled with aye phone viewing but i see wear in the orb onthr REV, beard looks to have wear also, conservitavely grading as its difficult with the given picture. Tails of the 3 lions bottom right has wear unless its the picture

Edited November 29, 2014 by azda

[Peckris 579]

Perhaps poor picture coupled with aye phone viewing but i see wear in the orb onthr REV, beard looks to have wear also, conservitavely grading as its difficult with the given picture. Tails of the 3 lions bottom right has wear unless its the picture

I think it's your Aye Phone Dave - I can't even see the lions' tails bottom right, on a 21.5" Mac screen! But you're right about the picture - it's the supplied size unfortunately, so I can't give you a larger one.

[VickySilver 830]

GEF, not the best strike & obverse less attractive than sometimes seen. On coins like these, I do like to check the rims and edges - and these look fairly sharp without damage/dings, etc. On a 70 scale, I'd go 55-58 unless seen in hand. Have to forget the 100 point scale as the markers and all seem to be in more flux than the 70 pt. system. Anyway, that reverse looks good to my eye.

[Peckris 579]

That's pretty much what I thought. Spink's grade? "very fine".

I kid you not. Have a look and see for yourselves. It's not the only case of wild underestimate at that.

[CartwheelTwopence 2]

EF - and yes, Spink do undergrade. But hey - they still achieve some amazing prices from doing so!!!

[Prax 80]

I seem to like Spink grades. According to their book the coin have to be close to MS 70 for them to be classed as UNC but our friends from across the border equate the MS 60s to UNC. So if the Spink auction house grades a coin as AU then it is perhaps already past the MS 60 grade of NGC or PCGS. I hope I am making sense here

[Peckris 579]

I seem to like Spink grades. According to their book the coin have to be close to MS 70 for them to be classed as UNC but our friends from across the border equate the MS 60s to UNC. So if the Spink auction house grades a coin as AU then it is perhaps already past the MS 60 grade of NGC or PCGS. I hope I am making sense here

Yeah, but "very fine" for a coin that's OBVIOUSLY better than a UK EF is - to my mind - absurd. It's not even consistent - I've seen the odd over-grading in that catalogue too.

[Nicholas 51]

Yes they are conservative as a rule.. I've seen an MS62 graded hammered gold cracked out and graded as nice VF by Spink..

Edited December 2, 2014 by Nicholas