1731 George II Coin

SQLgeek

Found this guy in my grandfathers collection.
Took me forever for me to find information on this.
Half Crown?

Sorry these images are really bad and do not do justice to the actual coin.

Darkhorse

Could you tell us the size of the coin?

SQLgeek

Just a little bigger than a kennedy half dollar and it has writing on the edge of the coin.

Sylvestius

Sounds like a halfcrown to me. The grade on that isn't bad actually. I dunno if it's been cleaned though. Hopefully not.

SQLgeek

How do you tell if a coin was cleaned?

Aethelred

That photo makes me dizzy!

ajaan

<< <i>That photo makes me dizzy >>


Don't you mean dizzier?

Aethelred

<< <i>

<< <i>That photo makes me dizzy >>


Don't you mean dizzier? >>



Yes, dizzier!

ajaan

Remember your theme song 'I'm so dizzy'?


It was probably before your time.

Aethelred

<< <i>Remember your theme song 'I'm so dizzy'?


It was probably before your time. >>



Before my time, yes, but I do recall it.

"I'm so diz..zy, my head is spin..ning...."

coinkat

It does appear to be a 1/2 Crown and from the picture, I am not able to be further help. Could be a decent coin

Sylvestius

<< <i>How do you tell if a coin was cleaned? >>




A cleaned coin may have hairline scratches depending upon how it's been cleaned. The lustre (or shine) will look unnatural and flat, rather than having depth.

Best way to see is to take two 'silver' looking coins out of circulation, take a really shiny one and put it on one side, take a slightly duller one and rub it with a cloth for about 5 or 10 minutes.

Compare the two... look at how the shine looks. The uncleaned one will have 'depth' (hard to describe but you'll see it when you do this), the second one will just look 'clean' but not new. And the shine will be uniform and flat.

SQLgeek

This coin doesnt look cleaned then, I am amazed its made it this far in such good shape. Part goes to my grandfather for just stashing it away for a long time.

lordmarcovan

Aside from the blurry image, that looks like a really nice coin!

1jester

Nice coin! If it isn't cleaned, I'd venture to guess it'd grade at VF or better.

Sylvestius

I'd say AVF and no better.

SQLgeek

What keeps this coin from being XF? Just trying to learn more about grading.

Sylvestius

Cos EF looks like this... (and this isn't quite EF it just about a point below, being sold as AEF)

Sylvestius

This is EF+ (Not quite AU, look at the flat patches in the hair), but it is definately gonna get a better grade than EF because even if the hair does have a bit of wear look at the eye! I've never seen one with a full eye like this.

SQLgeek

Yeah I really see the difference.
Thanks for the education tip.

Now need to figure a value on this.

Sylvestius

I'd say about $100, maybe $110 max.

That's from Coincraft prices for condition F. Now your coin is probably GF, but Coincraft prices are the very top end of the market, not unachievable prices by any means if you get two bidders who really want it but the majority of specimens don't go that high.

coinkat

Sylvestius:

I like the second one much better than the first. That example may not go AU if there is no lustre. The first example was dipped... not as attractive because it is not original. The second coin would probably fetch big bucks

Sylvestius

This is where US grading and UK grading differs.

UK grading as far as i am aware allows for toned UNC coins, even ones toned like that. Cos toning is not an indication of circulation, it could have sat in a drawer in the Royal Mint and never left for 200 years and just toned of it own accord but never circulated.

The coin would however never grade BU because it does not have full lustre.

I have a 1750 sixpence in AU with a very very dark tone, some lustre still shines through but it looks like it's spent most of it's life sat in a drawer or a cabinet and never circulated. There is only the slightest flat patch on the hair (could be from weak strike, could be from wear), without that it would have been a toned UNC.

1jester

Thanks for the new pix, SQL. I agree with Sylvestius on the grade. Your coin definitely looks cleaned, with hairlines. But still interesting!

coinkat

Sylvestius:

The differences between grading in the UK and US is worthy of a separate thread and there is really no problems with either as long as the standards for each are followed. Perhaps across the pond the US view of the VF grade (20-35), AU (50-58), and MS (60-70) seems strange, but there is some benefit to a numerical system when not all coins that fall into the grade range of VF, AU and MS are not really alike. Some are significantly better than others, but fall short of the next grade. More on this later... gotta run.

Sylvestius

<< <i>Sylvestius:

The differences between grading in the UK and US is worthy of a separate thread and there is really no problems with either as long as the standards for each are followed. Perhaps across the pond the US view of the VF grade (20-35), AU (50-58), and MS (60-70) seems strange, but there is some benefit to a numerical system when not all coins that fall into the grade range of VF, AU and MS are not really alike. Some are significantly better than others, but fall short of the next grade. More on this later... gotta run. >>



That's why we sticks A, G and N'S on the front of the grade, with +'s and -'s

AVF+ and NVF- are not unknown neither is GF+.

I like the looser terminology cos it's less like a science and it means sometimes you can actually get a solid VF slider from an AVF coin, consequently it can go the other way. But on average you tend to do fairly well, and most modern high grade coins are all sold under the blanket term of BU for the same price even if some are better than others. So should you wish to sell them to Americans you can make a rather nice profit out of it. I don't bother but the potential is there whereby an MS62 1967 halfpenny will sell for the same price as an MS67 1967 Halfpenny.

Our system tends to work in favour of the buyer with knowledge rather than the dealer, i like that.

But then again an MS67 and an MS62 '67 halfpenny would go for the same price anyhow cos they are common and not worth the bother, you'd never sell a '67 1/2d priced up at an appropriate MS67 price here cos everyone would take the cheaper one. But then again collectors over here aren't in competition with each other for the most part, some do but even then it's not, to out do each other on the grade or eye appeal it's usually two people fighting over one coin.

A world where decimal collectors, post 1936 collectors and base metal coin collector are often shunned, and many dealers laugh at newbies coming in with their worthless coins from the attic... other dealers are annoyed by such 'timewasters' who refuse to recognise that their coins aren't worth jack squat.

Infact copper coins are quite an ignored series overall, the popularity has been decreasing in the UK itself since the penny collecting boom of the 1960s, the Peck book went out of print due to the decline, the Freeman work ain't cheap cos it's specialist and not mainstream.

Mainstream tends to be post 1816 milled silver (Victorian especially) and post 1816 milled gold follows along. Early milled (my area) is considered somewhat specialist and hammered coins is a shady area. The silver hammered stuff is borderline with the milled silver it is popular and it has it's followers. Hammered gold and copper is out of the main and into expensive or specialist for the most part as is Anglo Saxon. Celtic is considered very specialist.

Infact alot of the competition is not in who has the better coins, but who has the better and bigger and most expensive cabinet to put them in. Strange ways we have.

And no serious collector collects from change. (well they collect change to take it to the bank to get notes to take to the coinshop to buy coins with).

coinkat

Interesting comments...

Collecting what you find interesting is what is important, regardless of what others may think. There is something for anyone who has interest in history, Monarchs and art.

I see grading coins as a means of describing the state of preservation as precise as possible. While grading is still not an exact science, the trend over the past 20 years is develop consistent standards that can be applied. Grading will remain an evolutionary process.