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1 Franc Swiss business strikes. how frosty do they get?



I've owned a handful of business strike MS67 and 68 Swiss 1 & 2 Francs from early 20th century, and all of them were beautiful well struck and devoid of marks, as you'd expect from a coin of this lofty grade. However, outside of the Specimen strikes, I don't recall seeing a really frosty cameo business strike before. I'll admit that my sample size is limited, so they may be quasi-common, I've just never seen any.

I picked this one up today, and the scans show the coin to be very frosty for a business strike. Is this simply a primo business strike, or a mis-identified Specimen? (seller's scans, i'll post pics when it arrives)

thanks for any input!

image
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Comments

  • JCMhoustonJCMhouston Posts: 5,306 ✭✭✭
    Now who's collecting "isn't that pretty" coins?

    I almost bid that one up, didn't know you were going for it, warn me next time you know I'm stupid for pretty coins. It is hard to tell from the scans but after you get it in hand let us know, I was thinking it might be a specimen strike also.
  • DoogyDoogy Posts: 4,508


    << <i>Now who's collecting "isn't that pretty" coins?

    I almost bid that one up, didn't know you were going for it, warn me next time you know I'm stupid for pretty coins. It is hard to tell from the scans but after you get it in hand let us know, I was thinking it might be a specimen strike also. >>




    who me?! Hey, I resemble that comment! image

    tonight's buy was on a total whim, as I'm sure most purchases are that fall outside of our collecting genre. thanks for holding off, you probably saved me a few bucks. image
  • newsmannewsman Posts: 2,658 ✭✭✭
    I have one just like it, same date, in an old NGC holder. I showed it to the folks at NGC and they suggested it might be a business strike from repurposed specimen dies.
  • DoogyDoogy Posts: 4,508


    << <i>I have one just like it, same date, in an old NGC holder. I showed it to the folks at NGC and they suggested it might be a business strike from repurposed specimen dies. >>



    thanks, that certainly sounds logical!


    Doug
  • MacCrimmonMacCrimmon Posts: 7,051 ✭✭✭
    Doogy, Hybrid strikes do exist; meaning your obverse may be from a very 'fresh' erstabschlag die (it looks like a full specimen, EA strike from the image), and the reverse from either a normal rev. business strike, or a "used" EA die.

    Since you are showing a no-line fatty, I'm assuming what appears the haze in the rev. fields is just scratches in the plastique. Sorry, I don't have any EA diagnostic markers for that year, but there is also the possibility that NGC flubbed the designation due to 'inexperience' with this issue.

    P.S. Look for lots of fine die-polish marks and fairly watery fields when you get the coin. Cheers, on your "find". image

  • DoogyDoogy Posts: 4,508


    << <i>Doogy, Hybrid strikes do exist; meaning your obverse may be from a very 'fresh' erstabschlag die (it looks like a full specimen, EA strike from the image), and the reverse from either a normal rev. business strike, or a "used" EA die.

    Since you are showing a no-line fatty, I'm assuming what appears the haze in the rev. fields is just scratches in the plastique. Sorry, I don't have any EA diagnostic markers for that year, but there is also the possibility that NGC flubbed the designation due to 'inexperience' with this issue.

    P.S. Look for lots of fine die-polish marks and fairly watery fields when you get the coin. Cheers, on your "find". image >>



    thanks Mac, good info! Yeah, i'll post more when i receive it. I think there is a decent chance they flubbed the designation, as this was graded 20 or so years ago when the services were mere infants. Regardless, I like the look a lot and will hope for the best image
  • SYRACUSIANSYRACUSIAN Posts: 6,445 ✭✭✭✭
    Since you are showing a no-line fatty, I'm assuming what appears the haze in the rev. fields is just scratches in the plastique. Sorry, I don't have any EA diagnostic markers for that year, but there is also the possibility that NGC flubbed the designation due to 'inexperience' with this issue.


    Not that PCGS doesn't make this kind of mistakes. Mac has had his fair share of MS designations on SP coins and so have I on a few occasions such as this 1952 franc, a nice frosty example where the die polish marks are pretty obvious. But I agree, that there are quite a few in between coins, very often from used EA dies.



    << <i>Cheers, on your "find". image >>




    Ditto.image
    Dimitri



    myEbay



    DPOTD 3
  • bidaskbidask Posts: 13,834 ✭✭✭✭✭
    gotta love those swiss coins..
    I manage money. I earn money. I save money .
    I give away money. I collect money.
    I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.




  • coinkatcoinkat Posts: 22,721 ✭✭✭✭✭
    terrific coin- congrats

    Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.

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