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New meaning of A.U. ?

BBQnBLUESBBQnBLUES Posts: 1,803 ✭
in World & Ancient Coins Forum
Of course it's on eBay and graded by PCI. LOL

Appallingly Ugly 1817 8 Escudos

Looks like it was cleaned with a wire brush.. Yikes !
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    adamlaneusadamlaneus Posts: 6,969 ✭✭✭
    Yikes!

    image


    AU. Pronounced "OW".
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    gummibeargummibear Posts: 783 ✭✭✭
    oh AU means Already Used. Now I get it.

    my car art & My Ebay stuff
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    canadacolornutcanadacolornut Posts: 995 ✭
    Or, in this case, "run hard, scrubbed down, and put away wet":+)
    No,no- the kids and the cat are all right honey.
    It's just that I got my PCGS grades.
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    coinpicturescoinpictures Posts: 5,345 ✭✭✭
    I'm reserving judgment, for several reasons: (1) AU gold tends to appear more beat up than AU silver or AU copper; (2) gold can be a b*tch to photograph, any harshness to the lighting can make small marks look horrendous. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the coin were much nicer in hand.

    P.S. Don't automatically assume that every coin graded by PCI is a POS. Early-generation green (or blue for foreign) bordered PCI holders can have some very nice and conservatively-graded coins. In this case though, the serial number implies a more recently graded piece.
    Numismotography

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    ASUtoddASUtodd Posts: 1,312 ✭✭
    Plus I can't tell if those scratches are on the holder or the coin.
    Todd
    www.GoASU.com
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    coinkatcoinkat Posts: 22,790 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The quality of this series is not very impressive to begin with...

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

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    coinkatcoinkat Posts: 22,790 ✭✭✭✭✭
    There are those that believe AU is About Uncirculated and those that believe it is Almost Uncirculated...


    I have always believed Almost Uncirculated is the better choice and I believe it is the minority view for what its worth

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

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    LynchLynch Posts: 299


    << <i>The quality of this series is not very impressive to begin with... >>



    That is also true of many other Latin American coins.

    Try finding a Bolivian 8 soles with a Bolivar bust and a full, deep strike. Not so easy!
    "Think of the Press as a great keyboard on which the Government can play" – Joseph Goebbels

    "The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media" - William Colby, former CIA director
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    adamlaneusadamlaneus Posts: 6,969 ✭✭✭
    It's not as much the strike as the skin. The skin looks like it has been abraded away.

    I'm aware that the strike on these coins is quite variable.

    Unfortunately, most of these coins lack an original skin.
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    coinkatcoinkat Posts: 22,790 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I agree that it fails badly in connection with an original surfaces designation

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

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    LynchLynch Posts: 299


    << <i>I'm reserving judgment, for several reasons: (1) AU gold tends to appear more beat up than AU silver or AU copper; (2) gold can be a b*tch to photograph, any harshness to the lighting can make small marks look horrendous. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the coin were much nicer in hand.
    >>



    The photo looks quite washed out (at least on my monitor it does).

    I am not so sure that, in this case, a picture is worth a thousand words.

    I would prefer to see this coin in hand, or at least a better photo, before declaring it a POS.
    "Think of the Press as a great keyboard on which the Government can play" – Joseph Goebbels

    "The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media" - William Colby, former CIA director
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    ASUtoddASUtodd Posts: 1,312 ✭✭
    Sent them a message asking if the coin had been cleaned, this is the response I received:

    Dear asutodd,

    Thanks for your inquiry.

    We bought the coin in the holder so we did not do anything to the coin. We never make it a practice of doing any modifications to coins even if they are bought by us in the raw state. The grading services have become so astute that if one tries to enhance coins the service will pick this up and actually downgrade the coin because of it.

    Of course, we cannot speak to anything that may have done before we bought the coin ourselves.

    I would suggest if you like to coin to purchase it, and if you are not happy with the coin once you get it we have a full return policy for all our items.

    Thanks again for your interest,

    Gary Tancer

    - coingalleryofbocaraton
    www.GoASU.com
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    LynchLynch Posts: 299


    << <i>Sent them a message asking if the coin had been cleaned, this is the response I received:

    Dear asutodd,

    Thanks for your inquiry.

    We bought the coin in the holder so we did not do anything to the coin. We never make it a practice of doing any modifications to coins even if they are bought by us in the raw state. The grading services have become so astute that if one tries to enhance coins the service will pick this up and actually downgrade the coin because of it.

    Of course, we cannot speak to anything that may have done before we bought the coin ourselves.

    I would suggest if you like to coin to purchase it, and if you are not happy with the coin once you get it we have a full return policy for all our items.

    Thanks again for your interest,

    Gary Tancer

    - coingalleryofbocaraton[/q

    Sounds like a non-denial denial to me. Maybe the OP was right.
    "Think of the Press as a great keyboard on which the Government can play" – Joseph Goebbels

    "The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media" - William Colby, former CIA director
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    MacCrimmonMacCrimmon Posts: 7,054 ✭✭✭
    meh, looks like a square shooter to me......image


    image


    I'd give it a 60% chance of crossing to NGC at that grade. What's that worth (auction value) in that 'real' grade....I don't do Meh-he-ko. image


    Oh yeah, I'll have to look up that assistant, er, I mean coin shop next time I'm in Boca. image
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    ormandhormandh Posts: 3,111 ✭✭✭
    Either that or he actually knows nothing about grading. I would not put a whole lot of time and effort into this particular coin. Like others have mentioned earlier in the post, gold is very hard to photograph and can appear like it is more circulated in the photos. The hairlines seem to catch all of the light and make it appear worse than it really is. These photos are dark and do not seem to show the coin very well. JMHO. -Dan
    Numismasource ebay store
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    MacCrimmonMacCrimmon Posts: 7,054 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Either that or he actually knows nothing about grading. I would not put a whole lot of time and effort into this particular coin. Like others have mentioned earlier in the post, gold is very hard to photograph and can appear like it is more circulated in the photos. The hairlines seem to catch all of the light and make it appear worse than it really is. These photos are dark and do not seem to show the coin very well. JMHO. -Dan >>




    Exactly. You could spin that slab such that the light wasn't "shooting" down the majority of hairline tracks, reorient the slab on the expected perpendicular axis, and tweak the contrast ratio, and it might look unc. in the image.
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    ormandhormandh Posts: 3,111 ✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Either that or he actually knows nothing about grading. I would not put a whole lot of time and effort into this particular coin. Like others have mentioned earlier in the post, gold is very hard to photograph and can appear like it is more circulated in the photos. The hairlines seem to catch all of the light and make it appear worse than it really is. These photos are dark and do not seem to show the coin very well. JMHO. -Dan >>




    Exactly. You could spin that slab such that the light wasn't "shooting" down the majority of hairline tracks, reorient the slab on the expected perpendicular axis, and tweak the contrast ratio, and it might look unc. in the image. >>



    LOL!! I am not going to get into a pissing match with anyone over a GD coin. I am merely pointing out that the photos suck and I know, from experience, that it is very difficult to get a nice image of circulated gold. I am , by no means, taking up for this seller, why would I??! I am merely stating that for someone to bring this up and make a big deal out of something so stupid as to what this actually grades is beyond me. I am only pointing out that this particular coin in question actually may be nicer than the photos allow.
    Numismasource ebay store
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    ormandhormandh Posts: 3,111 ✭✭✭
    Nevermind....
    Numismasource ebay store
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    coinkatcoinkat Posts: 22,790 ✭✭✭✭✭
    NGC will not cross that one... zero chance of that happening Macimage

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

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    DoogyDoogy Posts: 4,508 ✭


    << <i>NGC will not cross that one... zero chance of that happening Macimage >>




    although with the crap that PCGS and NGC slabs in early American gold, it may have a chance. Take a look at slabbed early 19th century US gold at a major coin show (i'm sure you have); hairline-a-pooloza! Net grading is rampant with the serices on early gold, and it does nothing but hose the collector that thinks they are problem free coins.

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    coinpicturescoinpictures Posts: 5,345 ✭✭✭
    Bottom line is that no one here (myself included) can accurately assess what is or is not wrong with this coin without seeing it in hand.

    Either you're willing to gamble or you're not.

    Seller offers a full return privilege. What's the problem?

    Numismotography

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    U.S. Revenue Stamps

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