Aiden2343

3 minutes ago, GoldStatue said:

That's the worst one I've seen so far, it's like a petri dish growing bacteria!

Haha, you’re not wrong.

8 minutes ago, papi1980 said:

I feel for you…as if RM is mocking us…do you plan to return?

I don’t think it’s worth keeping in that condition to be honest. Best case scenario, they replace the coin. Going off their mintage numbers; they seem to have an extra 250 portraits lying around somewhere, so I may have some luck. Interestingly, the quality control sticker is located under the removable insert that the coin sits on. It is therefore likely that the sticker goes on the box well before the coin has been seen.

The capsule was completely loose. I’m honestly starting to think they’re doing this on purpose. I cannot fathom how something like this is able to clear quality control.

2 minutes ago, Stu said:

They sometimes put a hold on the payment/refund then reapply when dispatched if it is taking a wee while. Should be ok, give them a ring when they open to check.

That’s slightly reassuring, thanks. If I’m lucky that might mean they're preparing to send it? I guess I’ll find out soon anyway. I’ll probably give them a call as you suggested.

5 minutes ago, rlingford said:

Just had the charges on my account refunded, looks like my order might be cancelled!

The exact same thing just happened to me with the 2oz silver. I was actually going to ask if this kind of thing was normal with the Royal Mint, as I’ve been lucky that all my previous orders were despatched within the week or sooner. The coin is still visible in my open orders, so I suppose that’s a good sign? I’m not really sure what to think at the moment; nerve-racking for sure.

Yes...well, there are four legs on the Tripod after all. 😐

4 minutes ago, AndrewSL76 said:

I’ve just read the blog ‘meet the maker’ where there is a Q&A with the coin designer. She doesn’t appear too keen on the books...or at least her answer side steps the question:

Q: Are you a fan of the books?

A: “I was very aware of them and enjoyed learning and discovering more as part of the project.”

Oh dear...

Yes, she was ”aware” of the books. It’s not as if they’ve sold over 100 million copies and spawned 8 film adaptations. I too am ”aware” of the books. Maybe get someone who’s actually interested in the subject matter to design the coins? Just a thought...

Yeah, the colourized version isn’t terrible, I really don’t think it translates well to gold though. The eyes on the cat...

It may just be the images though, coins do generally look better in hand.

You can view the designs here,

https://dam.gettyimages.com/s/3gvt5rtqc6p2b2665kvvx2w

Honestly, I’m not particularly impressed. They could have done something quite interesting and played with perspective a bit. Quite generic if you ask me, though they are using the original illustrations.
 

The Alice and Cheshire Cat is 9am today. The other design for Through the Looking-Glass will be released later in the year.

“With Blackstone’s support, we will accelerate our growth by hiring and training more graders“

Is it too optimistic to hope this will reduce grading waiting times...?

Actually, I think the 10-ounce silver is having the same problem. It’s strange to have the two sizes, as the thickness of the coin is just doubled if I’m not mistaken? The ungraded two ounces still seem to be hitting the 1800 to 2000 mark, so I’m not really sure what price to expect on the other two

Still waiting for the 5 ounce Silver to shoot up : / 

It seems to have flown under the radar a little bit. Not many sales on eBay in the past few weeks, prices have dropped a fair bit since the initial few sales on release and I still haven’t seen any graded examples make their way to a real auction house yet. All it takes is one sale for these though and the market price is set. I will say, the five ounce is stunning in hand...

I wonder what the price will eventually settle at. Surely if the 2oz silver is going for over £2k ungraded, the five-ounce should be worth at least £5k? Or maybe that's not how it works? I’m not sure lol. The mintage is quite a bit lower on the larger size but the prices are pretty insane. I will say this - when comparing the two side by side you really do realise just how huge the 5 ounce is, I do think the larger coin lends itself well to this particular design.

10 minutes ago, Stu said:

As has been said before, the more folk (possibly not even collectors) bang on on aboutimperfect coins, possibly with a bit of fluff, the RM will eventually cotton on, in spite of their mismanagement and will start to sell only graded coins at a massive premium. I know it’s not only the forum who is the market but make your mind up guys.

The same could be said as with Hatton garden metals in the past. We had it good for a few years, then certain folks moved in, demanding proof quality at bullion prices, computer alerts the microsecond a shield sov appeared and in the end, we have lost out in the long run.

Take the long term view folks, not the quick flip. Just my opinion

A fair point. I don’t think it’s unreasonable however, to expect a coin without scuffs and marks after paying an already inflated premium over spot. These certainly aren't bullion prices! The gold coins are especially egregious. To receive anything less than perfect after paying more for a coin than many people would a car is just insulting. Honestly, how difficult is it to glance at your coins before sending them out to the customer? Especially when your maximum mintage is only a few hundred as it is with the gold’s.

Has anyone seen any of the 5 ounce silvers sell yet? There’s only one auction I can see on ebay with bids at the moment. I’m just trying to gauge the market value, partly because I may be interested in grading. It seems like most people are keeping theirs close. I’m struggling to even find dealers that are selling. Surely if the 2 ounce is going for 2k - 2.5k, the 5 ounce can be expected to fetch at least double that? The mintage is lower by quite a margin.

I would be tempted to sell a 5oz silver at that price. I mean, that's more than the 2oz gold was originally. I think I’ll hold myself back, for now, I really don’t want to sell but that kind of money is hard to turn down. One can only speculate as to what a PF 70 would go for...10k, 20k, higher?

2 minutes ago, Aiden2343 said:

I thought I would upload a comparison between the two silver sizes of the Three Graces, seeing as I’m in the very lucky position to do so. The first two close-ups are of the five ounce. As you can hopefully see, the depth of the strike on both coins is pretty incredible, to say the least!

Five Ounce

I can assure you, any dust particles you see are on the capsule and not the coin ( I think..!) 

Two Ounce

Sorry, I would upload more photos but unfortunately I’ve hit my file size limit. Even after compression lol

Thought you might be interested!... I think there’ll be a lot more photos of Three Graces on the way haha.

Umm...

1 hour ago, evende said:

Just one I would have thought. 
 

Mine has just moved from open to closed. Monetary value still assigned but when I click ‘more details’ it shows the basket total as £750 with a £500 discount, totalling £250.  I think I tried to buy the 2oz three times due to payment issues, so it could be that or it could be because they show three in the picture. Who knows?!

Somethings happening, but I’m not 100% clear on what that is!

Don’t worry, mine is exactly the same and I’ve received a notification of dispatch. It says “basket total £1,655.00” with a discount of “£1,110.00”. My payment went through instantly so it’s definitely on their end. This has actually been the case with all of my orders since the website was updated. 

6 minutes ago, AndrewSL76 said:

Awesome news. Pleased for you! Did you just buy the 5oz, or did you go for the 2oz too?

Looking forward to seeing this when you receive it! Please post pics in the 'today I received' thread!!

Yes, I did manage to get the 2oz, although, it's still in open orders so not sure what the situation is there. It’ll be a gift for my parents anniversary. I will be sure to post some pictures of the 5oz when it arrives! Hopefully my amateur photography skills don’t let me down lol.

My order has also been moved from ”open” to ”closed”. I can click for more details and the payment amount looks good. The money is no longer visible in my account. However, when I go to my transaction history the payment still says ”pending”. Also, no email as of yet, apart from the initial order confirmation. I’ll let you know if anything changes.

5 minutes ago, HelpingHands said:

 

Thank you for your interest in the Three Graces 2020 UK Two-Ounce Silver Proof coin. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming popularity of the product, by the time we received your order for processing, the item was no longer available and is now off-sale. Any other items ordered are being processed and will be despatched in due course. Your card will not be debited for the item shown above. We are extremely sorry for any disappointment or inconvenience caused. Kind regards, Customer Service Team

Wow, did they actually email you? How very unlike them. Or is this on their website? Actually, I will say this, I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a positive customer experience with the Royal Mint. The little things are what count...like not refunding postage after sending a coin that's scratched to hell, you just can’t be bothered with it.

I do wonder, how is the system deciding which orders are to be cancelled? Is it based on whoever ordered first? or just chance? My payment also says pending but the money is not available in my account. It shows 9.03 am as time of payment and I received my order confirmation at 9:04 from the mint. I really don’t think I could’ve been faster, so if my order is cancelled then it’s likely that anyone’s is at risk.