CollectForFun

Good point. At German dealers, 1oz Brits start at 2.5-3.5% and sovs at 5-6% premium. Of course you can also find dealers who ask 10%. But in general it does not seem the UK coins would be suddenly less available or more expensive on German market, as an example.

Meanwhile in Austria:

https://numis24.com/lots/view/63a191b845aa810e9cc2d916
Lot description:
Great Britain 1 pound 1927, with various countermarks, EF/UNC (!?!), rare 😂
@LawrenceChard - do you want to engage in a discussion with yet another Austrian auctioneer, or shall I try this time?

Thanks, and because Numis24 is basically just a web platform for running online auctions, I contacted also the auction house, the name of which is "Coins of History", directly. I am quite sure Numis24 would forward the message to them, just to be 100% sure that they really receive it, so let's see what they'll do.
And so that you do not think that it is just Austrian numismatists that lack knowledge on British coins (which some admittedly do, clearly), it applies also vice versa: I have recently had an exactly opposite case of Spink UK selling an Austrian 4 ducat which was somewhat suspicious, if for nothing else than at least for the stated weight of 10.90 grams, which was 3 grams less than it should have been. So I inquired about the coin and while I did not receive any response, the lot was withdrawn, so presumably my doubts were justified:
https://www.spink.com/lot/22180000728

Gold Standard Auctioneers has a true gem rocking up in mere hours - better hurry, this belter is closely uncirculated!
 
 

Meanwhile in Austria:

https://numis24.com/lots/view/63a191b845aa810e9cc2d916
Lot description:
Great Britain 1 pound 1927, with various countermarks, EF/UNC (!?!), rare 😂
@LawrenceChard - do you want to engage in a discussion with yet another Austrian auctioneer, or shall I try this time?

Meanwhile in Austria:

https://numis24.com/lots/view/63a191b845aa810e9cc2d916
Lot description:
Great Britain 1 pound 1927, with various countermarks, EF/UNC (!?!), rare 😂
@LawrenceChard - do you want to engage in a discussion with yet another Austrian auctioneer, or shall I try this time?

Meanwhile in Austria:

https://numis24.com/lots/view/63a191b845aa810e9cc2d916
Lot description:
Great Britain 1 pound 1927, with various countermarks, EF/UNC (!?!), rare 😂
@LawrenceChard - do you want to engage in a discussion with yet another Austrian auctioneer, or shall I try this time?

Evening all,
Just received my first purchase of gold, a 2023 1/2 oz Britannia in a blister pack from the Royal Mint.
Quiet pleased with the purchase until I noticed that the back of the blister pack is for a 1/4 oz coin, the info on the back of the blister pack is incorrect and doesn’t show the whole coin as it’s 1/2 oz!
spoke to the royal mint who confirmed they would email me a returns form for an exchange and never received an email! 
 
Not a great start to my journey. Anyone else had these issues before?
 
Thanks for reading

 

The one I have meets my needs so I can recommend it. The brand is Levenhuk, you can check their product range on https://www.levenhuk.com/catalogue/magnifiers/series-zeno-gem/.
Illumination can definitely help. And it costs so little anyway that there is no reason not to choose the better option, in my opinion.

Actually, is there anything to discuss?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Willess_Williams

Well, it was sold for 20 euros hammer price plus auction commission (~20%) so ~24 euros total.

Certainly interesting coins, thanks for sharing. I would also agree that you paid more or less fair price and if nothing else got a nice souvenir from your holiday which can even increase in value over time!
Just for the record, the latest auction results for these coins were Botswana sold at EUR 20+%, Tanzania unsold at CHF 20+%.

Happy new Year forum!
i have picked up these two coins on holiday, which for me are quite interesting so I wanted to share them with you and also ask your opinions on perceived value. 
 
2 Pula Botswana 1986 proof
100 Shillingi Tanzania 1986 proof
These are part of a series made by the British Royal Mint as a celebration of conservation efforts of the WWF in 1986. Both are in good condition and have their CoA. 
 
- how do you like them?
- what value would you place on them (individually or as a pair)
for transparency, I paid 35€ for the pair which I think is a good deal. 
 
hope you enjoy them and thanks for all of your inputs!

They want it like that...:
 

That's quite disputable in my opinion...

That's quite disputable in my opinion...

They want it like that...:
 

You have not mentioned that they are different dates, and probably different mintmarks.
The second is 1911 to 1928, the first is 1929 to 1932.
The second could be any of the 7 mints, but unlikely to be Bombay, whereas the first cannot be London, and is most likely to be Pretoria, South Africa, but possibly Perth, or even Melbourne.
Details matter.
While you may not appreciate why, it helps to give all the information you already have before asking for further help or opinions.
In addition, the later coin has more wear, and looks as though it may have been polished at some time, while the earlier coin appears to have acquired some toning.
This page may help slightly:
https://goldsovereigns.co.uk/datesexist.html
Even though it does not relate to colour or alloy.
This page may help regarding alloys:
https://www.chards.co.uk/blog/analysis-of-alloy-content-of-gold-sovereigns/180
😎

It is a very tight wire to walk. I've found it very difficult to express my interest in PM's to enable me to pick up the odd bargain from people that want to sell Whilst not telling any one about my interest in PM's. I know I've missed out on lots of deals because I felt it a little too risky to express my interest. I've even gone to auctions before now. Got worried by people that know me when they've seen me at the auction. That I've ended up filling out absentee forms for the lots and bids I wanted to get. Then whilst they were there bid and bought on a couple of occasions some thing totally random. Just so they thought I was only there for some thing completely unconnected to the coins that were there. The last time I did this I bought a carriage for the little one. It turned out to be cheaper than the Wendy house we were going to get for her so it was a great buy in the end, but still, went for coins and came away with a bloody carriage. I did get a couple of the coins I was after as well.

Alas, the postage is very often a deal breaker for many otherwise good purchases at auctions if you have to compete with room bidders or locals who can go and pick up their lots or pay just local postage.
In your situation it may be worth asking the auction house if they could maybe use some cheaper shipping method. Maybe they use e.g. FedEx as a rule and hence the higher cost but may agree that they use regular post as an exception. Worked for me a few times.

I've got one more, the best choice so far imo:
Sweden 5 kronor 2.24g .900

I've got one more, the best choice so far imo:
Sweden 5 kronor 2.24g .900

I don't see any reason why you should try to achieve 1 oz precisely, but if you really need to, your best chance is either
- 1994 1/15oz maple
- some of the Niue 2g .999 5 dollars or Solomon Islands 10 dollars
- George I or George III 1/4 guinea 2.1g .9167
However, none of those particularly easily available I'm afraid... 

If you buy a 50 pesos that would take you to just over 2 Oz 😁