Aran

Manchurian Dollar, rare coin and my coin is the ‘LM-487A Fancy Cloud‘ variety.

Yes, one of the most beautiful sets of national currency coins ever. Percy Metcalfe designed the series in 1928 and the florin (later 10 pence) remained in circulation until the introduction of the euro (what awful coins they are!). The florin is one of my favourite coins and, in my opinion, has the edge over the new UK 50 pence design, simpler yet beautiful.

Straight back to the RMIMG_5735.HEIC IMG_5736.HEIC IMG_5734.HEIC

There will be a plain edge in addition to the usual milled edge. Apart from the strike on the day single sovereign which has had a plain edge in recent times, we have not had plain edges on 5 Sov down to Quarter Sov before (except as a pattern 2022 set). Could this be something new for this special year? DESIGN OF THE COINS 6. The design of the said five pound, two pound, sovereign, half-sovereign and quarter-sovereign gold coins shall be as follows: ‘For the obverse impression Our effigy with the inscription “· CHARLES III · DEI · GRA · REX · FID · DEF” and for the reverse a depiction of St George armed, sitting on horseback, attacking a dragon with a sword, and a broken spear upon the ground, and the date of the year. The coins shall have a grained or plain edge.’

Full range now available again

Another return to the RM.

Nice coin!

Great to see US pre33 on the forum again. Congrats on your beautiful coins (in lovely condition too). The Indian eagles, containing 0.483 ounces of gold, are especially nice to ‘hold in the hand’. A real ‘Goldilocks’ coin. The Indian half (and quarter!) eagles must be some of the nicest coins ever minted, the sunken design giving them a great three dimensional feel. Ever since Theodore Roosevelt went on a mission to replace the Liberty coinage, the Liberty double eagle (1849-1907) has been much disparaged. Apparently he said: I think our coinage is artistically of atrocious hideousness Personally I think the $20 is a beautiful coin and your 1894 double eagle is a lovely example. Here’s a photo of my 1914S $10. It has a richness and lustre above and beyond any of my other Indian eagles. If you are interested you can view my collection of Indian Eagles on the NGC Registry where it is ranked number 73 out of 425 collections. https://www.ngccoin.uk/registry/competitive/united-states/gold-eagles/193/

NGC do make label errors. Reckon that’s a PF 63 coin.

Auction results from The Coin Cabinet Auction 49 (Sep 2021) £3000 Auction 57 (March 2022) £3100 Bear in mind the recent ‘softening’ of the ‘Modern Commemoratives’ market. Factor in buyer’s and seller’s commission. Btw a nice coin imho.

The Indian Eagle $10 contains 0.483 Troy ounces of gold so qualifies for this discussion. An immensely popular coin on both sides of the big pond. Not too big or small, easy to liquidate and a lovely series to collect. I was delighted to add this 1914-S (MS64 in an old NGC holder) to my collection of Indian Eagles. Just 31 grade higher with NGC. In Mike Fuljenz’s book ‘Indian Gold Coins of the 20th Century’ the 1914-S is described thus: ’The luster is generally very brilliant and superior to that seen on most other issues in the series.’ I would concur. The lustre and golden richness of this Indian Eagle is quite scrumptious! The 1914-S joins my 1913-S and 1915-S (both semi-key dates and both MS63). In addition common date examples in AU always command a good premium over spot. If anyone is interested you can view my set ‘Aran Indian Head Eagles’ (Indian Head Eagles 1907-1933) on the NGC Registry. My set is ranked 73 worldwide!

What a lovely and varied selection. Also a delight to see many of them as ‘raw coins’ rather than in plastic slabs!! Although graded the 1817 Sovereign caught my eye. Is this a proof coin? The photos appear to show frosted devices and mirrored fields. Either way congratulations on owning such a well preserved piece of history!

As Lawrence says most ‘Genie’ 20 Francs are very common. If you are interested in something a little rarer (and if you are a fan of privy marks!) the 1896A with a ‘torche’ privy (rather than the usual ‘faisceau’ privy is harder to find. Expect to pay anywhere from £600 to £1000 for an MS64/5.

The PCGS channel on You Tube has some interesting (and quite detailed) webinars on grading. Worth a watch!

The auction house can’t be doing themselves any favours by having reserve prices that are clearly higher than prices achieved in other recent auctions for the same coins. Will only alienate customers and potential bidders.

It’s a First Release so presumably it was submitted within a month of the release to get the FR designation. Also I checked the NGC submission number of my own coin which is also FR and it starts with a 60, so I think around Jan 21 would have been when it was submitted. What we don’t know is whether the apparent burn mark appeared then or at sometime since it was in the holder…

Here’s one that didn’t sell yesterday in the St. James’s Auction

Hi All. I previously posted photos of a SOTD 2021 Sovereign which graded NGC MS70 Matte although there were areas of missing ‘frost’ which can look like black spots under the light. This missing frost caused many members anguish with their 2022 SOTD Sovereigns in February, leading to some members either selling their coins on the forum or returning them to the mint. I’ve just received two 2022 SOTD’s back from NGC. Both have graded MS70 Matte although there are spots visible to the naked eye. Moral of the story? NGC do not regard these as flaws and will give them the top grade. So unless the marks really annoy you, maybe best to keep the coins? They are present in all ‘my’ matte SOTD’s in one shape or form.

Sold for £10,100, about 2K less than RM issue price.

Hi. There seems to be a fair amount of disappointment with the quality of the Platinum Jubilee SOTD Sovereign. In many cases little areas of missing ‘frost’ give the appearance of black marks or little ‘nicks’. As a result many forum members are concerned about how their coin will grade and are sending them back to the RM (not sure if they will get replacement or refund?). I decided to look at my previous MS70 SOTD Matte Sovereigns and, without exception, they all have the same issue. Either I’m unlucky (though NGC deemed them fit to be 70) or this is part and parcel of this type of product. I’ve attached a few photos of the 2021 95 privy SOTD Sovereign to illustrate what I mean. (I’ve used a x10 loupe which shows defects invisible to the naked eye). To those who are considering sending back their SOTD Sovereign to the RM, maybe you might reconsider?

Says it all!

Hi. Interested to see your views on the latest RM Trial of the Pyx Bond 2 oz Gold coin (with usual handling marks). RM offering same for £6000. Last Coin Cabinet auction you could pick one up for £3400 in a PF70. Would you pay this premium for ‘a piece of history’ or the ‘novelty’?

Fondling is too nice a word, think cement mixer.

The EIC 2oz Golds are circa £6K direct from the mint. They might hold their value in a 70, but I don’t think they will in a 69 (at least not in the short term, from personal experience with a 2oz Gold Una). Not sure about the Gothic series, but the big difference between the RM and EIC versions of the Una (for me at least) is the far superior ‘relief’ on the RM strikes. Give me an RM silver Una any day over the EIC gold. I haven’t seen the EIC Gothics in hand so can’t comment there….