Simonz

Here's a nicer one.
1985 Full Sov

Recently arrived from Sincona auction.
So much 'character' If only coins could talk!
Any interpretation ideas on the graffiti?
Damaged 'E' die apparently common.
Bit of haymarking, which I think adds to the 'character'.
And it's got the wrong crown according to Marsh, should have 4 more pearls?

Ooh fab, thanks for that Duncan. I've put in some bids on London Coins auction for G6 double sovs. Full set is a bit overkill for me as I'm just after sovs, but it is a great way of filling a gap and I think they look great too. Also got some connections with SA having lived in Malawi a while ago.

The George VI 1952 Proof Sets from South Africa are immeasurably more affordable to collectors than the George VI 1937 Proof Sets from the United Kingdom. While they may not tick the same boxes, they're still a great way, and the only alternative, to acquire gold coins with the classic effigy of George VI on them without giving arms and legs for 1937 issues. I have a full set of South Africa 1952 proof coins available here: https://worldgold.co.uk/shop-1/ols/products/xn---south-africa-proof-set-1952--george-vi-t77xg7080l83a

Well found @CollectForFun, Marsh says ER GBP14,500! Sold for GBP3,500 on Spink auction, should have gone for it! Scratch on face described as 'hairline'!

1871 die 24. Supposedly from RMS Douro shipwreck but no proof. 

small screwdriver, annoying lump of gunk ruining coins appeal.

tooled?…….it’s scratched to hell! 
 

https://www.spink.com/lot/22111004060
https://auktionen.sincona.com/Los/43/145.0/
https://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/2124443-033/NGCDetails/
Graded "Details" sold for CHF 3,000+%, out of the slab with tooling admitted in the lot description sold for £3,500+% just 4 months later.
Details slab adds very little if anything to the coin's value...

@Simonz which auction was this? I'm amazed an auction admitted to this I very much doubt if they had a high numismatic rarity graded coin they would do the same,  its a case of wanting it both ways. 

WOW, that's a lot of stunning gold in one hit! G6 SA Ponds easier to come by than sovs? and a bit cheaper?

Will be VERY interested to hear if you get any useful info from Spink Dave. Most likely get redirected to the 'right' person who 'unfortunately is away in America' right now...
Got the below response from them regarding an old auction I enquired about. There was a raw coin but a bit of digging revealed it had previously been graded but they made no mention of it in the auction listing.
 

Will be VERY interested to hear if you get any useful info from Spink Dave. Most likely get redirected to the 'right' person who 'unfortunately is away in America' right now...
Got the below response from them regarding an old auction I enquired about. There was a raw coin but a bit of digging revealed it had previously been graded but they made no mention of it in the auction listing.
 

Now that I think about it more, it's probably impossible, because the royal mint would release a Charles memorial sovereign to commemorate his passing, because they love milk 
 

“Therefore we felt that leaving the coin in the slab was not beneficial to us.”
Thanks for sharing, that really is eye opening.
 

Will be VERY interested to hear if you get any useful info from Spink Dave. Most likely get redirected to the 'right' person who 'unfortunately is away in America' right now...
Got the below response from them regarding an old auction I enquired about. There was a raw coin but a bit of digging revealed it had previously been graded but they made no mention of it in the auction listing.
 

Spink can stick it right up their spinkter

NGC = Subjective
Spink Auctions = Preposterously subjective

Okay if you get the “raw” coin and show this to the top 10 numismatists in the world are you saying they would all come back with the absolutely the same grade and evaluation?  
 
 Try grading a batch of your own coins, record the results and then grade them again sometime later and I bet you have different results. 
 
Have the grading companies have too much power?  It really depends on who’s asking, if you end up with the highest graded numismatic gem, I don’t many would complain, however if you have bought a raw coin from spink and it comes back details…..most would be very upset and spink are trying to save face.
 
I’ll be going into Spink soon so I’ll ask them about these negative attributions on coins that have gone past their experts. 

Quoted directly from Spink auction 22096 "St Albans" collection, I have not made any of these up! 24 of 53 Lots have Spink grading as below, unclear what order they should go in... why do they send any coins to NGC? This is clearly a serious attempt to undermine the grading systems. Are they trying to help punters, or themselves?
Rightfully graded – UNC Details
Fairly graded – AU Details
Helpfully graded – AU58
Generously graded – XF40
Harshly graded – UNC Details
Exceptionally harshly graded – PF62 Ultra Cameo
Nonsensically graded – UNC Details
Strictly graded – AU53
Very strictly graded – MS61
Ridiculously graded – UNC Details
Conservatively graded – MS63
Carelessly graded – UNC Details
Preposterously graded – UNC Details
Clumsily graded – AU Details

Agree, and maybe assigning provenance to a hoard or famous collection.
In 10 years time I reckon raw coins will be the ones that fetch a premium. 

I do think the coins that get graded NGCX will become a bit of a joke with some collectors ..........However I can see the marketing and social media making some of these coins hyper inflated to drag more into the market.  Not saying any wrong doing or anything like that but it's almost a given we will see some massively inflated coins in these new grading system once it hits the market.    Might be worth grabbing a few early ones  to sell at 10X the price to the pokémon and comic book collectors.  They are happy to buy collectables with zero intrinsic value. 
 
 

De-slabbing a coin (or any graded collectible for that matter) if the owner isn't happy with the grade is quite normal I would say.
Spink just tries to reach as high price at the auction as possible. If the slab doesn't help its case, there's no reason why they should keep it slabbed. The coin is still the same and the interested buyer is free to decide if they want it or not.
I understand that when you can't see the coin in person you must rely on pictures and description provided, but that's the cost of bidding online without knowing what exactly you are bidding on. Those are the rules of the game we play (and therefore it's important to remember that we do it mostly for fun! ☺️).

You can't beat and good old English farce!
I think you just have to go back to basics and ignore all the chatter and just 'buy the coin'.

Grading companies have 'too much power', what they say goes and I've never heard of them saying there were wrong.
If NCG say this coin is a 67 and PCGS say 65, one of them must be wrong.
40 years ago there was no such thing (as such). Only in the last 10-15 years it has become important.
The only thing they are good for is saying the coin is real