sovereignsteve

Yes you do see an effect such as this on very many Gillicks but it never struck me that it was so definite that it could be attributed to ghosting from the reverse. Like @LawrenceChard I am going to have to examine some in detail now🙂

These Sydney veiled heads are pretty rare, decent enough grade as well🙂 Not the type of coin I keep a track on prices so can't comment really. My gut feeling is you are probably right but it depends on whether you've been looking for one and how you've fared so far😉

I've decided not to bother with this series. The first one is poor imo and I'm not confident they will improve. Please return here in a couple of years for me eating humble pie😆

As is always the case, no individual is ever held accountable. I think it specifically said so in the news report.

King's Beasts is certainly inaccurate. The Seymour Panther for instance, is attributed to the first 3 wives of Henry viii and several of the remaining beasts also for Tudor Queens. There were rather a lot of them in Tudor times😉

What's KB, do you mean the new Royal Tudor Beasts series?

The feature that screams out ot me is the date, as @dicker has highlighted. It just looks wrong. The general appearance of the reverse is a poorly defined/struck coin with a lot of wear on the detail. The date stands out as not fitting this appearance. Although some of it's deficiencies could be explained by wear, it doesn't look worn enough and the anomalies are almost certainly down to the usual inability of the counterfeiter to perfect this feature. I would imagine the genuine coin imaged will be of a much higher grade with far less wear. It would be interesting to compare with one of a similar grade. The B.P. looks a fail as well.

I don't think I want to buy this but I logged on to the site and started queuing at about 09.05, 1600+ in queue Still here 10 mins later at 1333 Seems a lot slower than usual, I wonder if they've changed something in the checkout process that means everyone is staying there longer?

Some kind of crush damage whether from an external source or during the minting process?

Thanks for that, I've now got good 'old Henery in my head "Nothing beats the great smell of Brut"

In general, and this isn't scientific as I haven't done the research, Metals get knocked down on Friday and then spend the next week recovering.

essentialy blind faith

They should do. For one main reason; they guarantee any coins they grade, if they are subsequently identified as fake, at full market value. You generally find that potential financial penalties tend to focus the mind😉 I wasn't aware of this, but there again, that could confirm it's existence😄

I have had thoughts along these lines for a while now. To my mind it is very short sighted of dealers not to be fighting the ever increasing problem of fakes, and Chinese fakes in particular. I have observed the steady escalation of this problem over the past few years with dismay. I used to buy quite a few coins on ebay but this has been steadily reducing over time. I see many of these fakes being bought on ebay, no doubt many will be resold and the really good fakes will become part of the total coin supply. I say this because I have observed an increasing problem with some dealers selling these fakes, presumably unwittingly, either because don't have the expertise or the will to detect them. I have also seen a couple of suspicious coins for sale on prominent auctions sites. I couldn't say for sure as I only had the supplied photos to make a decision. This situation can only harm the hobby by disheartening genuine collectors who perhaps don't have the knowledge they need, with an inevitable decline in the hobby as a whole. The dealers are the ones who will lose out.

Pretty much made for the situation really🙂

Excellent idea for a thread. I realise it's extra work for you but dimensions would be very useful for reference.

It should be obvious by the weight if it's gold and then a quick check of the legend and design to see if it has a good chance of being genuine.

I have plenty of boxes of "no interest" coins😄

Yes, the reverse usually has something on that gives it's identity away. These tokens were not intended to deceive and the vast majority were produced after the guineas were de-monetised.

Looks like a copy of the 5th head, guinea and half.

A bad sign? Companies that are slow paying out are either in trouble or to be charitable, they are suffering from expanding their operations too quickly. Maybe too many changes to their auction timetables.

4 sovereigns😉

Not sure about the dimensions and shipping limits in the US but here in the UK the Royal Mail have a limit of 2.5cm or pretty much exactly one inch for it to be shipped as a "large envelope". Above this, they are shipped as "small parcels" with a significant uplift in fees. I have shipped hundreds of silver coins up to 2oz thickness and managed to get them into a package under the 2.5cm limit. It can be awkward for thick 2oz coins such as the silver Queen's Beasts but do-able. 👍

I think I need one actually. Let me contact someone I know in Germany to see what the total cost would be for a couple.

I can't see what "conservation" would achieve. It looks pretty bright as it is and has probably been cleaned, by that I mean washed in some way not wiped. IMHO it's current grade is top end and you may not get that repeated.