dicker

Its a good question, and no! If anyone knows I would be very interested to hear.

Simply because it is a free market and vendors can set prices as they choose i.e. the markup over what they pay the mint. For much bigger variances see the Forum Comparison page below! Best Dicker https://www.thesilverforum.com/compare/

Yes - that is an excellent photo!

Yes - it has a built in light source which is adjustable. I didn’t want to spend loads just have something that was “good enough” and worked with a Mac. Cheers Dicker

I should add a thank you to @LawrenceChard for prompting me to buy my this microscope. I have always been very impressed with the coin photography on the Chards website, and wanted to achieve something similar Best Dicker

For anyone interested this is the setup - works very well on my high res Mac screen. Best Dicker

I am using one of these - doesn’t cost the earth and produces pretty reasonable images. Best Dicker https://carson.com/product/mm-840-digital-microscope/

Very nice photograph. Lots that gives that one away! I did think some time ago that if one wanted to launder a large amount of gold then creating quality counterfeits would be a method of disguising the source of the gold. I would be most interested in the rest of the conversation! Best Dicker

I inverted the colour to get a different view of the definition 🙂 I simply took the original image and then used the following link to invert the colours to provide a different view of the definition. A suggestion by @sovereignsteve. https://pinetools.com/invert-image-colors Best Dicker

Hi @LawrenceChard I inverted the image to try and get some better contrast - which sort of works. I agree - I think it looks like 49 over 49. The Royal Mint's quality control issues have a long and distinguished history.... Best Dicker

Excellent - and very interesting. I found the same recently and posted the attached to the Overdate section. I think it is fair to say that you don’t see these very frequently! Best Dicker

@LawrenceChard In your many years of inspecting Sovereigns, had you come across anything really rare or really special that you would consider as unique - or undiscovered? Best Dicker

If anyone has any app recommendations, I would try them. Last looked 18 months ago and there were some apps that would be used but nothing that came close to my excel spreadsheet!

I use a spreadsheet for complete flexibility - and it works very well as I have complete control over it. I wouldn’t use an app because of the privacy aspect. Best Dicker

I believe 2000 was the first time the current coppery, mushy bullion Sov was minted. If my memory serves me correctly the last bullion issue before that was 1982 - can anyone correct me? Best Dicker

Hi, I have been on the same journey. As a start, for a well defined and with a reasonable premium over spot, I would opt for a Gillick. The G&D is particularly well defined in my opinion. Many are also in very good condition given that they were not a circulation issue. The likes of Baird often have Gillicks in stock and when I have bought, many of those I have purchased are in MS60 or above condition. If you are stacking watch out for the 1959 it is the lowest mintage and commands a premium over other Gillicks I would avoid the modern bullion Sovereigns - 2000 onwards which, in my opinion are poorly defined and overly shiny. Shield’s are my favourite by a long way but you may want to look at some in the hand before investing, these generally have a fairly chunky premium. Best Dicker

Thanks gents.

Thanks. I will get decent photos when I receive it. Best Dicker

Interesting. I have purchased an 1884 M from Australia - it will be posted this weeks and it looks quite potentially proof. Serrated edge. Will post up a pic when I receive. Best Dicker

Hi It doesn’t look wildly genuine to me…. You might want to see if it is magnetic. The photos are not great but it looks like an O mint mark, which in an 1893 is one of the much less common versions. Coupled with it looking like it is made from lead and with a flat appearance, it doesn’t look right. Did it come from EBay? Best Dicker

I use a a bank account with no overdraft for EBay. I always keep the account at zero so there is no monkey business. eBay is a better proposition as a buyer than a seller by some margin. Best Dicker

Hi Forum, Does anyone know if there were any 1884 M Shield PROOF sovereigns minted? The latest Marsh says no, but I am not so sure.... Best Dicker

I have had similar where I paid but didn’t hear anything, but this was with people I had traded with several times, so I did not worry. Generally, most folk tell me that they have received funds immediately and will pop in the post tomorrow / the next day. I think some recent events have highlighted the importance of trading reputation points and also their overall behaviour on the forum. 99.999 pct are genuinely decent people, but check their stats. All the best Dicker

Here are a couple of treasure wreck coins from the Dicker collection. Relatively inexpensive to buy but with a wealth of history. These are old pics and these are in the bank vault so sorry I don’t have better pics. Best Dicker

I have said here before, there is still a vast amount of treasure to be discovered around the world. Shipwrecks offering probably the biggest single sources of treasure e.g The Merchant Royal which has yet to be located, but also hoards in the US and Australia on land. However much is simply waiting to be found, buried by long dead rulers, thieves and just the plain wealthy. Many excellent books available on treasure hunting and treasure found! Best Dicker