TeaTime

I sold my entire sovereign collection around the year 2000 (at £55 per coin) to invest in silver..... 
It's not all bad news though, Britannias were a fiver each back then 😁
I also scrapped my whole collection of gold watches when it hit an unprecedented £600 an ounce around 2009. Again, not all bad news because somewhere in the loft is an awful lot of mid-range watch movements !

I sold my entire sovereign collection around the year 2000 (at £55 per coin) to invest in silver..... 
It's not all bad news though, Britannias were a fiver each back then 😁
I also scrapped my whole collection of gold watches when it hit an unprecedented £600 an ounce around 2009. Again, not all bad news because somewhere in the loft is an awful lot of mid-range watch movements !

I sold my entire sovereign collection around the year 2000 (at £55 per coin) to invest in silver..... 
It's not all bad news though, Britannias were a fiver each back then 😁
I also scrapped my whole collection of gold watches when it hit an unprecedented £600 an ounce around 2009. Again, not all bad news because somewhere in the loft is an awful lot of mid-range watch movements !

My worst experience is a crazy story, all of which is sadly true and I have never mentioned it until now because it was something I just wanted to forget about at the time after worrying that some nutjob was going to turn up on my doorstep and do something silly. 
So...
I bought a mint condition, special year proof sovereign on eBay.
Things started to look a bit worrying when the tracking info I was following showed it had been delivered to someone else, hundreds of miles away, so I asked the seller what's going on. He admitted sending two special delivery items that day, that he may have got them muddled up, and gave me a different number. Hopefully just a mistake then, good good.
Thankfully the parcel addressed to me arrived a few hours later. 
However, when I opened the parcel, it contained a completely different year with the standard pistrucci design. It was also in appalling condition.
The other sovereign in his eBay sold items was not the right year either, so I assumes it can't just be due to the parcel mix up.
I explained to the seller what happened, and if he still has the correct coin, could he please send it to me.
He said the coin he sent me was the correct year and in mint condition, and immediately starts acting a bit odd.
I pointed out that I had (thankfully!) taken a continuous video of the entire process of receiving the parcel and opening it, so he had definitely sent me the wrong coin, and asked again if he still had the correct one or had mistakenly sent it to the wrong person.
He said he didn't have any other sovereigns and started being abusive.
Worryingly, he then sent me another message saying he knows he has been scammed and repeatedly called me a lying thieving scumbag and invited me to sue him for slander! I was called all sorts of other things too (all via eBay messaging)
I reiterated that he sent me the wrong coin, that I have indisputable proof of it, and that he should be careful about making completely false accusations.
He called me a professional hustler, a scammer, and a sh*tbag in response.
I contacted eBay for advice on how to proceed and how to protect myself. eBay were useless and also did absolutely nothing about the abusive messages being hurled at me via their platform.
At this point, I also contacted my local police force for advice on how to proceed, as I genuinely couldn't work out whether I was dealing with a scammer or just someone who was very confused or just an idiot. I was obviously concerned that he was going to try and say I returned the wrong coin, or worse, nothing at all.
Reassured by the police's advice, I opened the eBay return.
The seller sent some more abusive messages and some weird insinuations that made no sense.
I also reported the seller to eBay for breaking their policies (absolutely nothing happened again)
Then things started to take a sinister turn....
I received an email from the seller, out of the blue and to my personal email address (i.e. not within eBay)
The email just said Hi and contained a large photo of me.
That really shook me up and I felt pretty helpless - eBay wasn't doing anything and this delusional idiot seemed convinced that I was a scammer and was now intimidating me by cyberstalking me.
I called the local police again, this time to report what had just happened. They asserted that no crime had taken place so couldn't do anything. Bizarrely, they advised that the content of the eBay messages would have constituted a crime if they had been sent to my personal email address, but because they were sent via eBay it was eBay's problem and not theirs.
After I posted the coin back (videoing the whole process again, from packaging to post office in one take!), the seller tells me the tracking number doesn't work and asks if this is part of my scam. (I have literally no idea how he couldn't get it to work!)
As per the police's advice, I ignore the message and let eBay's case handlers do their thing.
I then get another abusive message from the seller, calling me a scammer and all sorts of other names and threatening to call the police if I don't return the sovereign. The sovereign was already on its way, and the tracking number was valid, but the seller wrongly asserts once again that RM tracking numbers must be 14 characters long and the one I've given only has 13 (it should be 13!)
The seller sends another email directly to me (outside of eBay) and threatens that he is on my trail and has images of me. I was by this stage very worried as I didn't know what his intentions were from this threat.
The police advised that I reply, to ask only that he stops further contact.
I did that, and the response I got was "Get f**ked you c**t"
I eventually got my refund from ebay rather than the seller, and the seller got a visit from the police for two separate crimes: harassment and malicious communications.
After their visit, the police told me he was just an old and confused gentleman, and that's probably why I got sent the wrong coin in the first place.
I was given the choice of having it resolved with a community resolution, or to prosecute for the offences of harassment and malicious communications and potentially have to go to court as a witness. I chose the former option as it felt like that's what the police would prefer (less work) and I didn't really want to have to relive the whole experience again.
Reading through all of this now makes it sound far less worse that it felt at the time and I regret not prosecuting now for the impact it had on me.

My opinion would be that a new, untouched proof coin should look flawless when viewed with the naked eye. There should be no scratches, marks, divots or discolouration visible when viewed without magnification.
Once you start magnifying then everything becomes subjective. Everything and anything ever manufactured in the history of the world will show imperfections if you zoom in enough.  A proof coin is not a guarantee of perfection, it is simply the 'best' the mint can produce at that time.... Imagine 10 x magnification used on a William III proof coin - i would bet a months salary that the fields would look like the surface of the moon.
If a dealer had sold me a new proof coin that had visible defects i would expect to be able to return the coin - but only if they were obvious without magnification. In this case it sounds like the dealer has accepted your opinion of the coin and offered a refund so i see no issues. 
 

My opinion would be that a new, untouched proof coin should look flawless when viewed with the naked eye. There should be no scratches, marks, divots or discolouration visible when viewed without magnification.
Once you start magnifying then everything becomes subjective. Everything and anything ever manufactured in the history of the world will show imperfections if you zoom in enough.  A proof coin is not a guarantee of perfection, it is simply the 'best' the mint can produce at that time.... Imagine 10 x magnification used on a William III proof coin - i would bet a months salary that the fields would look like the surface of the moon.
If a dealer had sold me a new proof coin that had visible defects i would expect to be able to return the coin - but only if they were obvious without magnification. In this case it sounds like the dealer has accepted your opinion of the coin and offered a refund so i see no issues. 
 

My opinion would be that a new, untouched proof coin should look flawless when viewed with the naked eye. There should be no scratches, marks, divots or discolouration visible when viewed without magnification.
Once you start magnifying then everything becomes subjective. Everything and anything ever manufactured in the history of the world will show imperfections if you zoom in enough.  A proof coin is not a guarantee of perfection, it is simply the 'best' the mint can produce at that time.... Imagine 10 x magnification used on a William III proof coin - i would bet a months salary that the fields would look like the surface of the moon.
If a dealer had sold me a new proof coin that had visible defects i would expect to be able to return the coin - but only if they were obvious without magnification. In this case it sounds like the dealer has accepted your opinion of the coin and offered a refund so i see no issues. 
 

Finally acquired a British Trade Dollar for my British Imperial / Colonial collection. They were issued to facilitate British trade in Asia hence the Eastern stylings. Satisfying feeling when you get your hands on a coin you've long desired! This one is a 1910 Bombay mint example. I plan to get more of these though - either one for each of the decades they were minted (1890s-1930s) or one for each monarch they were minted under (Victoria, Edward VII, George V).
 

Let Me Take You Back in Time...
This is from 431 Bc - 393 Bc. One of the first coins that started the Globalisation Process (it circulated way beyond Greece)...I don't know if this coin was at The Peloponesian War, born of Plato, death of Pericles, death of Socrates, but it might just been in a General or Senator pockets at the time...Ladies and Gents,
The Greek TetraDrahm...

20230523_202958.mp4

Some more old silver coins which arrived this week.
1) Edward II, Silver Farthing, 1307-1327, London mint, S1474

 
2) Edward III, Silver Halfpenny, 1344-51, London mint, EDWARDVS REX, S1557

 
3) Henry VIII, Silver Sovereign Penny, circa 1529, Bishop Thomas Wolsey, Durham, S2352
"T" and "W" can be seen either side of the shield.
I am assuming all these are genuine as I am still learning!  I am buying coins with Spink numbers attributed to them - and then trying to confirm this with the catalogue.

I would have no problem removing a coin from a holder if i was thinking of selling. I see nothing nefarious in doing so. One person graded that coin and stuck it with a 'details' definition - my opinion may differ from that person. I have seen many coins with less than a 70 grade that appear, even under magnification, to have no faults... It is only someone's opinion on a given day after all.
And don't get me started on the actual slabs and how easily they mark and scratch. NGC charge extra for scratch resistant slabs. Seriously ? You have to pay extra because the standard option is, by their own admission, prone to damage easily. 🙄 

I would have no problem removing a coin from a holder if i was thinking of selling. I see nothing nefarious in doing so. One person graded that coin and stuck it with a 'details' definition - my opinion may differ from that person. I have seen many coins with less than a 70 grade that appear, even under magnification, to have no faults... It is only someone's opinion on a given day after all.
And don't get me started on the actual slabs and how easily they mark and scratch. NGC charge extra for scratch resistant slabs. Seriously ? You have to pay extra because the standard option is, by their own admission, prone to damage easily. 🙄 

I would have no problem removing a coin from a holder if i was thinking of selling. I see nothing nefarious in doing so. One person graded that coin and stuck it with a 'details' definition - my opinion may differ from that person. I have seen many coins with less than a 70 grade that appear, even under magnification, to have no faults... It is only someone's opinion on a given day after all.
And don't get me started on the actual slabs and how easily they mark and scratch. NGC charge extra for scratch resistant slabs. Seriously ? You have to pay extra because the standard option is, by their own admission, prone to damage easily. 🙄 

I would have no problem removing a coin from a holder if i was thinking of selling. I see nothing nefarious in doing so. One person graded that coin and stuck it with a 'details' definition - my opinion may differ from that person. I have seen many coins with less than a 70 grade that appear, even under magnification, to have no faults... It is only someone's opinion on a given day after all.
And don't get me started on the actual slabs and how easily they mark and scratch. NGC charge extra for scratch resistant slabs. Seriously ? You have to pay extra because the standard option is, by their own admission, prone to damage easily. 🙄 

I would have no problem removing a coin from a holder if i was thinking of selling. I see nothing nefarious in doing so. One person graded that coin and stuck it with a 'details' definition - my opinion may differ from that person. I have seen many coins with less than a 70 grade that appear, even under magnification, to have no faults... It is only someone's opinion on a given day after all.
And don't get me started on the actual slabs and how easily they mark and scratch. NGC charge extra for scratch resistant slabs. Seriously ? You have to pay extra because the standard option is, by their own admission, prone to damage easily. 🙄 

I was moderately excited by the crowned portrait Britannias until i saw the price on the RM site. Just shy of £35 for a one ounce 'bullion' coin which will, more than likely, be spotty, dinged and scratched is taking the p*ss. Nearly double spot with the current shoddy quality control is laughable.
For the price i would expect a BU coin.

If you get pleasure from them then the cost is irrelevant. We all hope our coins appreciate in value but the reality is that modern high mintage BU coins will rarely act as a retirement fund !
In most instances the packaging is worth more than the product. Buying loose coins from the secondary market should only be done if your motivation is not profit orientated. 
I was gifted the very first UK silver proof £1 coin and ended up buying every design (not every issue, just different designs, patterns and finishes). I know that what i have invested exceeds their current worth but i enjoy owning them. And for me, that's worth more than making a couple of quid ☺️
 
 

Yes. I started out as a numismatist and got sucked into stacking precious metals. I have crates of BU and proof base metal coins which i occasionally haul out and spend an hour or two just staring at them... I often buy proof £5 coins on Ebay for less than the mint sell the BU ones for too. It's astonishing how many proof sets get broken up for one particular coin and the rest get sold off cheap.
It's also very difficult to stop buying a particular denomination once you have a few - i find myself buying the 50p's as they are released because the collector in me wants a full set 🙄 - normally i'll buy one RM packaged coin to stick away and one unpackaged (Westminster or Koin club) for the collection. I try not to think of the premium....

This is a good way of getting people into the whole world of coins and can lead on to the wider aspects of collecting or stacking.

If you get pleasure from them then the cost is irrelevant. We all hope our coins appreciate in value but the reality is that modern high mintage BU coins will rarely act as a retirement fund !
In most instances the packaging is worth more than the product. Buying loose coins from the secondary market should only be done if your motivation is not profit orientated. 
I was gifted the very first UK silver proof £1 coin and ended up buying every design (not every issue, just different designs, patterns and finishes). I know that what i have invested exceeds their current worth but i enjoy owning them. And for me, that's worth more than making a couple of quid ☺️
 
 

I like this coin very much: the 2013 George and the Dragon £20. Half an ounce of .999 silver, 27mm diameter.
Basically a silver double sovereign, courtesy of @silvergaga
I had to give it a little bicarb foil bath, as it had heavy toning on the rim of the obverse, which I've noticed happens to quite a few of them in the OMP for some reason.

1) Anyone who uses Ebay is doing so in the hope of finding a bargain (overwise there is literally no point in shopping on the site). Most people who are hoping to get something cheap would be reluctant to ask too many questions for fear of alerting the seller to the real value of the item they are selling....
Alternatively;
2) Ebay is a good sight for finding obscure or hard to get in the UK stuff but caution is the watchword. As long as the buyer has a modicum of knowledge about what they are searching for and is diligent then there shouldn't be too many issues. As for sending mis described items back, I have done so numerous times and never had a problem. 
The only time there could be an issue is if the description of the item is so vague that it's difficult to pinpoint any falsehoods - and that takes us back to point 1.
Caveat emptor 😁 

1) Anyone who uses Ebay is doing so in the hope of finding a bargain (overwise there is literally no point in shopping on the site). Most people who are hoping to get something cheap would be reluctant to ask too many questions for fear of alerting the seller to the real value of the item they are selling....
Alternatively;
2) Ebay is a good sight for finding obscure or hard to get in the UK stuff but caution is the watchword. As long as the buyer has a modicum of knowledge about what they are searching for and is diligent then there shouldn't be too many issues. As for sending mis described items back, I have done so numerous times and never had a problem. 
The only time there could be an issue is if the description of the item is so vague that it's difficult to pinpoint any falsehoods - and that takes us back to point 1.
Caveat emptor 😁 

1) Anyone who uses Ebay is doing so in the hope of finding a bargain (overwise there is literally no point in shopping on the site). Most people who are hoping to get something cheap would be reluctant to ask too many questions for fear of alerting the seller to the real value of the item they are selling....
Alternatively;
2) Ebay is a good sight for finding obscure or hard to get in the UK stuff but caution is the watchword. As long as the buyer has a modicum of knowledge about what they are searching for and is diligent then there shouldn't be too many issues. As for sending mis described items back, I have done so numerous times and never had a problem. 
The only time there could be an issue is if the description of the item is so vague that it's difficult to pinpoint any falsehoods - and that takes us back to point 1.
Caveat emptor 😁 

QB in nice presentation box😊