TeaTime

For these, I will probably do the same I did with the Queen's Beasts.....cupro-nickel and 2 ounce silver bullion ones.

I'll probably go for the 2oz silver and BU cupronickel. The 2oz for me and the 'crowns' for re-sale. The cupronickel coins of the Queens Beasts appeared to do better profit wise (as a percentage of purchase price) than any of the PMs.
I'd be surprised if any of these coins will command a premium like some of the earlier QBs did - pretty sure everyone and their mum will be buying multiple coins / editions from day one... 

Here you go.

My latest purchase arrived from Heads or Tales, the 30 oz Minotaur.


I actually purchased this 55 oz Bastet XL a few months ago, but realized I never posted pics back when I received it.


And a pic of the Bastet XL with the 45 oz Anubis XL.  100 oz of silver between the two. 

I'm a big fan of the silver statues made by Heads or Tales.  I've purchased 7 or 8 of them so far.  They are pricey on a per oz silver basis, but if you can appreciate them for the artwork rather then the silver bullion value, they are fantastic, and I highly recommend them.

I have a few similar looking pieces - they are brass gaming tokens. Can usually find them at car boot sales where you get an initial burst of excitement followed by a feeling of profound disappointment......

I bought one and i like it !
To be honest i bought it because of the privy mark and the date on the reverse - i have a few silver pennies from year sets.
I wish the RM would disclose what it used to be, it would add a bit of a character to the coin. It arrived in BU condition with no milk spots !

I bought one and i like it !
To be honest i bought it because of the privy mark and the date on the reverse - i have a few silver pennies from year sets.
I wish the RM would disclose what it used to be, it would add a bit of a character to the coin. It arrived in BU condition with no milk spots !

I bought one and i like it !
To be honest i bought it because of the privy mark and the date on the reverse - i have a few silver pennies from year sets.
I wish the RM would disclose what it used to be, it would add a bit of a character to the coin. It arrived in BU condition with no milk spots !

I am wholly ignorant of the appeal of defective slabbed coins so will defer to your greater knowledge.
I wasn't implying that the damage on songofthunders coin was made post-production, simply that it looks like it could have happened that way. We've all seen 'mint error' coins for sale that have obviously been defaced in an effort to increase the appeal to error collectors.
The fact that the coin passed RM QC and, potentially a secondary market QC (it was never stated where the coin was purchased from) is shocking. Missing frosting is one thing, a bloody gert dent is something else entirely. 😁

Why would they even add a buyer’s premium?
I have limited knowledge and experience of auctions, but my understanding was always that a buyer’s premium is added because 100% of it goes to the auction house, while the consignor of the auctioned item gets the hammer price.
Since in this case the consignor and auction house are both The Royal Mint (I assume), I don’t understand the need for the buyer’s premium.

I really don't know if it was minted as a proof (though i suspect not)- it appears to have a little too much abrasion on the fields though - generally proof coins are a little more treasured than circulating ones and don't often get lost down the settee !
To me the example matt1r posted has more appeal eye and appears to be more natural. I would go for the grey toned coin every time.

I really don't know if it was minted as a proof (though i suspect not)- it appears to have a little too much abrasion on the fields though - generally proof coins are a little more treasured than circulating ones and don't often get lost down the settee !
To me the example matt1r posted has more appeal eye and appears to be more natural. I would go for the grey toned coin every time.

Hello forum,
Recently I came across a seller who is offering a Victoria Gothic Silver Crown.
Seeing as I don't have much experience, I would like you to help me determine whether or not this piece is authentic.
I am uploading the photos for you to examine the coin.

Yes I would say it’s a bit strong price wise too, as as said above while it has lovely detail there’s are lots of minor scratches on the fields which would suggest past cleaning. For comparison (I know it’s far more toned and far nicer IMO but that will vary person to person) the below example was sold for £100

Book price on an uncirculated shilling of 1826 is around £200. EF is around £60.
It's difficult to tell from the photos but i will assume it has been cleaned - a 200 year old silver coin should be a lot darker in it's natural state. That may bother you or it may not - most older coins have had a clean in the past (There also apears to be cleaning solution visible in the lettering of 'defensor').
I would grade it somewhere around EF (but cleaned) - there appears to be minimal wear but the fields show a lot of marks/scratches.
Although it's a coin with good eye-appeal, for the same money you could get a Charles II crown in GF or a George III in EF.... or a run of late George V in Unc.
I would expect the dealer to have paid around £40 for it.
 

Book price on an uncirculated shilling of 1826 is around £200. EF is around £60.
It's difficult to tell from the photos but i will assume it has been cleaned - a 200 year old silver coin should be a lot darker in it's natural state. That may bother you or it may not - most older coins have had a clean in the past (There also apears to be cleaning solution visible in the lettering of 'defensor').
I would grade it somewhere around EF (but cleaned) - there appears to be minimal wear but the fields show a lot of marks/scratches.
Although it's a coin with good eye-appeal, for the same money you could get a Charles II crown in GF or a George III in EF.... or a run of late George V in Unc.
I would expect the dealer to have paid around £40 for it.
 

Employees are not necessarily obsessively interested in the subject matter of the companies they work for, and I find that often impacts the quality of their output.
 
 
 
 
 

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Historic silver coins are what i would keep 'til last if i was forced to liquidate.
Gold and platinum would be the first to go followed by silver bars and then the silver coins. Silver rounds next and, finally, the historic stuff. This is based on the amount of pleasure i derive from each of the catagories coupled with ease of selling.
Actually the order in which i would liquidate is in direct inverse proportion to the effort that was involved in purchasing. Something i really hadn't thought of before....

Historic silver coins are what i would keep 'til last if i was forced to liquidate.
Gold and platinum would be the first to go followed by silver bars and then the silver coins. Silver rounds next and, finally, the historic stuff. This is based on the amount of pleasure i derive from each of the catagories coupled with ease of selling.
Actually the order in which i would liquidate is in direct inverse proportion to the effort that was involved in purchasing. Something i really hadn't thought of before....

There is this one, kind of a silver sovereign. 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_pounds_(British_coin)

This could signal the end of 'professionally' graded coins as a means to speculate. Historically a 'perfect' coin was considered the holy grail and rarely (sometimes never) obtainable. Nowadays people have come to expect perfection for anything released by a mint. The term 'proof' has always been used as a description of the way the coin is struck - not as a guarantee of a perfect coin. A proof coin is (supposedly) the best that a mint can achieve at that time, under those conditions - nothing more.
The true value of slabbing is in identifying genuines coins - something i imagine the whole business was based upon. The use of grading companies as a tool for speculators has made the whole business, for me, appear a bit grubby.
Each to their own obviously, but it has always left me scratching my head at people who will pay huge premiums for a 70 graded coin over a 68/69 graded coin. Take them out of the slab and i would defy the majority of people to distinguish between them. Yet are paying hundreds or thousands of pounds for two digits printed on a slip of paper.....
When is a '70' not a '70' ?- could be the next day.
 

This could signal the end of 'professionally' graded coins as a means to speculate. Historically a 'perfect' coin was considered the holy grail and rarely (sometimes never) obtainable. Nowadays people have come to expect perfection for anything released by a mint. The term 'proof' has always been used as a description of the way the coin is struck - not as a guarantee of a perfect coin. A proof coin is (supposedly) the best that a mint can achieve at that time, under those conditions - nothing more.
The true value of slabbing is in identifying genuines coins - something i imagine the whole business was based upon. The use of grading companies as a tool for speculators has made the whole business, for me, appear a bit grubby.
Each to their own obviously, but it has always left me scratching my head at people who will pay huge premiums for a 70 graded coin over a 68/69 graded coin. Take them out of the slab and i would defy the majority of people to distinguish between them. Yet are paying hundreds or thousands of pounds for two digits printed on a slip of paper.....
When is a '70' not a '70' ?- could be the next day.
 

Again, each to their own but i am pretty confident i can grade a coin as 'poor' without the need to pay someone else to do it for me 😁
What do professional graders base their opinions on ? Photographic and written descriptions of historic coins.  All of that information is available to anyone for a few pence. As for lowering a grade because of milk spots - where is the justification for doing so ? Eye appeal is completely subjective.
I don't begrudge grading companies making a living but i don't understand the mentality of anyone basing their enjoyment of a coin on someone else's opinion. 

This could signal the end of 'professionally' graded coins as a means to speculate. Historically a 'perfect' coin was considered the holy grail and rarely (sometimes never) obtainable. Nowadays people have come to expect perfection for anything released by a mint. The term 'proof' has always been used as a description of the way the coin is struck - not as a guarantee of a perfect coin. A proof coin is (supposedly) the best that a mint can achieve at that time, under those conditions - nothing more.
The true value of slabbing is in identifying genuines coins - something i imagine the whole business was based upon. The use of grading companies as a tool for speculators has made the whole business, for me, appear a bit grubby.
Each to their own obviously, but it has always left me scratching my head at people who will pay huge premiums for a 70 graded coin over a 68/69 graded coin. Take them out of the slab and i would defy the majority of people to distinguish between them. Yet are paying hundreds or thousands of pounds for two digits printed on a slip of paper.....
When is a '70' not a '70' ?- could be the next day.