AppleZippoandMetronome

essentialy blind faith

I was scouring the Gazette and came upon these details.
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3892788
 
Gold Proof
- 10 kg
- 5 kg
- 1 kg
- 5 oz
- 2 oz 
- 10 oz piedfort (this is a new variation!)
Silver Proof
- 2 kg
- 1 kg
- 5 oz
- 2 oz
- 10 oz piedfort (this is a new variation!)
Design
For the obverse impression Our effigy with the inscription “· ELIZABETH II · D · G · REG · F · D · 5 POUNDS ·” and the date of the year, and for the reverse either:
(a) a portrait of Queen Victoria accompanied by the inscription “VICTORIA DEI GRATIA BRITANNIAR : REG : F : D ·”; or
(b) a depiction of the crowned shields of England, Scotland and Ireland accompanied by the inscription “TUEATUR UNITA DEUS ANNO DOM” accompanied by the date of the year in Roman numerals.
The coin shall have a grained edge.

I am sure ebay don't care, they make profit out of them, and it would cost resources to police their listings, unless someone complains, but even then, they still don't care. I suspect most ebay sellers with fakes know that they are selling are fakes.
Fakes are definitely worth studying, especially if you don't want to end up owning any you paid a genuine price for.
This old (2009) page mentions Ken Peters of The Counterfeit Coin Club:
https://24carat.co.uk/frame.php?url=fakepoundcoins.html
Although I do not know if he  / they are still around.
In that sense, many people do have a collection of fake coins.
The thefakepoundcoindatabase does list other coins on its database. At least I think so from seeing a 7 sided Flopsy Bunny on its front page. 😎
Even though the RM lost its "sovereign" legal case, it does not mean that just anyone can make a sovereign without some legitimate cover, without risking prosecution for forgery or fraud. If it looked like a genuine UK gold sovereign, it would certainly be hard to defend.
China, and a few other countries do not care about counterfeiting or copying, indeed it is possibly state sponsored or even subsidised.
 

Silver for me hasn't been worth while since the premiums rocketed after March 2020. The premiums have been falling steadily but nowere near enough and there is also now the VAT issue. I am glad for the silver I hold and managed to buy leading up to March 2020 but I doubt there will be much added to that moving into the future. Gold I feel a bit more confidence in but even then I'm only after specific items that I feel will appreciate better than just bullion.
In a way its a shame as I quite enjoy all this as a hobby but it just doesn't make sense to me to be paying such high fees on top of the metal value for the coins.

This is the reason I am focusing from a while on buying scrap or very low premium gold and silver. The intrinsic value will be there when the time will come for me.

Silver for me hasn't been worth while since the premiums rocketed after March 2020. The premiums have been falling steadily but nowere near enough and there is also now the VAT issue. I am glad for the silver I hold and managed to buy leading up to March 2020 but I doubt there will be much added to that moving into the future. Gold I feel a bit more confidence in but even then I'm only after specific items that I feel will appreciate better than just bullion.
In a way its a shame as I quite enjoy all this as a hobby but it just doesn't make sense to me to be paying such high fees on top of the metal value for the coins.

Silver for me hasn't been worth while since the premiums rocketed after March 2020. The premiums have been falling steadily but nowere near enough and there is also now the VAT issue. I am glad for the silver I hold and managed to buy leading up to March 2020 but I doubt there will be much added to that moving into the future. Gold I feel a bit more confidence in but even then I'm only after specific items that I feel will appreciate better than just bullion.
In a way its a shame as I quite enjoy all this as a hobby but it just doesn't make sense to me to be paying such high fees on top of the metal value for the coins.

Silver for me hasn't been worth while since the premiums rocketed after March 2020. The premiums have been falling steadily but nowere near enough and there is also now the VAT issue. I am glad for the silver I hold and managed to buy leading up to March 2020 but I doubt there will be much added to that moving into the future. Gold I feel a bit more confidence in but even then I'm only after specific items that I feel will appreciate better than just bullion.
In a way its a shame as I quite enjoy all this as a hobby but it just doesn't make sense to me to be paying such high fees on top of the metal value for the coins.

They're utterly beautiful coins that are even better in hand than they appear in pictures. You'll very much enjoy owning that one!

Just the buyers premium they've decided to put on the auction. Buyers premiums are pretty common though a total of 24% on top of the hammer price is a bit much for me

Just the reality of the auction house. If someone is winning then generally there is another party losing.
I missed this CC sale. I've followed the last few but with lots seemingly going for more than I felt they were worth I figured I'd give it a break before viewing another one.

Just the reality of the auction house. If someone is winning then generally there is another party losing.
I missed this CC sale. I've followed the last few but with lots seemingly going for more than I felt they were worth I figured I'd give it a break before viewing another one.

Most of today's were not slabbed so prices were more realistic. 

Just the reality of the auction house. If someone is winning then generally there is another party losing.
I missed this CC sale. I've followed the last few but with lots seemingly going for more than I felt they were worth I figured I'd give it a break before viewing another one.

They're utterly beautiful coins that are even better in hand than they appear in pictures. You'll very much enjoy owning that one!

Out of curiosity I registered. The page displayed to me states "FULL CATALOGUE COMING SOON". Though I don't know if thats just because I haven't yet been approved as a bidder or they are genuinely still building the catalogue. Reading through the terms there are a lot of hoops you have to jump through to bid such as registering for individual lots you intend to bid on, providing ID and a deposit. I'm not sure my curiosity will get me to jump through all those hoops but I am very interested in seeing what this is all about.

I'm super stoked I was able to order this NGC graded gold coin from SGB.   Below are the website shots of the coin.   I will post up more pics when my order comes in next week.
 Link: 1914 $10 Canadian Gold Reserve NGC MS-63 Gold Coin | Silver Gold Bull Canada
Details of the coin as follows (from SGB website):
Description:
Buy this historical Canadian gold coin, slabbed and graded by NGC as an MS-63. Available for purchase through our online store, we ship worldwide.
For over 75 years a group of Canada's first gold coins were stored at the Bank of Canada as a part of the Government of Canada's Exchange Fund Account. These safeguarded coins became available to collectors in late 2012, allowing collectors a unique chance to own a piece of Canadian history. Each coin was struck over 100 years ago and remained untouched since then.
Approximately 245,000 of the $5 and $10 coins were found with only the top 30,000 coins being kept and made available for public purchase. The remaining 215,000 were melted down by the mint.
Each coin is struck on a 900 Fine Gold 26.92 mm planchet and weighs 16.72 Grams (.4838 oz Fine Gold). The obverse features a crowned portrait of King George V. The reverse bears Canada's Coat of Arms which was originally adopted in 1868.
Specification:
SKU 4654 Country Canada Manufacturer Royal Canadian Mint Condition Lightly Used Purity 900 Obverse Crowned Portrait of King George V Reverse Canada Coat of Arms First Released 1914 Diameter (mm) 26.9 Average Thickness (mm) 2.5 Legal Tender CAD 10 Metal Weight (ozt) 0.4838 Certificate Yes Certification Company NGC Grade MS-63  

 
 

Clearly I missed this when I registered. Too busy reading the fine print to notice the big stuff right in front of my face 🙄
We'll see what all will be up for offer on Thursday then
 

Clearly I missed this when I registered. Too busy reading the fine print to notice the big stuff right in front of my face 🙄
We'll see what all will be up for offer on Thursday then
 

Out of curiosity I registered. The page displayed to me states "FULL CATALOGUE COMING SOON". Though I don't know if thats just because I haven't yet been approved as a bidder or they are genuinely still building the catalogue. Reading through the terms there are a lot of hoops you have to jump through to bid such as registering for individual lots you intend to bid on, providing ID and a deposit. I'm not sure my curiosity will get me to jump through all those hoops but I am very interested in seeing what this is all about.

With wonderful schematics of the Difference Engine captured in books (see below) I think a more interesting design could have been derived!
Mind you, with so many issues being churned out, perhaps they didn't have the time.....
Best
Dicker

yes    £9.99 

Should be OK now to get back to work  

I think grading in the volumes its happening makes this sort of behaviour inevitable. In every collecting market collectors generally want the best examples of what is out there. Grading sets out a very clear scale with a very clear pursuit for everyone - that 70. If its not perfect, if its not the best example, if its not that 70 then people don't want it. So you get a distortion of values...  70s selling for more than they're likely honestly worth and 69s going for under. Ungraded do better because there is still a chance they could be a 70...
I've said it once and I'll say it again...  I really don't like grading. I really wish it had been left as a tool for authentication as opposed to what it has become. I've been collecting various things for more than 20 years now and slowly as grading entered each market it seemed to do more harm than good. People inevitably default to purchasing and pursuing the grade instead of the coin/other collectable. The coin almost comes secondary to the grade in many cases as people rid themselves of examples that didn't quite reach that 70. Its a shame.

I think grading in the volumes its happening makes this sort of behaviour inevitable. In every collecting market collectors generally want the best examples of what is out there. Grading sets out a very clear scale with a very clear pursuit for everyone - that 70. If its not perfect, if its not the best example, if its not that 70 then people don't want it. So you get a distortion of values...  70s selling for more than they're likely honestly worth and 69s going for under. Ungraded do better because there is still a chance they could be a 70...
I've said it once and I'll say it again...  I really don't like grading. I really wish it had been left as a tool for authentication as opposed to what it has become. I've been collecting various things for more than 20 years now and slowly as grading entered each market it seemed to do more harm than good. People inevitably default to purchasing and pursuing the grade instead of the coin/other collectable. The coin almost comes secondary to the grade in many cases as people rid themselves of examples that didn't quite reach that 70. Its a shame.