GoodAsGold

A slight dip that’s the fcukin chop sticks oot the windae….

Sell you gold off to @James32 quick before April 2nd  or you'll get stung with the Royal Mail price increases. 
Look at the higher tier SD insurance costs ! 🤯Someone's got to pay the postmasters compensation i suppose 

If we have a crash the people that say they won't buy because it's too expensive still won't buy because the price drop will just spook them. We don't need a crash, leave the boom/bust cycles to crypto and stock speculators. 

The only thing I could add to the above comments is that having done lots of “spot the difference” cartoons mostly in my childhood, I couldn’t resist the urge to compare the barcodes between the NGC/PCGS photos and the slab as well. Just don’t sneeze when you’ve almost finished.  

The only thing I could add to the above comments is that having done lots of “spot the difference” cartoons mostly in my childhood, I couldn’t resist the urge to compare the barcodes between the NGC/PCGS photos and the slab as well. Just don’t sneeze when you’ve almost finished.  

All the fake slabs I've seen seem relatively easy to spot. As for opened and resealed slabs, Ive never encountered one, but I have heard it is possible. It's gonna be really tricky to do without leaving any sign of tampering, but I guess it is within the realms of possibility.
As previously stated, the NGC/PCGS photos are key to peace of mind. You can compare the slab to the images for any unique identifiers. This is relatively easy on older coins, but even new coins is still very much acheivable. You can even count the serations between the prongs, or a dust speck, or a unique mark on the slab, such as the plastic weld marks. There is also the label which often has unique marks on it such as little blobs or slight blur on the print.
If everything in the photo matches the slabbed coin in your possession, then you can really rely on it being legit. Imagine the difficulty a counterfeiter would have to go through to match everything up. Match the coins unique identifying features, the serrations, the orientation alignment, and using the resealed slab without any damage. That would take so much time that it would have to be a very high-end coin to be worth their while, and even then it does not seem realistically achievable. 
The problem for me is the older generations of holders. Not only am i not familair with the slabs, but their are no images on the NGC/PCGS website to refer to. 

The business operated by Seamus Fahy aka @James32. Have you not noticed that he holds a spare key to all of our boxes, regardless of location?

WWP appears on a few more coins of that era, this is not a bad read 
https://www.wickedwilliam.com/tag/sir-joseph-banks/
"Wellesley-Pole was delighted to discover ‘I am empowered to place such private mark as I choose [on all coin], and I have chosen my initials…WWP’. The press accused him of ‘smuggling his initials’ onto the new sovereign and they were quick to publish his reply: ‘I shall be impeached for putting my initials on the coin of the realm, as Cardinal Wolsey was for placing a cardinal’s hat on the coin of Henry VIII!’  Such was the level of vitriol probably originating from jealous and resentful members of the Royal Academy that Wellesley-Pole was compelled to make a statement in the House of Commons setting the record straight. Pistrucci fared similarly when exercising his right to leave a mark on designs used in the new coins"
I've also found this etching which is very interesting...........As most of us would say this is  Benedetto Pistrucci's work........ All the Roman aka Italian artist were "ripping off"  other artist designs....this is by Pietro Bonato, who  copied it of Stefano Tofanelli who happen to be (Pistrucci teacher)  who intern ripped of Raphael work from the 1500's.      Pistrucci no doubt copied the design elements of the  dragon from his teacher  Tofanelli.
What is also interesting and I've never been able to find it in Pistrucci's work is his hidden cypher...... Pistrucci put this is in his designs, cameos, engravings as Tofanelli was passing young Pistrucci's work off as his own.......
 
 
 
 

What would B.P say about the Mints works today, what have they done to his masterpeice over time?
George on the left is how B.P intended him to look, on the right is how he looks on the 2024 sovereign, I reckon if he was still alive he woud probably sue.

I am so fascinated by this. 😎
I’m going to have to save these messages and cross reference with images. (Because I’m a Hobbit).
——
Hobbits delighted in such things, if they were accurate; they liked to have books filled with things that they already knew, set out fair and square with no contradictions.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings
 

This is brilliant and you clearly know your way around these coins.
Which leads me to ask something I've been wondering - are the edge inscriptions always the same way up on these coins?
It's a bit of a joke in circulating £2 coin land that people try and sell coins that have "upside-down edge inscriptions" on eBay for hundreds of pounds without realising that there is a 50/50 chance of it being either way up. The edge inscriptions are added during the rimming of the blanks, so the orientation depends purely on which side up they are when they fall out of the hopper that feeds the striking machine. I have no idea how there came to be such a widespread misconception that the text must be upright when looking at the obverse, but that's what most of these eBay listings seem to claim.
Due to the way these new 2024 St George and the Dragon coins are made, I would expect every edge inscription to be the same way up, thus there would actually be a "correct way up" and it would be impossible for any to be upside down. (I could be wrong, but that's my understanding)
Is there a correct way up for edge inscriptions on the 1818-1820 coins, or could the special collars have been used either way up? If you have enough of these coins floating around, it would be interesting to see some stats  

The George III Crowns are brilliant to collect you have the main;
1818 LVIII
1818 LIX
1919 LIX
1919 LX
2020 LX
Then within the series there is varieties such as star stop, Cinguefoil, or none, the "excuse😆" lettering can be different too, there are large LVIII and small LVIII (different LIX and LV also), and because the edge lettering was made up of parts for the closed collar, they are also mixed within the years. 
The 1819 over 20 seems to sell for more however this is one of the more common coins you can get, and within this there are at least four 19/20's that are easily found.
The below are just three of the 1818 LVIII coins that can be found (if you forget about the collars);
The first is 1818 over 8 , where you can see the broken tail of the original 8 just at the top.( Reverse is also different however the 8/8 is the easiest spot).
The Second and Third are the tail under and the tail over the Q of QUI, these can only be seen on a better quality coin, however you can still find out on a worn coin by other small differences.
1919 seem to have the most differences, the last picture shows the re-working of the small tail from a 1818 Reverse die. I had a whole series of the GIII Crown and these were only four of the varieties I had   
(These are only my opinions through collecting them, so you can use it as a reference only, as I'm not the sharpest tool in the box. Then like a fool selling the whole collection and  regretting it ever since.              
 
1818/8
 

 
1818 Over Tail

 
1818 Under Tail

 
1819 Double Tail

The beauty of TSF. Opposing views, well made, had to like them both.

I disagree mate and we are allowed to, if coins don’t sell out then “real collectors” don’t want it most of the time. 
2024 proof sovereigns are for real collectors and low mintage and they still haven’t sold out the last time I checked.  And I do think these early proof sovereigns will eventually go the way of early 90 proofs.  
 
 

People who want to make a profit want the low mintage numbers. People who simply want to be able to have the coin appreciate the larger mintage numbers.

🤔😮great ‘problems’ for some of you! Think I’ll just concentrate on the usual small gold and occasional full sovereign as a treat🤔😮😂😂

Surely the original Una and the lion was once a modern contemporary piece even though it wasn't a tribute. It was sold to special customers of the mint be it in silver or gold. The only difference is time, the una has had almost 200 years to get to where it is today along with the gothic crown or the three graces though other 2 coins not quite as long but still these also were sold nice, shiny and new like the modern GE series. Given time (more than our own life times) as we hand them down to future generations if we are serious collectors these will still appreciate in the long term, maybe not as much as a modern Una and the Lion already has. However to say these are copies would be wrong, I would say that EIC Una, Gothic and 3 Graces are copies. They are not produced by the national mint, they are not UK legal tender and instead licenced as alderney with effigies of the king or Queen that aren't featured on national currency, the series is probably more desirable than the alderney/EIC copies. So while these are reproductions, it has been well known for many modern reproductions to do just as well as the original counterpart like the Lamborghini Countach and it's modern reproduction which was released in relatively small numbers. It gives collectors who can't necessarily afford an original the chance to have that piece of history to pass on. Plus people wouldn't buy it if it were just a cheap copy that wouldn't be worth collecting knowing in the future it might grow in value, plus we continue to buy sovereigns year after year with the same design year after year yet I don't think many will care as long as we get the quality we want even though we know deep down only a few people might get a top grade 70 quality coin while the rest will have some sort of defect or milk spot. Not every gothic either has a Cameo on it yet people will pay good money regardless to have one. Yes the true collector would probably prefer an original piece if Numismatics than a modern piece but even as I said the original una, gothic, 3 graces and St george coins were nice, shiny modern stuff that we buy today. 

They finally sold out the 20z at the mint aftera week. I would more incline to compare this George and Dragon with the other homage to circulated coins such as the Gothic Crown than the The Graces or Una & Lion medallions.
In general numismatic the original George III crown has history and integrity as a currency not to be replaced by a contemporary commemorative piece that is a copy. Just like the Gothic Crown Vs the GE tribute piece.

Una was trading out at double RRP in the first few weeks, then a few results via coincabinet spread out over a good few months £19,000 - £27,000 and UK peak price made £59,000 the last few 70s have made around $70,000USD with Heritage auctions.  The lack of gold Una's that have come to market that have kept the values so high 
https://auctions.thecoincabinet.com/lots?search=una+lion+gold&limit=36&lots_range=past
3graces gold peaked out fast to £41,00 at highest, folk thinking it would stay pace with the Una & lion past release, it has settled now around £10,000-£12,000ish i would say seen at couple listed at £15,000-£20,000 for months & months now and not sell 
https://auctions.thecoincabinet.com/lots?page=2&search=three+graces+gold&limit=36&lots_range=past

from my RM account manager's email 
i dont like the box it comes in 

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Here you go, saved him the trouble 

2021 Royal Mint Great Engravers
£10999
Gothic Crown
QUARTERED ARMS
  Proof 5oz Coin
 £500 Five Hundred Pound
Issuing Country: United Kingdom
Metal: Solid Fine 999.9 Gold
Weight: 156.30 Grams / Diameter: 50.00mm
Quality: Gold Proof
Issue Limit: 181 Worldwide
INCLUDES ORIGINAL BOX AND COA
PCGS PR70DCAM
Population 1
Payment by PayPal F&F 
Collection or arrange your own courier

Yes you're winning both

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yeah