Question about 1826 Shilling

[westminstrel]

Hey everyone, what do you all think of this 1826 Shilling?

I’m attaching several pics of the obverse and reverse in different angles. 

Please see pics of the reverse in the next post.

It’s available to me from a dealer for £350.

I have almost zero knowledge of these early silver coins, but this one caught my eye simply because of the sharp strike and lovey toning.

Any thoughts on whether this is a decent price, or is it just my heart being silly?

Edit: I uploaded a video as well: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-JErKdkJQ-7bWQny-OUSz7qBUcAv8I5v

Edited September 14, 2021 by westminstrel

[westminstrel]

Here’s the reverse.

More pics…

[richatthecroft]

Hi, I've PM'd you 😃

[TeaTime]

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.

 

[matt1r]

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

[westminstrel]

Thanks @richatthecroft, @TeaTime, and @matt1rfor your very helpful replies.

I think I’ll give this one a pass. 🙂

[SilverMike]

Hey @westminstrel, I take onboard what others have said and see their point, but looking at the video I do wonder if its a slightly circulated / poorly looked after proof or early strike circulation coin (proof-like). Seems expensive if it is just circulation, but if the dealer is reputable its probably worth a call to him to discuss because if proof the price probably isn't too far off imo...

Best of luck!

Edited September 14, 2021 by SilverMike
grammar and missing words...

[westminstrel]

43 minutes ago, SilverMike said:

Hey @westminstrel, I take onboard what others have said and see their point, but looking at the video I do wonder if its a slightly circulated / poorly looked after proof or early strike circulation coin (proof-like). Seems expensive if it is just circulation, but if the dealer is reputable its probably worth a call to him to discuss because if proof the price probably isn't too far off imo...

Best of luck!

Thanks very much for your suggestion. I’m back on the fence now. 😅

[CollectorNo1]

I'd be on the fence as well...I'm no expert on GIV shillings, I'd agree that it has been cleaned...the obverse has retained alot of fine detail on the face and  does suggest that it could be an early strike (PL) as mentioned above, but the price does seem quite high..

[sovereignsteve]

It has negligible wear but I don't like the look of it at all. I'm sure you could get fat better for the price.

[TeaTime]

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.

[Stuntman]

Almost certainly not a proof, just a well-struck example.

As others have said, the price is very strong for what is essentially quite a common coin of that type.  If it was an 1827 or 1829, it would be a different story.

I'd grade it at EF to GEF and I'm not sure whether it has been cleaned.  Anyway, as TeaTime has said earlier, book price for an UNC version is £200 and I wouldn't pay £200 for this particular coin.

1826 shillings are relatively easy to find in high grades, I don't think you'd do well with it from an 'investment' point of view if that's important to you.

I have an 1829 example of this type but in lower, circulated grade.  It has had some life, I wonder whose hands it passed through and what it bought...

 

[LawrenceChard]

25 minutes ago, sovereignsteve said:

I'm sure you could get fat better for the price.

Yes, you could have dinner for two at the Fat Duck for less! 😎

[sovereignsteve]

Yes sadly I am on my phone the moment, I can not understand the auto correct on this blessed thing. Or was it simply fat fingers?😄

Edited September 14, 2021 by sovereignsteve
wax for was???

[Stuntman]

Fat be it for us to suggest that your fingers are far 😉

[westminstrel]

Thanks so much everyone for all your insight and suggestions. 🤗

I’ve decided to give this one a pass. 

[Stuntman]

Couple of quite nice 1826 shillings available here - at £175 and £120 respectively, if you're still looking for one:

https://saltfordcoins.com/collections/shillings/products/1826-shilling-aunc

https://saltfordcoins.com/collections/shillings/products/1826-shilling-gef

Or this one from the same dealer at £75:

https://saltfordcoins.com/collections/shillings/products/1826-george-4-ref16060

 

[westminstrel]

Thanks @Stuntman. For now I’m back in saving mode… but good to have that for future reference. 🙂

[CollectorNo1]

Is this 1826 silver GIV shilling that sold on ebay for £26 very cheap or fake..compared to the above values on this coin?????

[Stuntman]

That one above is in about VF condition under UK grading in my opinion, so £26 isn't ridiculously cheap.  I'd say that it's about par for the course.  

 

[matt1r]

While the coin has good detail it has some pretty large edge knocks/bag marks and lots of fine scratches. Not a great coin IMO.

[Stuntman]

Yes, I agree.  I wouldn't spend £26 of my own money on it, unless I really wanted an 1826 shilling now and I only had £26.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Stuntman
shilling, not sovereign. I wish!

[CollectorNo1]

Interesting...as the coin in the original post that the dealer was asking £350....looks alot problematic than the one I posted for a selling price of £26 I find it hard to accept the excessive price difference..yes the coin I posted has a few scratches but I think is in a fine detail condition....and the price difference of £324 btwn the 2 shillings..well I'd glady purchase the £26 GIV over the one for the asking price of £350with the few scratches in the fields..

[CollectorNo1]

26 minutes ago, matt1r said:

While the coin has good detail it has some pretty large edge knocks/bag marks and lots of fine scratches. Not a great coin IMO.

Well if I was 195 years old..I think I'd have a few knocks and scratches on my face..😆😆😆😆😆

[Stuntman]

22 hours ago, CollectorNo1 said:

Interesting...as the coin in the original post that the dealer was asking £350....looks alot problematic than the one I posted for a selling price of £26 I find it hard to accept the excessive price difference..yes the coin I posted has a few scratches but I think is in a fine detail condition....and the price difference of £324 btwn the 2 shillings..well I'd glady purchase the £26 GIV over the one for the asking price of £350with the few scratches in the fields..

And so would I.  I like older coins with a bit of history, and £26 isn't an excessive price for that coin.

£350 for the other one is an excessive price though, in my opinion.  Even in that condition it's a relatively common coin.

The one at Saltford coins that I linked to at £175 is perhaps the nicest of the dealer coins, but it's still more than I'd want to pay for an 1826.

But all of them are considerably more interesting than most of today's UK currency coins!