Grading of older coins.

[Subspecies]

OK, where to start. Firstly I know nothing about gradings and am furthermore flummoxed as I understand that an old coin will be graded differently to a newer coin. So any pointers for a simpleton like myself would be appreciated. Here is a 1864 sov that I have, any advice on grading would be welcome.

[Subspecies]

[SidS]

It's a little hard to grade without  closeup of the obverse. The hair detail is where it's at when grading the portrait side.

[Subspecies]

9 minutes ago, SidS said:

It's a little hard to grade without  closeup of the obverse. The hair detail is where it's at when grading the portrait side.

Thanks, I hope these help.

[Leo1]

Looks OK to me. If you like the coin and you don't want it to use it as normal bullion you should grade it. There are some points you should check:

Is there enough hair detail?
does the shield look good?

are there scratches or is the rim filed?

Maybe it would get an AU grade
 

[SilverJacks]

Check the NGC population to see how many have been graded and how many exist in high grade. 

https://www.ngccoin.com/census/world/great-britain-1816-1901/sc-349/1sov/?c=462114&des=MS&grade=61&from=ngcresearch

The best way to judge its value is to check what it sells for. The Coin Cabinet is the easiest way to check imo. This is their most recent auction - https://auctions.thecoincabinet.com/auctions/4-96WWZU/auction-79-april-sale?limit=36&search=1864+sovereign

Ask yourself why you want to grade it. To increase its value? Or just because you want it slabbed? I have sometimes added coins to my submissions just out of curiosity... 

[Subspecies]

Thanks Silverjacks I wasn't  aware of either of those links. The coin came from my father's estate so just interested in grading for curiosity. They will probably be left to my son unless I fall on my uppers in my dotage 🤣

[SidS]

VF to my mind - a lot of wear on the hair.

Much better images though.

[dicker]

I don’t grade.  
 

But if I did, I wouldn’t waste money grading this coin.  Not in good enough state and rare enough to make it worth while.  In my humble opinion.  
 

Best

Dicker

[Leonmarsh]

Not worth grading this one 

[Spyder]

I am going to honest with you. if you can not see the lions eyes, then it is not worth grading. This is how I judge a good shield sovereign.

[sovereignsteve]

IMO it's VF and a tad, but not close to EF

[Subspecies]

Thanks for the replies. Vf seems to be the consensus of opinion which is good enough for me. I had felt that it was an average coin and an unassuming year so certainly not disappointed with your remarks, happy to have things confirmed 😀 

[shawy2510]

I'd have a guess & say AU53/AU55 it would grade at.

[Silverlocks]

On 09/04/2023 at 08:06, Subspecies said:

Thanks for the replies. Vf seems to be the consensus of opinion which is good enough for me. I had felt that it was an average coin and an unassuming year so certainly not disappointed with your remarks, happy to have things confirmed 😀 

As a general principle, sovereigns are almost never worth getting graded for economic reasons.  By definition, valuable ones will be rare for any given year, so less than 1% (probably quite a lot less than 1%) of sovs would realise any price gains from grading.  Some folks like to buy brand shiny new proof coins and send them off for grading, which can be worth doing, but you're not going to make your fortune doing this as proof coins have a habit of not keeping their value.  However, being delicate and easily damaged, it can be worth slabbing proof coins just for the protection.

Grading really works best for items like silver dollars where the numismatic value dominates the value of the coin.  In this case folks might be paying $100 or more (sometimes many hundreds or even thousands) for a rare coin in good condition that would otherwise have a melt value of $20 or so.  With common gold coins like sovs, the premiums are much lower, and the value is dominated by the bullion value of the metal.  Sovs really have to be in exceptional condition for the year to be worth getting graded.

This one looks like it would grade VF or thereabouts, which makes it a reasonably nice coin but nothing unusual and certainly not worth sending off for grading.  Being a shield design, it has a small premium over bullion value, and would be worth perhaps £420-440 on the secondary market in that grade and current spot of £1,600 or so.  1864 isn't a particularly rare year with a mintage of 8.6 million so there's no real value from rarity.

Edited April 11, 2023 by Silverlocks