1849 Victoria Sovereign Fine+ Condition

[Sc391]

What should I expect to pay for an 1849 sov in F+ condition?  I’m in the U.S. so my options are limited.  Thanks

[refero]

gold value imo. F is a very poor grading, regardless to the year. 1849 is a young head indeed but not a 1841

[dicker]

If you mean XF then probably £400-£420.

Shields have a premium considerable over spot, and I haven’t seen many cheaper.  

[dicker]

Coins of the Realm are selling one which I guess didn’t sell in their last auction:

1849 VICTORIA SHIELD SOVEREIGN VERY FINE £585

[Sc391]

Thanks to everyone, that gives me an idea of what to look for

[SidS]

I don't think I've seen ANY shields in EF go for as low as £400-£420 in a while. They're all above £500 now - regularly in the £550-£650 range.

Almost all coin dealers lists (and eBay) I've been perusing have F and VF grades starting at about £450.

If I saw a shield sovereign for sub-£400 I'd snatch your hand off!

Edited October 9, 2023 by SidS

[SidS]

Cheapest place I know of, I bought plenty of coins from them in the past. Auction house in Belgium. They have (or had) and 1843 in VG and an 1872 in VF+ both priced at €450 which equates to about £390.

https://www.elsen.eu/List-298/Temps-modernes-Modern-Times-729-910/Grande-Bretagne-Suisse-857-910

[refero]

#	Grade	Grade code(s)	Description
1	Poor	PO	Clear enough to identify, date may be worn smooth with one side of the coin blanked. Coins that are very badly corroded may also fall under this category.
2	Fair	FR	Some detail shows
3	About Good	AG	Readable lettering although very heavily worn. The date and design may be worn smooth.
4	Good	G, G4	Rims of the coin are slightly worn, design is visible, but faint in areas, with many parts of the coin worn flat. Peripheral lettering nearly full.
6	Choice Good	G+, G6	Rims of the coin are complete. Peripheral lettering is full.
8	Very Good	VG, VG8	Slight detail shows, with two to three letters of the word LIBERTY showing in coins with this feature.
10	Choice Very Good	VG+, VG10	Slightly clearer design-features, with five or possibly six letters of the word LIBERTY showing in coins with this feature.
12	Fine	F, F12	Some deeply recessed areas show detail. All lettering is sharp. The letters in the word LIBERTY show completely in coins with this feature, but may be weak. Moderate to considerable, but even wear throughout the coin.
15	Choice Fine	F+, F15	Slightly more detail in the recessed areas of the coin.
20	Very Fine	VF, VF20	Moderate wear on the higher surface features.
25	Very Fine	VF25	All lettering and major features are sharp. Light to moderate, but even wear is seen on the surface and high points of the coin.
30	Choice Very Fine	Ch.VF, VF+, VF30	All lettering and major features are sharp. Light, but even wear is seen on the surface and high points of the coin.
35	Choice Very Fine	Ch. VF, VF+, VF35	All lettering and major features are sharp. Light, but even wear is seen on the surface and high points of the coin. Traces of mint luster may show.
40	Extremely Fine/Extra Fine	Ex. Fine, EF40	Overall sharpness. Light wear seen at the highest points of the coin. Details of the coin are sharp. Traces of mint luster may show.
45	Choice Extremely Fine	Ch. Ex. Fine, EF45	Slight, overall wear is seen at the highest points of the coin (examples being raised features). All the details are full and very sharp. Mint luster may show only in protected areas of the coin's surface (Such as between the star points).
50	About Uncirculated/Almost Uncirculated	AU, AU50	Traces of wear at the highest points of the coin. At least half of the original mint luster remains.
55	Choice About Uncirculated	Ch. AU, AU55	Three-fourths of the original mint luster remains.
58	Choice About Uncirculated	Ch. AU, AU58	Almost all of the original mint luster remains

Edited October 9, 2023 by refero

[refero]

Sc391 asked for a F+ value, this is from line 12 to line 15 imo

[SeverinDigsSovereigns]

41 minutes ago, refero said:

#	Grade	Grade code(s)	Description
1	Poor	PO	Clear enough to identify, date may be worn smooth with one side of the coin blanked. Coins that are very badly corroded may also fall under this category.
2	Fair	FR	Some detail shows
3	About Good	AG	Readable lettering although very heavily worn. The date and design may be worn smooth.
4	Good	G, G4	Rims of the coin are slightly worn, design is visible, but faint in areas, with many parts of the coin worn flat. Peripheral lettering nearly full.
6	Choice Good	G+, G6	Rims of the coin are complete. Peripheral lettering is full.
8	Very Good	VG, VG8	Slight detail shows, with two to three letters of the word LIBERTY showing in coins with this feature.
10	Choice Very Good	VG+, VG10	Slightly clearer design-features, with five or possibly six letters of the word LIBERTY showing in coins with this feature.
12	Fine	F, F12	Some deeply recessed areas show detail. All lettering is sharp. The letters in the word LIBERTY show completely in coins with this feature, but may be weak. Moderate to considerable, but even wear throughout the coin.
15	Choice Fine	F+, F15	Slightly more detail in the recessed areas of the coin.
20	Very Fine	VF, VF20	Moderate wear on the higher surface features.
25	Very Fine	VF25	All lettering and major features are sharp. Light to moderate, but even wear is seen on the surface and high points of the coin.
30	Choice Very Fine	Ch.VF, VF+, VF30	All lettering and major features are sharp. Light, but even wear is seen on the surface and high points of the coin.
35	Choice Very Fine	Ch. VF, VF+, VF35	All lettering and major features are sharp. Light, but even wear is seen on the surface and high points of the coin. Traces of mint luster may show.
40	Extremely Fine/Extra Fine	Ex. Fine, EF40	Overall sharpness. Light wear seen at the highest points of the coin. Details of the coin are sharp. Traces of mint luster may show.
45	Choice Extremely Fine	Ch. Ex. Fine, EF45	Slight, overall wear is seen at the highest points of the coin (examples being raised features). All the details are full and very sharp. Mint luster may show only in protected areas of the coin's surface (Such as between the star points).
50	About Uncirculated/Almost Uncirculated	AU, AU50	Traces of wear at the highest points of the coin. At least half of the original mint luster remains.
55	Choice About Uncirculated	Ch. AU, AU55	Three-fourths of the original mint luster remains.
58	Choice About Uncirculated	Ch. AU, AU58	Almost all of the original mint luster remains

This is how NGC translates grades to the numerical scale, but often it doesn't hold. Lots of what people call vF/gVF grade at 45, and I've seen EF/gEF coins at 55 or 58. NGC is quite heavy on determining grades by the mint lustre. A lot of coins with minimal wear on high points are graded at 58 because the lustre remains only around the legends, whereas some with full lustre but wear on high points get 61/62. I think when it comes to 55 onwards NGC opinion matters a lot, but for rare coins that only XF45 samples exsit they'll be sought after regardless of grade and NGC acts more as an authenticator than a grader