The Ezen Collection - Auction of the year? (spoiler)

[refero]

not sure this is an already public news.. but i spotted sone clues on Heritage website few days ago... and my understanding is that the Ezen (or part of) sovereign dreamy collection will be auctioneed as of next May in the US

i m talking about dozens and dozens of incredibly high graded coins. And not gillicks.. but pre victorian... and shields. Ms 65-66 in most cases

Just to give you an idea... there will be "the" 1841 sovereign graded MS65+ (top pop of course, and it will fetch 100.000 USD imo). As there will be an official date i ll post some pics; they will be way too expensive for poor blokes like me, but at least images are (still) for free. 

I ll try to get my hands on the paper catalogue, at least!

 

 

Edited March 7 by refero

[1stsovereign]

That 1841 sov that you have mentioned came from Bonhams sale many years ago. I went there with him in person to bid on it, after that lot sold people stood up and clapped, something you never forget  

[refero]

here we go... couldnt resist...

 

 

Edited March 7 by refero

[sovereignsteve]

Generous😎

[refero]

it's amazing the way this coin has been preserved throught years, decades, century! 

Slab is kind of a recent thing compared to the date of issue...  this coin is just Mint State

 

Edited March 7 by refero

[ZRPMs]

1841. Yep, that's one I need for the collection. Anyone need a kidney?

[SidS]

Nice. Shame about the slab, I'd be cracking that out.

[SlowFrog]

1 hour ago, refero said:

here we go... couldnt resist...

 

 

It's a gorgeous coin - no doubt! But how does that get a 65+ with the wear on the lions' heads? Does the number of minted coins (obviously very low in this case) also impact the grade? Don't mean to be negative about it but genuinely curious how the grading works for such coins.

Edited March 7 by SlowFrog

[refero]

i dont think the grade is affected by the year population.

what you see is not wear, just weak die, typical of the early shield sovereigns (1838-1848)

[SidS]

Just now, SlowFrog said:

It's a gorgeous coin - no doubt! But how does that get a 65+ with the wear on the lion's heads? Does the number of minted coins (obviously very low in this case) also impact the grade? Don't mean to be negative about it but genuinely curious how the grading works for such coins.

Honest answer?

I've always thought that grading companies are far more lenient of rarer coins than common coins. I've seen it many times where a coin grading 'VG' is described as exquisite and having a beautiful rich tone and some remnants of being strongly struck with bold lettering. Of course such a coin would be a 1790s era US mint coin. A 1971 Lincoln cent in similar condition would be described as utter junk.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The truth about grading is that it is NOT scientific. The Sheldon scale includes eye appeal as one of the valid descriptors of grade in MS grade. Eye appeal is totally subjective.

[refero]

1 minute ago, SidS said:

The truth about grading is that it is NOT scientific. The Sheldon scale includes eye appeal as one of the valid descriptors of grade in MS grade. Eye appeal is totally subjective.

i am not a huge fan of slabs. However i am a huge fan of sovereigns.... )

Early shields sovereigns are often badly strucked. And the 3 lions on the reverse are usually the first to show that weakness. But it cant be confused with wear (and the lustre tells it); what you see (like for this 1841) is how the coin left the mint.

[SlowFrog]

Just now, refero said:

i am not a huge fan of slabs. However i am a huge fan of sovereigns.... )

Early shields sovereigns are often badly strucked. And the 3 lions on the reverse are usually the first to show that weakness. But it cant be confused with wear (and the lustre tells it); what you see (like for this 1841) is how the coin left the mint.

Not sure I agree entirely! Here's an 1848 I have..

[refero]

i said "often". 😊

of course the optimum would be a coin with no wear AND perfectly strucked... 

lovely 1848 by the way. Could i see the obverse too?

Edited March 7 by refero

[SlowFrog]

7 minutes ago, refero said:

i said "often". 😊

of course the optimum would be a coin with no wear AND perfectly strucked... 

lovely 1848 by the way. Could i see the obverse too?

Thanks - and sure!

Apologies about quality - I was using an old iphone with an attachment so it's blurry outside of the focal point. Looks better IRL.

Edited March 7 by SlowFrog

[refero]

pity for that scratch, else this coin would be a ms62-63 in my opinion

[SidS]

1 minute ago, SlowFrog said:

Thanks - and sure!

Apologies about quality - I was using an old iphone with an attachment so it's blurry outside of the focal point. Looks better IRL.

Very nice!

[SlowFrog]

Just now, refero said:

pity for that scratch, else this coin would be a ms62-63 in my opinion

Cheers, the scratch looks terrible in that photo due to the light but it honestly isn't more than a surface/grime scrape if you look under a loupe. IMHO, the 'scratch' is just where it's removed surface dirt (I don't see it embedded in the gold at all when viewed at other angles). I really need to take better pictures of it.

[refero]

2 minutes ago, SlowFrog said:

I really need to take better pictures of it.

especially the day you wanna sell it=)))😁

[SlowFrog]

Just now, refero said:

especially the day you wanna sell it=)))😁

I'll go grab a kitchen scourer and give that scratch a good old rub down. You'll never notice it there once I'm done!

[Spyder]

I would get that coin graded. Can not see you losing on it

[Petra]

Remember, these are coins that were meant for circulation 🤔 no doubt some wealthy families ended up putting them in piggy banks etc. some put away and forgotten, either way, some didn’t spend too long in circulation. 🤔😮

[sovereignsteve]

5 hours ago, refero said:

pity for that scratch, else this coin would be a ms62-63 in my opinion

It has better eye appeal than the '41

[sovereignsteve]

5 hours ago, refero said:

i am not a huge fan of slabs. However i am a huge fan of sovereigns.... )

Early shields sovereigns are often badly strucked. And the 3 lions on the reverse are usually the first to show that weakness. But it cant be confused with wear (and the lustre tells it); what you see (like for this 1841) is how the coin left the mint.

Just as NGC often under grade shields, PCGS often overgrade, I have seen it many many times.

The weak strike on the lions is real, I am not so convinced by the head, there looks like some mechanical damage to my eyes. Even if it is, the lustre and eye appeal on both sides is poor and negates the high grade imho

[Clockpuncher]

Geoffrey Cope collection is coming up later in the year as well which will make this look like the economy option…!

Edited March 8 by Clockpuncher

[Orpster]

Cant be bothered to check all the comments, but in case its not already been mentioned date for this is 8th May

https://www.instagram.com/heritagerarecoins/reel/C31ADvwOODR/