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 Replies: 49 / Views: 7,433 |
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Valued Member
Australia
117 Posts |
I recently acquired an Australian 1952 proof or specimen penny. I would like to have the coin certified, but I do not want it slabbed. (I like being able to hold it in my hands rather than look at it through plastic.) Is it possible to do this?
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Not from a US TPG. Part of the point of the slab is to assure the coin is the exact same one they graded. |
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Valued Member
 Australia
117 Posts |
If so, this destroys the pleasure of owning a beautiful coin!
I've only ever purchased one slabbed coin, and I like the experience of looking at it through plastic so little that I'll never do so again.
Edited by jimjamtwo
02/17/2014 6:38 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
I mean you can slab it and crack it out and keep the sticker, but the US TPGs back their work with some guarantees which can cost them money. They wont put their money behind something where a coin can be swapped out. ICCS in Canada used flips if theyre still in business. I dont know if they ever did world coins though and cant even find a website for them
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
852 Posts |
A 1952 proof penny is a valuable coin. Perhaps $50,000 in perfect condition but less than $20.000 in PR62. I hope you are not serious about holding it in your hands unless wearing the proper gloves.
That is why I like the slabs, I don't have to worry about fingerprints, sneezes, fumble finger drops, lint/pollen in the air or kitchen fumes.
I like being able to handle the slabs without feeling the tension that one minor lapse could cost me thousands.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Take it to Jim Noble in Macquarie Street in Sydney.
He auctions up to $10 million in coins per year. Naturally, he will want to auction it for you. Introduce yourself via a 'phone call first, saying that all you wish is to give an opinion:
'Is it it a proof or not?'
I am sure that at least he will answer your question for free.
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Valued Member
Australia
117 Posts |
Hi sel_69l - thanks for the response. I may very well do that, although of course I'm in two minds about selling it. At the moment I look at it every night before I go to bed! I suppose I'll get sick of it eventually ... nealeffendi, I had no idea that it was that valuable. The Blue Sheet website gives a price of $10,000, so I figured that mine, which has a couple of detracting marks, would be worth much less. When I look at it, I hold it by the edges, so hopefully that's OK. If it's not, I'd welcome suggestions. Indeed, I probably need advice on what to store it in. At the moment, it's in one of those plastic slips. Fortunately, it's non-PVC. It states in this online article that 'One of the difficulties associated with identifying these coins comes from the way they were stored for sale. They were kept loose in a metal drawer, with a layer of felt, so the coins moved every time the drawer was opened and closed for each purchaser, causing some light friction marks and scratches on the high points.' http://www.cruzis-coins.com/predecproofs/My coin appears to have been affected by precisely this problem, so does not look pristine, and, I suppose, it's the fact that it does not look pristine that has made me perhaps excessively cavalier in handling it. The photo shows what I am talking about although - I hasten to add - 95% of the scratches are not visible to the naked eye in normal light.  Edited by jimjamtwo
02/22/2014 02:56 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
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Valued Member
Australia
117 Posts |
It's certainly not a business circulation strike, so there's the possibility that it's a specimen strike, which would make it even rarer. What about this one, conder101?  Edited by jimjamtwo
02/22/2014 4:15 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Actually, you CAN have your cake and eat it as well. This penny can and should be protected in clear acrylic plastic screw capsule. I.S.Wright has a whole range of sizes of these, which can be had for a dollar or so each. They are taken from from ex British Royal Mint proof sets, or were used to house individual proof coins. I you wish to view it in the 'nude', that can be done. All you have to do is unscrew the capsule, and leave the coin lying the remaining half of the capsule. Alternatively, you can handle it like a normal coin, with it remaining completely protected inside the the closed capsule. |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
That second coin looks like it has been polished and has the tell tale bright copper on the high points.
You didn't get that from Peter Wallace did you ?
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Valued Member
Australia
117 Posts |
sel_69l, thanks for the information!
trout1105, who's Peter Wallace?
I have to confess that I do not own the second coin. It's a proof halfpenny currently for sale by one of Australia's leading coin dealers for over $20,000. A proof penny with an almost identical plum patina is for sale at $35,000.
If these coins are just ordinary pennies that have been polished then you really ought to let them know!
What's more, if this is what polished pennies look like, I'm in the market for any you may happen to have lying around. Provided that they have a very attractive patina like this, I'll pay $10 apiece!
I find coins that look like this very beautiful and would love to own some in better condition than the one I have now.
Edited by jimjamtwo
02/23/2014 12:16 am
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
Quote:
I have to confess that I do not own the second coin. It's a proof halfpenny currently for sale by one of Australia's leading coin dealers for over $20,000. Can you tell us who this seller/dealer is ? The shadowing in the devices and the bright copper clearly shows to my eyes that this piece has been cleaned and polished. I doubt that there are many dealers in Australia that would sell a $20.000 coin without having it graded by either PCGS or NGC. Unless they knew it would come back in a details slab  |
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Valued Member
Australia
117 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
trout 'ole fella: I suspect what you see of coppery high points is just a little of the more strongly reflected light off those high points where a prismatic effect can be produced.
It threw me a bit as well! That's why I didn't comment until jj2 posted the links.
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Valued Member
Australia
117 Posts |
Sterling & Currency is run by Andrew Crellin, whose 'numismatic career began with two years at the Perth Mint, followed by over a decade in Sydney employed with two of Australia's leading numismatic dealers. In that time, Andrew wrote two acclaimed books on Australian numismatics, appraised the Perth Mint's archival collection and has been twice-nominated to the position of President of the Australasian Numismatic Dealer's Association (ANDA).' I'm only speculating here, but I think Crellin has the credentials to distinguish between ordinary pennies that have been polished and proof pennies. (At least I really hope so, because I'm planning to buy a couple of things from S & C down the track ....) Edited by jimjamtwo
02/23/2014 12:59 am
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Replies: 49 / Views: 7,433 |
Posted 02/17/2014 6:37 pm
