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 Replies: 14 / Views: 520 |
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Valued Member
Netherlands
83 Posts |
What would be the grade of this 50 cent from newfoundland 1870 I think VF-20 The toning is quite dark   |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
20586 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
4627 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
74939 Posts |
I'll say VF-25 (Sheldon).
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
907 Posts |
I think VF-25 is fair...depending on who you sent it to it might even make VF-30.
@okiecoiner - what makes you think this has been cleaned?
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
783 Posts |
Id put VF30 on it but I'm generous with the NL 50 cent pieces.
This coin does NOT look cleaned to me.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
783 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
4627 Posts |
It was cleaned a long time ago. For a coin that circulated quite a bit like this one, there would be some even minor dirt or grime build-up in the nooks and crannies of her hair and under the serifs. There is no dirt, just nice toning from 150 years of air exposure.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
783 Posts |
This coin was barely circulated. If it was cleaned, it was done so long ago I don't think it would matter to anyone looking to buy it.
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Valued Member
Canada
313 Posts |
@TheDeductible I disagree. If the coin had barely circulated, it would be an EF-AU. Since it's a VF coin, its been fairly well circulated by definition. Also, if the coin has been dipped correctly then you are correct, it doesn't matter. However if it was cleaned using an abrasive technique then it absolutely matters regardless if it was done 150 years ago or this morning.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
783 Posts |
Lightly circulated, me thinks. Where is the wear? The rims look very clean and free from marks. The only wear is on the highpoints on the obverse. The minting process wasn't as fool proof when this coin was minted and even when first struck a lot of the coins would not have graded better than EF or AU. Add some light circulation and that coin drops to VF30. As dies wore down, struck coins were less high grade than the ones first struck. Just because a coin is first struck doesn't mean its in MS condition. Remember, this coin was struck 152 years ago when the minting process was much different than it is today. Coins went in bags and got banged around before the public even touched them!
I'm always open to discussion. If you don't agree with me, tell me why you think I'm wrong!
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
907 Posts |
I'm in between these two views but leaning towards @TheDeductable. In the NFLD 50c, that long, heavy braid on the obverse is key. It sits very high on the profile of the coin and, as such, its a sitting duck for wear. By the time one of these has dropped to VF, that braid is generally in pretty rough shape...it ends up as a single, odd-looking mass of silver. This one still looks like a braid and, unless I'm mistaken, you can still see at least some of the delineation of most/all of the knots. That is rare.
If you look at the eye, the bun and the ribbons, all of which sit a lower, you can see more typical wear generally associated with a VF or even EF 50c. The ribbons retain all of their glorious 3-dimensionality. And the rims and surfaces are in very good shape. You can see at least a partial and in some cases full split in the laurel leaves.
Victoria has a minor knife wound across her neck...that detracts at this magnification but I'll bet that coin-in-hand, you can barely see it.
Similar story with the reverse - minor surface contusion around the date but the 3-dimensionality of the ornamentation is all there...you can tell which ribbon is passing over which in all cases. That's solid VF/EF material.
"Barely circulated" might be a bit of an exaggeration (@TheDeductable is prone to modest hyperbole!); this coin has seen a few pockets. But at some point, I'm guessing before 1874, it ceased circulation. Someone gave it to their grandkid and they held onto it and then passed it on to their grandkid 40 years later. And so on down the line.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
783 Posts |
Nice writeup @Silver101.
I totally agree, especially with regard to my 'barely circulated' comments, allowing that the coin was put in circulation for a couple of years, but limited to perhaps the fingers on one hand.
Also, remember that the 50 cent coin was the least circulated of all the NL coins, so even when in circulation it would not have have changed hands as often as 5, 10, or 20 cent piece from 1870.
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Valued Member
Netherlands
83 Posts |
Thanks for the grading, and also the interesting discussion. I'm very pleased I could add this coin to my collection  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
26118 Posts |
VF-25 details, older cleaning.
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Replies: 14 / Views: 520 |
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Posted 10/27/2022 06:55 am
