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 Replies: 35 / Views: 7,194 |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
762 Posts |
A seller on ebay has been selling off his collection. He has some beautiful coins and I have bought a few of them  but his final florin looks damaged. http://www.ebay.com/itm/14074122931....m1438.l2649Judging by all the scratches it looks to have been harshly cleaned at some point.  It is a huge shame because this is quite a scarce coin and in UNC grade has a book value of $7,000. I suspect this cleaning wasn't done by the current owner but it saddens me seeing our heritage damaged like this.  |
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Valued Member
Australia
51 Posts |
I'd say it's had pretty minimal circulation. There are quite a few little dings on the reverse which is fairly good for a coin of about 100 years old & it has plenty of lustre. I could go as high as aUNC for the reverse but as you point out, the scratches on the obverse, which seems to be weakly struck from the images, are a detraction & I could only give the obverse a gEF.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1607 Posts |
OK,the lack of detail in the emu body/feather,the emu's head,the star above the shield,the middle top of the shield,the kangaroo's shoulder & paw,kangaroo's backleg & the high points of the scroll especially top right have what appear to me to be flat spots & it's the same on the obverse to me all the normal places you expect to see signs of wear all seem to have slight flat spots.
Is it wear or weak strike ? if it is wear then the coin is EF,yes ? If it is weaknees in the strike then it is probably AU but it surely is'nt UNC
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
4411 Posts |
I dont think it has been cleaned. Not good enough to be UNC but still very very nice and better than any I will ever own I would go overall gEF-aUNC. |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
541 Posts |
I don't think it has been harshly cleaned, the surface marks on the obverse seem to be what would be normally acquired from circulation.
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Formerly nancyc
Australia
5385 Posts |
With the amount of damage this coin exhibits, for the price it's already at, I'd be looking for a coin in better condition. But, hey, if you love  it, go for it.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and our opinions should not affect your decision. life is a mystery to be lived not a problem to be solved
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
2830 Posts |
6 days to go; 17 bids; and already up to AUD $485.00.
It's certainly not "unc".
Plenty of lustre, making me wonder if it's been "whizzed" as our Seppo friends call it.
Edited by Peter THOMAS
04/22/2012 8:02 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
541 Posts |
Quote:
6 days to go; 17 bids; and already up to AUD $485.00.
It's certainly not "unc".
Plenty of lustre, making me wonder if it's been "whizzed" as our Seppo friends call it. The coin has lustre because it is a high grade coin, there is no evidence in the photo that the coin has been whizzed. |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1295 Posts |
Perhaps dipped but no obvious signs of cleaning. There's cartwheel lustre there for all to see which wouldn't be the case if it was harshly cleaned or whizzed. Not to say it hasn't had a light wipe though, this wouldn't necessarily show up in those images. I do not think it's unc though, it'd be somewhere in the EF/AU range.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
541 Posts |
I think there are some misunderstandings here. I remember a collector told me that a certain raw coin dealer told him that all coins lose their cartwheel lustre over time and that old coins with cartwheel lustre are almost certainly cleaned and the dull, lifeless dipped coins that that dealer sells are the original, uncleaned coins. I can see that a number of posters in this thread are under the same misapprehension. Coins only lose their lustre to chemical damage or wear. The former can also be caused by dipping or extreme environmental exposure, the latter by mechanical cleaning or circulation. Dull coins with good details on the other hand have almost certainly been cleaned, coins with poor detail and good lustre are almost certainly softly struck up. I suggest some of you have a read of this article on lustre: http://www.numismatics.com.au/Blog/...nding_Lustre |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1041 Posts |
Interesting,didn't know Walter had a website,good to see he didn't try to hide he started on ebay.I purchased the ocassional coin that slipped through at a reasonable price way back then.He posted them wrapped in expensive embossed paper along with a price list of his current stock,very professional. |
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Valued Member
180 Posts |
Iam a novice,the coinlooks exceptional how can anyone like me know it may have been polished? the ebay should screen sellers and coins befor allowed to list I think |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
541 Posts |
Quote:Iam a novice,the coinlooks exceptional how can anyone like me know it may have been polished? the ebay should screen sellers and coins befor allowed to list I think It hasn't been polished, there's no conclusive evidence in the photo of any sort of cleaning. As Mark said it may have had a light wipe or dip but even that is in question - the surface marks on the obverse are only minor (relatively speaking) and can easily be caused by bagging or circulation. The only reason this seller is getting picked on is because he had the honesty to photograph his coins with an indirect light so bidders can get a genuine idea of the surface state. I photograph my coins the same way, I'd hate it if somebody started making false accusations about my coins because they've never seen a coin under an indirect light before. Edited by wwwww
04/24/2012 10:06 am
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
Really nice coin and as cheap as chips at the moment. Not cleaned EF + Wish I had the spare readys to buy this  |
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Pillar of the Community
 Australia
762 Posts |
Thanks for the replies guys It wasn't my intention to pick on this seller. As I said, I have already bought a few of his coins and they are spectacular. It is also good to learn that this coin hasn't been cleaned. A few of my own coins have similar scratches so it is a relief that they are almost certainly from general wear and tear. |
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Valued Member
Australia
51 Posts |
Even if it's only EF, this is still a very nice example of this date. 2010 Maccas gives EF = $1425 & aUNC = $3150 so as the bidding has only reached about $550 it's still a terrific bargain if you can afford it. With 4 days to go, it'll be interesting to see where it ends up - probably a furious last minute scramble.
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Replies: 35 / Views: 7,194 |
Posted 04/22/2012 11:55 am
