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 Replies: 21 / Views: 3,277 |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
287 Posts |
purchase is for:
'Two gold half sovereigns,1937, in 9ct earrings;Gold sovereign,1912, in 9ct mount,9ct necklace (chain 5.1 g);Gold half sovereign,1892 (old head & shield) in 9ct mount, 9ct gold necklace (chain 8 g);Silver Pied fort QUEEN Mother Centenary crown;Elizabeth II £5 coin;two £2 coins;Culinary festival medal'
Now to cut along story short, the 2 x 1937 half sovereigns are rare, if they are what it appears, they are worth £490 each.
Im new to the coin collecting game, I have agreed a 14 day money back guarantee if any is not original/ authentic.
but, my problem is... how do I get them authenticated? I'm in Northamptonshire and don't know of any specialists that can help?
Thanks
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1699 Posts |
I've never seen or heard of any really good fakes in jewelery. Simply posting them on here and allowing everyone to give their opinion may give you a good idea about their authenticity.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2490 Posts |
Your problem is that they are mounted. It's very rare that coins like this are not marked in some way by the mounts. And that's going to considerably reduce the price as far as coin collectors are concerned. In addition, the 1937 was only issued as a proof coin and they will almost certainly not be in proof condition now. And it's also very possible that they are jewellery replicas, owing to the rarity of that coin, somewhere around 5,000 pieces I think.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
1351 Posts |
 Sounds dodgy to me. As Algan and error have pointed out. Mounted coins will only be worth BV to most collectors. There were 5001 proof 1937 half sovereigns produced (the last one for the King) Half sovereigns were not minted again until 1980. Copies abound. The quality of gold can be checked by use of a chemical by most dealers. The seller must know what he has so tread carefully. |
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Valued Member
 United Kingdom
287 Posts |
Pics of 1937 coins attached, any more view/ comments appreciated   |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
287 Posts |
Algan, would be interested on your thoughts seeing pictures if you think they are still proof quality & also if the type of fixing appears to be 'damage safe-ish'. Also, please could you confirm the definition of proof? as I thought it was just the quality of how it was stuck? struck with better detail to appeal more to and specifically for collectors. My experience as a collector is only about 60 days old, but have spent a lot of time trying to learn and research. As well as being a hobby and also finding coins quite fascinating, I am trying to build up a collection to pass on to my little one. I run my own online retail and wholesale business buying and selling so within reason, investing/ 'gambling' is normal to me, ALL messages I get back is of huge value to me and very much appreciated. I hope to get a fair bit of my money back with this lot plus end up with a rare coin or two. Peter, the lot I am buying is 'recently inherited', I have paid more than bullion value for this lot, purely with the fact I feel reasonably confident of originality, but I am by know means ignorant to the possibility of it not being exactly what it says on the tin. Hence why I got the 'money back guarantee'. Although if the value is decreased because the coins where on jewellery as apposed to being not original, then I will take the hit on this. I paid £1150 for this lot, it comes tomorrow... will be interesting how it turns out... if I lose a few hundred... I will gain more than a few hundred quids worth of experience again, any other comments are very welcomed and appreciated Thanks |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
1351 Posts |
About £700 BV gold...the AU de minimus.
If the 1937's are dodgy send it back.(Insured)
Dealing in such needs experience.If it is too good it will be snide.
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
152 Posts |
those 37's are Ok you can tell they are proof but not not
just mishandled proofs
a proof coin will always be proof as proof is not a grade
yours
michael
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2490 Posts |
Just lost a long answer when my WiFi went down, but in short: Proofs are made from specially prepared and polished dies.
The earring mounts are of the type that usually do the least damage, but the left hand coin is not "top dead centre" which either means that it's loose or incorrectly inserted.
Either way it could be a problem. A loose mount can cause friction abrading along the edges of a coin. An incorrectly inserted coin could mean that it was put there by someone other than a jeweller. Which begs the question, Why?
If you are going to test it for looseness, please ear gloves.
Michael's double negative has confused me a bit, but I think he likes them, and he's been round the track a few times.
Me? I think they're worth a much closer picture but probably OK.
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
287 Posts |
Thanks all again for replies :)
I am going to see someone this afternoon to see if I can authenticate these. An antique dealer has arranged a meeting with someone who will know a little bit more than he would. (unsure if gold dealer or coin dealer?)
couple of questions please:
What ever testing they do, can this damage coins?
If they are the right metal for the sovereign, does this mean they are the real deal? i.e, do they make proper sovereigns later and mark them as earlier dates?
This isn't just for my sake, if I decide to sell one of them, I want to be confident I am giving the buyer exactly what I am advertising
My original plan was to have all the coins removed and to sell off the rest of the gold as scrap to start, does this sound like the correct thing to do? What then would be best way to store? buy some capsules?
I will certainly let you all know the outcome, fingers crossed all goes well.
I will upload some more pics later today of close ups and of the other jewellery/coins
Thanks again all
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
287 Posts |
very good news to me.
Items exactly what they said on the tin.
Coins in great condition, quote 'whom ever owned these, definitely knew they were rare coins and cared for them accordingly'
Now, I am left with the dilemma, do I like them too much to sell?
The full sovereign weighs over 21gram in the 9ct gold mount/ necklace, that should fetch over 300, the other half sovereign weighs 19grams in the 9ct gold mount and necklace, so this may fetch over 200? I think I would be happy paying 650 for these 2 coins plus the silver coin, £5 coin, 2 x £2 coins and the medal (although the medal is not of interest)
Big thanks to all
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2490 Posts |
Good news.  Show me the medal, you never know. |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
287 Posts |
Not sure if its heavy metal or silver, not sure how to know either. Let me know if of any interest or even if you know anything about it   |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2490 Posts |
No luck on this one I'm afraid. There is great collector interest in all sorts of cooking competition medals, particularly early baking medals. No, I don't know why either but when I get them they sell very quickly. However yours looks as if it might have a military connection, although I can't read the wording. Those can be collectable and some dealers would buy it just for the box anyway. Just to make one of their stock medals look a bit more desirable. Not me though  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6396 Posts |
The 1937 half-sovereigns sure look to be in nice condition. They also look authentic. Hopefully the edges and rims don't show damage that was hidden under the bezels.
When I read your post title I thought you meant you went to the store with a pocket full of sovereigns and were going to negotiate a swap for jewelry! That might have made for an interesting story....
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
287 Posts |
Algan, Any ideas on where to go with the medallion to find out value or info? Is there a medal area on this site? As with a lot of items now days, is the best bet to auction it off at ebay? tried to research on google, I learnt that John Pinches medals are hand crafted... but couldn't find any specifics on this specific medal. Just re-read my title jaobler... It does read like you say :) |
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Replies: 21 / Views: 3,277 |
Posted 11/18/2013 11:47 am
