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 Replies: 9 / Views: 722 |
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Valued Member
Italy
81 Posts |
Good Morning everybody, here are the pictures of a lovely coin I have recently added to my collection:  It is a 1902 ZAR pond. I post it here because, according to me, it is a coin, not a token. The last coin issued by ZAR before the war ended. Not so many coins were minted: some sources say 986, other 500. In my opinion, some 600 were minted. A lot of them were then holed and used as pendants for necklaces. It is slabbed by NGC AU - obv graffiti. Do you agree with the grading? Any more infos on this coin would be really appreciated. Thank you! |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2096 Posts |
It is a lovely coin and I think the grading is OK.
Where's the graffiti ?
I suspect there are forgeries going around.
2 years ago, I saw one in a local auction, albeit with a small hole for suspension.
I thought the weight should be around that of a British sovereign, and this specimen was only 6.5g. I voiced my suspicion that this was a forgery and the auctioneer decided not to offer it for sale.
Numista says "Weight varies between 7.73g and 8.51g".
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Valued Member
 Italy
81 Posts |
Actually, I can't see graffiti. Some scratches, maybe.
I agree, there are a lot of forgeries of this coin. They usually have irregular edge, and a more 'shining' surface.
The weight of this coin should be about 8 grams. Coins were struck in difficult conditions in Pilgrim's Rest from hand made dies, and the weight may slightly differ one from another.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
34628 Posts |
Tough one to grade but I could see this one being AU. I also don't see the graffiti in these photos. I see planchet issues but no intentional scratches.
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Moderator
 United States
33739 Posts |
Quote:
Where's the graffiti ? To me, it looks like someone has scratched an uppercase letter P on the obv just to the left of the date.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Valued Member
Italy
81 Posts |
Thank you for your answers. I took some time to try to enhance the detail that Spence pointed out, with the limited software I have on my laptop. Here are two pics:   Actually, it seems there's something next to the number 1 of the date. I can't see a capital letter P, though. I'm not mother language, so I'll try to explain: or it is a scratch or maybe someone tried to prolong the shorter dash of number 1 on the opposite side, and then added a longer dash up to the edge of the coin. I could be dreaming, but I see a capital M if you merge the 1 of the date struck on the coin and the two added dashes. But why doing that? Or (third case) is it a die error? Any opinion would be very appreciated. Thank you all! |
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Moderator
United States
33739 Posts |
Hard to know why someone might have scratched up this coin--it might not even have been on purpose. Whatever happened, it wasn't when this coin was struck. Those close-ups help: I had seen more of a letter P, but I agree that maybe it isn't a letter P, but rather something random. Again, it just counts as damage now.  "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2096 Posts |
Pietermaritzburg, once the capital of the Boer Republic, might have the intitials PM.
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Pillar of the Community
Portugal
523 Posts |
Looks intentional. But many ZAR coins have had a rough existence and carry scratches.
I think anyone who dismisses it over thas damage would be crazy. That mania of dismissing coins because there were classified by some company as details something will be looked down on in the future.
The history is much more important than the beauty in a coin. Sometimes the damage even adds to the history.
Edited by jecz79
08/22/2024 6:47 pm
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Moderator
Australia
16470 Posts |
If the "graffiti"is the scuffed area on the rim at 2 o'clock, that to me - when combined with the dint visible on the other side - more closely resembles a removed mount mark. Which would also result in a "details" grade", so it makes no difference to the end result.
These "veld ponds" are the classic example of a coin that does not drop to bullion value just because its been given a "details" grade. The scarcity and desirability of these pieces mean that while those coins not showing signs of ex-mount will get a premium, this coin should still garner much, much more than its bullion value.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Replies: 9 / Views: 722 |
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Posted 08/11/2024 03:36 am
