1898 Victoria Sovereign

OK, was at the local dealer, and Old Smiley caught my eye. So she came
home with me. Is it normal that a Sovereign only commands a few
percentage points above spot? It's in, I'd say, VF or so condition,
based on not knowing this coin or how it's graded, but its overall
"look". Does condition matter at all in these, or is it stricly a
bullion value type thing?

You know, it pays to be a frequent visitor. Bought some rolls of walker
halves too, and the guy picked well for me, let's just say. Might even
be an upgrade or two for my "second set" book out of this trip.

Dave Hinz

Dave Hinz wrote:
OK, was at the local dealer, and Old Smiley caught my eye. So she came
home with me. Is it normal that a Sovereign only commands a few
percentage points above spot? It's in, I'd say, VF or so condition,
based on not knowing this coin or how it's graded, but its overall
"look". Does condition matter at all in these, or is it stricly a
bullion value type thing?
SNIP
Dave Hinz

Yes, in that grade they trade as bullion. I have two actually (one old
head and a George V) at spot (+ship) in AU & MS respectively, if you're
looking for more. Post a pic in a.b.p.n of yours.

Mike

"Dave Hinz" wrote in message
...
OK, was at the local dealer, and Old Smiley caught my eye. So she came
home with me. Is it normal that a Sovereign only commands a few
percentage points above spot? It's in, I'd say, VF or so condition,
based on not knowing this coin or how it's graded, but its overall
"look". Does condition matter at all in these, or is it stricly a
bullion value type thing?
..

Dave Hinz

Sad (?) but true.
In the Aussie price guide, whole swags of sovs (most particularly 1902-28)
have price estimates listed as "a,b,c or d", which corresponds to bullion
value, +5%, +10%, +15%.

VF commonly corresponds to "b", or +5%. Sigghhh.

Some sovs don't command an independent price until they hit Unc (MS60?),
although my latest guide devalues these somewhat, quoting prices below
current bullion.

There are rarities, of course (1880S 1880M 1886M etc) but most of them - by
far - are just little bullion disks.

Nice ones, 'though.

(BTW, "Old Smiley" was a genuine *spunkrat* back in '49, dagnabbit!
http://mendosus.com/jpg/godless-big.jpg)


--
Jeff R.

Jeff R wrote:


There are rarities, of course (1880S 1880M 1886M etc) but most of them - by
far - are just little bullion disks.

Nice ones, 'though.

As far as historic gold (or bullion +) coins are concerned it's also one
of the easier type sets (with some reservations) or mint sets to put
together.

Mike

On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 16:14:56 -0600, Mike wrote:

Yes, in that grade they trade as bullion. I have two actually (one old
head and a George V) at spot (+ship) in AU & MS respectively, if you're
looking for more. Post a pic in a.b.p.n of yours.

Hi Mike, I'll keep you in mind for my next buy, couple of weeks if all
goes well. You're in the US, are you?

I don't have access to a.b.p.n., my newsswerver doesn't do binaries. If
I get a chance to scan it I'll stick it on a website and post a link,
but it's pretty un-exciting from a design or condition standpoint.
Sorry if I'm offending someone, but Queen Victoria isn't my cuppa.

Is it normal that it's almost brassy in color? The weight is right, so
I'm not worried about that sort of thing, but it's seriously more yellow
than the South African 2 Rand that I have, which is also 22 Karat.
Maybe it's wear/luster, or lack thereof?

On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 20:32:35 -0600, Mike wrote:
Jeff R wrote:


There are rarities, of course (1880S 1880M 1886M etc) but most of them - by
far - are just little bullion disks.

Nice ones, 'though.

As far as historic gold (or bullion +) coins are concerned it's also one
of the easier type sets (with some reservations) or mint sets to put
together.

Problem with that, is that I have a serious risk then of turning this
into a collection rather than an investment. Oh, damn.

Dave Hinz wrote:


Hi Mike, I'll keep you in mind for my next buy, couple of weeks if all
goes well. You're in the US, are you?

Yes, if you e-mail me (take out the NOTSOFAST) I can e-mail you pictures.

I don't have access to a.b.p.n., my newsswerver doesn't do binaries. If
I get a chance to scan it I'll stick it on a website and post a link,
but it's pretty un-exciting from a design or condition standpoint.

Grading those is a bit shaky-bakey anyways. I have a ton of them, many
in slabs and if you look at them it's pretty clear the grading is highly
subjective. Only coins that matter are the ones you are happy with anyways.

Sorry if I'm offending someone, but Queen Victoria isn't my cuppa.

She seemed to be quite cute in her earlier years.

Is it normal that it's almost brassy in color? The weight is right, so
I'm not worried about that sort of thing, but it's seriously more yellow
than the South African 2 Rand that I have, which is also 22 Karat.
Maybe it's wear/luster, or lack thereof?

Yes, no, maybe. I have seen them in all kinds of condition and 'tone'.
You often see field defects that look like wear in the young head Vicky
ones, which I always thought was circulation, but both PCGS/NGC slab
those at MS61+ levels without blinking. Many of the newer coins have
been dipped more or less recently, which is IMO oki for a bullion level
coin that was stamped out in the millions, which is really what they are
used for these days (if you go to europe people tend to have gold coins
in the Sovereign or Vrenli/20Mark format.. traded directly at banks too
along with Meaples and Krugers). Gold coloration ranges from relatively
bright yellow to dull yellow gold, very very very infrequently reddish
as far as I have seen (can't remember which year-mint it was, but I
think i have one that would qualify as reddish). Manufacture in general
is quite good, only occasionally will you see die breaks in the 'newer'
ones (1880+); some of this is from die fatigue. I've seen one or two of
those advertised as "error" coins on eBay since the design was not
impressed all the way, but that's just... cow dung.
Fakes do exist, but they are usually not too hard to spot: design
problems in the older ones (the flyer on the helmet and the design of
the cape on St. George) and characteristic die pitting in the fields
(which you would normally not see in a proper production one). The -C
coins tend to be more expensive and hence are more often faked (mintmark
addition), as is the 1917 london, some later year Australian ones &
early SA ones.

If you want to make a collection habit (obsession?) of it choose
something like a type collection or a mintmark type collection (e.g.,
Vicky thru EII or just confine yourself to George V). In either case you
can do it cheaply or very expensive... the constant being the 1918-I
(one year type) and luckily it's not expensive. The neat thing is you
can do it close to bullion price and think of it as an investment.

Mike

http://www.pcgs.com/new_set_registry...numberofsets=5

Dave Hinz wrote:


Problem with that, is that I have a serious risk then of turning this
into a collection rather than an investment. Oh, damn.

Well, I started as 'investment'; actually I was thinking the economy
wasn't going to pick up and fled into something with intrinsic value
(lucky me!). Then I started to make it a collection (poor me!). Then I
got into Morgan dollars ... plenty of variety (anyone? anyone?) and now
my wife barely recognizes me when I emerge from my office to go to the
mailbox to pick up my newest acquisitions.

Mike

Soul sold, coins up for sale.

Dave Hinz wrote in
:

OK, was at the local dealer, and Old Smiley caught my eye. So she
came home with me. Is it normal that a Sovereign only commands a
few percentage points above spot? It's in, I'd say, VF or so
condition, based on not knowing this coin or how it's graded, but
its overall "look". Does condition matter at all in these, or is
it stricly a bullion value type thing?

You know, it pays to be a frequent visitor. Bought some rolls of
walker halves too, and the guy picked well for me, let's just say.
Might even be an upgrade or two for my "second set" book out of
this trip.

Dave Hinz

Hey, Dave. Which dealer is the one you frequent, again?

Yep, I'm back from Mexico! Tanned, itchy from sunburn, starting to peel,
and ready to read some great RCC posts again!

--
Eric Babula
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 22:35:30 -0600, Mike wrote:

(snip tons of good information that I've saved - thank you)

If you want to make a collection habit (obsession?) of it choose
something like a type collection or a mintmark type collection (e.g.,
Vicky thru EII or just confine yourself to George V). In either case you
can do it cheaply or very expensive... the constant being the 1918-I
(one year type) and luckily it's not expensive. The neat thing is you
can do it close to bullion price and think of it as an investment.

Since I tend to not sell things I think of as "collection", I see it as
a forced savings account kind of thing. So I'm being fiscally
responsible then, right? (someone agree with me here please)