I have a couple 1865 type 2 sovereigns and one of them is a little different, it has an interesting die error. I was wondering if these sorts of errors are common?  I couldn't find any similar examples on the 65 (besides the 4/5 over date), the perfect little dot over the 5 is interesting, almost looks deliberate.

Has anyone seen any date errors like this? I assume it's a minor curiosity rather than anything special. I know die cracks have a certain following in a few specific coins (US silver dollar VAM's for example) but I've not come across a similar following for sovs.

Anyhow, I thought I'd share and ask if people have seen then before. I'll take some better pictures with the proper camera and macro lens tomorrow but this gives you a reasonable idea.

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I got the camera out, a little clearer here:



In the clearer image the dot above the 5 obviously isn't a dot, its a mark that obviously extends above the 5 and isn't a dot on its own in the field.

Quote from: 'autocoupler' pid='66573' dateline='1423191260'You maybe already aware of this, but the dates for many of the auctions, as well as other events throughout the year are listed in the back of CAB magazine. Many of the major auction houses also advertise in the magazine.

I wasn't aware of that and it's exactly what I was after. Thanks!

I've only recently started buying coins at "real" auctions (other than ebay or on forums) but I keep finding new ones and I'm pretty sure I'm missing a lot of them.

So, I'm wondering if there was a list of the major australian auctions somewhere? Some central compete calendar with the major auctions and dates on it for the year (where they are known).

The first one I've actually bid in, philatelics australia, I found completely by accident! It turned out quite well for me which makes me think I should be checking more out. Even if I don't bid it's great education on what's out there and what's a reasonable price for things.

I know I'm asking a lot of questions today but if anyone can help I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

During ww2 the Germans had a pretty serious counterfeiting operation was primarily run out of Auschwitz and resulted in very high quality fakes that were successfully passed through swiss banks in a test run.

I would really like to find some of these notes. I read that sealed boxes of them have been found at various times at the bottom of lakes around Germany.

Has anyone seen one come up for sale?  I suppose many might have come up as real without anyone knowing it's real provenance.

does anyone know the differentiating features between the real and the fake? Does anyone here have one?

I'm absolutely potty about the German hyperinflation notes. Unfortunately I can't seem to find them in bulk anywhere. I would kill for some of those stacks you see in photos. I know a lot of it was burned for warmth or recycled but there has to be more than a few loose notes around.
I always wanted to use them to wallpaper a feature wall like you've probably seen in old inter war photos. I would never do that to such great old notes but it would be pretty cool.

If anyone knows where I can find the notes on bulk I'd really appreciate it. Buying them in one's and two's when the shipping costs more than the notes seems silly.
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Quote from: 'markn' pid='66451' dateline='1422956665'Nice looking coins phrenzy, I know nothing about grading them Perhaps Eric Eigner or Walter Eigner will be along to offer their opinions.

Hehe, Eric is the very understanding and helpful dealer who has been helping me and answering my incessant questions (drake sterling is newbie friendly!). I think they look a little stronger in person, but I think the few slabbed graded coins I've seen in person have skewed my idea of what to expect from a vf/ef/aU.

Certainly the strike on the first 1871s is a little weak, particularly on the BP for some reason. There's definitely some wear on all the type 2 sovs but I thought the 1870 at least would be a solid EF. Still, if those are all aVF-aEF it makes me happy as they are all in a grade I would happily collect a set in and if I can get the rest in similar condition at vf prices I'll be happy

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I have to apologize as well, I should have posted  this in the grading section. If the mods want to move it I understand. Sorry!

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Another question: will the 1871 s come back slabbed as large BP or will it come back in a generic 1871 s slab?  I know they don't generally differentiate all the types listed in Mcdonald, much less the many minor variations experts in such esoteric pursuits recognise, but the large BP is a fairly major differentiator in the 1871 s and seems to make a fair difference in price. I've never seen one but you could fill a coin museum with the numismatic material I've never seen.

I'm still very new at ask this and I certainly don't have a great eye for grades yet but I picked up a few type 2 sovereigns recently that were graded aVF, VF and gVF/aEF. I think these grades are a little pessimistic especially when compared to a couple slabbed graded type 2 sovs I have that don't seem nearly as worn.
 I know there are multiple grading methodologies and that the pcgs system of grading based primarily on wear and then assigning a numerical grade within the broader VF/EF/aU etc on eye appeal and bag marks might result in a higher grade than someone looking at the overall grade but I'd appreciate some opinions on how you would grade them and why as well as what grade you would guess they might get at pcgs.

Apologies for the photos,  hopefully they are good enough to give you an idea. The first reverse corresponds to the first obverse, the second to the second and so on.

Thanks in advance, mostly in curious about this to gain some insight into grading rather than realising a definitive grade on them so if you could give some reasoning for why you've assigned the grade you did that would be great.

I've also included my two 1871 s large BP st Georges that were graded from the dealer VF and EF respectively (the large double scratch over Victoria face on the final image is on the flip, not the coin).

They've all gone off for grading today so I will be interested to see how accurate everybody's guess at the pcgs grade turns out to be. I've asked the dealer in having them graded through for his opinion as well (he's been very accommodating and helpful), I'm surveying everyone.

 

Thanks again for the warm welcome everybody.

Regarding the popularity of coins used at the time do you think you could get results from looking at bookkeeping records or would contemporary records be non specific which accrual coins were used and only record gold and sliver weights?  

Another question: does proclamation coinage cover anything in circulation up to the time of the Adelaide pound or type 1 Sydney sovereign, or would it normally stop at the introduction of British coins introduced for common circulation ?

Thanks everyone for the kind welcome. FP: I knew they weren't the classic pillar dollars with the two hemispheres between the pillars but I wouldn't have known to call them bust dollars, it's good know.

I'm thinking about having one or two of the better ones graded since I'm sending off a couple type 2 sovereigns anyway but I'm not so sure that any of them are worth it. The pictures seem to highlight every little problem and I think they look good to the eye but if they were yours would you bother with even the best one or two pictured?

I saw a real holey dollar at monetarium the other day, I don't think I'll ever own one but it's a real thrill to see history so solidified in one place.

Are there good records of which gold and silver coins were most common in this period?  Would one or two of each have been the most common or would it be a real pick and mix with people just trading on the bullion value of whatever they had to hand?  I was genuinely surprised when I first saw Indian coins mentioned as being used but were they as common as British or Spanish coins?

My first post!  I was going to have a proper introduction but when I saw this thread which is on my new passion I thought here was as good as any. I started stacking silver bullion but I kept finding myself drawn towards historical gold and silver, particularly old australian sovereigns but the logical antecedent to that is proclamation coins. I would really like a 6400 reis and 3 reis coin pair. I think they would make a very interesting little set, hard to imagine going into a store or dealing with a merchant with a single gold coin and changing it for over two thousand small copper coins.

There are some great coins in this thread. I always thought if I started collecting coins I would end up collecting byzantine and classical Greek coins but the more I see these old proclamation coins the more in coming around to them.

Anyhow I thought I would show off a few of my very limited set of proclamation coins, all Carolus IIII pillar dollars. There's a few nice ones in there.