TM Coin Club Thread

[translateltd]

is someone able to confirm for me if these are the Serifs on date variety?

https://www.houseofhuia.co.nz/auctions/9/catalogue/0024

Serifs on date

Belatedly, yes :-)  Jason's page at coinerrors.nz will have comparative images of these and, I think, other dates exhibiting mint-dependent variations (1980, 82-5 in particular). I wrote these up originally for a Journal article but never carried it over into the Varieties section of the annual catalogue.

---

pcgs appear to believe this is a proof

https://www.ebay.com/itm/356081004919

while I must say it is a very nice example I'm not convinced of its proof status. King George's beard seems a little flat and lacking detail at the centre point. What I suspect might have happened is that with the rampant over grading going on all over the place the graders are not used to seeing a genuinely near uncirculated example, so when they do they are fooled into thinking it must be a proof. Thoughts?

cf

https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/75741

Difficult from a picture alone, but if nothing else it's got some wear to the upper reaches of the king's beard, just below ear level.  Cabinet friction, to be charitable?  The MuseumVic item is much more detailed at that point.  Given the 20-30 seconds that slabbers spend per coin, as I understand it -- and that incluides printing out the label and sealing up the coin, it's hardly surprising that only a small number of listed diagnostic features are taken into account rather than giving the coin careful scrutiny.  The first slabbed coin I ever saw had cuts to the rim but it must have still ticked the boxes for the parts required to assign a given grade, as the problems weren't noted at all.