Nobody could predict what PCGS would grade it - they are the most ridiculously inconsistent when it comes to grading world coins. They could call it somewhere between VF and MS-63. (Don't waste your money sending foreign coins to PCGS) However, to answer your real question - I would call it AU details, scratched.
ok thanks. I'm trying gauge what specific grading number this coin would be. Above XF-40 perhaps (?), in the AU's
Would AU details, cleaned, scratched/damaged mean it has a value downgraded to, say, XF-40 in this case? How do you tell if this coin is cleaned?
Don't waste your money. Last time I sent Sovereigns to PCGS that were MS, they said they had to go under their "secure plus" option costing lots of money. But where's the luster for any coin over VF? Probably cleaned. I send world coins to ICG @ $12 per coin they do the catalog attribution for free.
The coin has XF details in my opinion, but it is most definitely scratched. And scratched badly enough that if sent to a TPG they would put in a problem coin slab. As for value half or less of what a problem free XF example would be worth.
Does no luster mean it's been cleaned, or is that just patina? Artificial toning? Or is there a different cleaned detail to call out? Thanks so far, everyone. I've so far "averaged" out what you all said and it's around XF, scratched/damaged, cleaned (?)
I just read that one sign of artificial toning has to do with uneven toning with spots. I see some blue-gray spots to the left and right of St. George's head, the bottom left of his shoe, and "rainbowing" in the crown of Victoria...
Notice the dark tone of the coin in with the lettering on the obverse, and how the fields are noticeably lighter to the left and right of the bust? Very emblematic of polishing.
I see what you mean and that makes sense. I'm guessing the coin could still be artificially toned, if the polish occurs before the artificial toning. Unless the spots I'm seeing are not anything to worry about. I'm concerned that liver of sulfur or something like that may have been used.
I do not see anything in these pictures that indicate the coin has been cleaned. Likewise, I see nothing to indicate that it was artificially toned.
Here are two coins with similar color schemes by the same seller... I can now see that almost all the seller's coins have a light to dark bronze tone. Though, of course, the seller could just be unloading a collection of bronze toned coins... one of which I already bought. The seller also buys coins, though I can't pull up the specific items. Perhaps the coins were collected for their bronze toning and polished afterwards... Or, perhaps the coins were all encased past the rim where the letters are and only exposed the rest of the coin, causing the lighter center. Or, maybe that's just how some tones are patterned. Aside: that last coin looks like a portrait of Bill Clinton to me for some reason.
iPen - the white balance on your images is way off. I'm guessing in hand, the coins are not nearly that yellow. This corrected image is probably much closer to what they actually look like. And yes, this coin looks to have been cleaned (although it is probably still market acceptable).
ahh ok, those other coins' tone could be from the seller's camera flash or whatever causes white (im)balance. Thanks.
Nice call. It sure does look like William Jefferson Clinton D.G Rex! And I agree with the comments on flash/color saturation issues of the IMAGE. I think the color that we see from coins uploaded to CT and presented to us on our computer screens and "mobile devices" (which also may alter the color/brightness) should also give us something to ponder. Nothing like a coin "in hand".
I should have probably asked this earlier... is my coin real or counterfeit? I just saw a different thread with counterfeit world coins, and that got me to thinking about it. My coin has got some high details, whereas a lot of the copies I'm seeing have flat areas where the details should be. Is anyone on here knowledgeable about British silver crowns?
Here's another image of the coin as reference pulled from the web, with mine below it. Maybe it's not a counterfeit, but better to be safe than sorry by asking! Specifically, I notice that the farthest leather reign on the horse below the horse's mouth is wider in the first picture. I also notice that the pommel's shape on the sword is different.