The Toning Premium Thread Part 2

65

 

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@C-B-D please try again as @jtlee321 has dibs on 325

Also I will give this one some more time before the big reveal (maybe this afternoon or evening)

 

I researched this piece when I got it and there really was not that much information out there. All I found was the Krause listing in their unusual coins book. My thinking from the limited resources that I read, is that there were plans of striking a 1oz gold coin, and that samples were made in a variety of metals to showcase the design. I have also seen quite a few of these sell raw on ebay for more than I sold my NGC piece, so it appears that there are buyers who see it either as a pattern or some type of rarity.

The funny story is that the first person who bought it, paid, and received the coin then started questioning me on the same lines. I think we went back and forth a few times about the details and then they decided to return it because there was no definitive information. It later sold to a buyer who specializes in these items (they had bought all the other examples of this pattern from other ebay sellers) for the same price as the ebayer who returned it.

 

It appears in the Krause catalog under the "Medallic Coinage" header. These are hard to "place" in terms of their official-ness as patterns. Based on the look of them, I personally think they are probably fantasy-type coins. Sedgwick sold the obverse cancelled die in May 2016. Official government dies are quite rare, so I'd lean toward again the unofficial non-government issued fantasy.

In the end, I don't think it really matters one way or the other. There is a collector base for this type of material. Like I said, I have more than 100 fantasy British crown pieces -- one example in copper sold in a PCGS holder for > $650 -- of a type I have multiple examples of that I paid < $25 each!

 

I can see it being a fantasy piece. It's interesting that the link you provided called it a pattern, but that could just be a description and not what most would officially use as a definition for the word.

I also believe the buyer of that cancelled die was the same person who bought this piece and the various others that were on ebay at the time of my listing.

 

The Dominican Republic generally issues official government sanctioned "patterns" with the term "ESSAI" somewhere within the design. The term "pattern" used by sellers, etc. seems to be a catch-all for pieces that were never struck but that look like semi-valid / reasonable "could-have-been" coins. The fantasy pieces from Great Britain are also loosely called "Retro Patterns"...even though they are unequivocally fantasies.

OK, sorry for the tangent in this thread -- back to the coin and it's value.

 

So we actually had a tie between @KSorbo and @Lehigh96 since the sale price was $280. I used a coin flip and Lehigh96 won with 4 tails to 1 head. Both of you will receive 1 point and @Lehigh96 gets to post next.

Coin Flipper
You flipped 5 coins of type US 50¢ Half Dollar:

 

Points Table
Beefer518 - 7 Points
ddddd - 7 Points
brg5658 - 6 Points
baseball21 - 6 Points
IBetASilverDollar - 5 Points
heavycam.monstervam - 5 Points
C-B-D - 4 Points
ron_c - 4 Points
Johndoe2000$ - 3 Points
jwitten - 3 Points
KSorbo - 3 Points
ddoomm1 - 2 Points
Lehigh96 - 2 Points
Volante - 1 Point
jtlee321 - 1 Point
moneycostingmemoney - 1 Point
Pickin and Grinin - 1 Point
kSigSteve - 1 Point

 

I did not know about the "ESSAI" fact before; thanks for sharing it!
And I concur that 'fantasy piece' is a better term, especially when there is no definitive proof of it being officially sanctioned.

By the way, tangents can be fun, and they are completely ok in this thread (especially when they are related to the coin being posted in some way).

 

That's awesome! Gets me out of the cellar.

This thread has had some unusual coins, how about we return to something a little more common. I bought this blue toned Roosevelt in 2002 and sold it a decade later. How much did I sell this coin for in 2012? The Numismedia Wholesale value is $45-$50.

 

$75

...It's a nicer high grade coin, but only one color. I personally have had a harder time with dimes. It is nice and I think someone still paid a premium.

 

since d5 took my guess...

$65

 

89

 

95

 

$100

 

$80. Very unique!

 

$90

 

$185

 

Dang I guess 89 and 85 and 90 come in? Boooooo.... sportsmanship!

 

$275

... and it looks like it would go FB in a modern holder.