The well known phase; beauty is in the eye of the beholder, holds true. To me all of my coins are beautiful, so picking just one or two does an injustice to the others. I love all of the posted coins here, so keep posting.
This is one of my favorites. The subtle colors, textures, shadowing of the surfaces really pops in these photos.
No, I just took a picture of it on top of a slab lol, prolly wouldn't have been worth it to get it certified
It took me apparently seven years, but I managed to meet up with the dealer I sold this coin to ... he still had it! He was going to sell it back to me for what I paid for it, but I insisted he take a bit of profit as well ... this hobby-profession is NOT all about the money to me. So glad to have this coin back, and (I hear God laughing) I do not plan to part with her again anytime soon! Kind regards, George
Well, it depends. Certainly not a yes or no question. In general proofs are made to higher quality standards than coins for circulation (so-called business or circulation strikes). But that can mean, sometimes, that it is more difficult to find high-quality survivors of the circulation issues (meaning, Uncirculated business strikes) than it is to find high-quality proof survivors of the same date and mint for a given issue. Speaking as a longtime dealer, in general I tend to favor business strikes, and most of my customers collect business strikes, either Uncirculated or circulated, for their sets and collections. But proof coins can be quite beautiful too, with (ideally, and sometimes) flawless surfaces that can develop extremely attractive patina, or other times can show flashy, mirrored fields and frosty devices. These are a couple of fairly modern and inexpensive British proof coins that have toned nicely. Just a random sample of something I have at hand. The first is nickel-brass, the second is silver. Both have developed attractive (to me) patina: But as always, collect what you like, and learn all you possibly can about it before you open your wallet! Kind regards, George