PCGS grades in on my gold & hammered World stuff (Submission #207832)

Here's the outcome of my recent 5-piece Regular (Gold Shield) submission.

If you click on the first image for each coin, the link will take you to a more detailed thread about it.

German States (Mecklenburg-Wismar): silver witten, struck after the Wendish Coinage Union of 1379


Cert number: 39640148.
Result: XF40.
Comment: Yep. Good. Seems about right.

Switzerland (Basel): gold guilder (goldgulden) of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, ca. 1452-1478


Cert number: 39640149.
Result: XF45.
Comment: Excellent. The most valuable coin had the best grade outcome! It's always nice when this happens in a submission.

France (Metz, Free Imperial City): silver gros, civic issue, ca. 1406-1588


Cert number: 39640150.
Result: Genuine VF Details (95 - Scratch)
Comment: Bummer. I initially hadn't seen any scratches, but now I realize some faint hairlines/scuffs can definitely be seen on St. Stephen's robes in the TrueView image. So PCGS is right. Oh well. Win some, lose some. Guess I'll flip this one later, since I only keep straight-graded coins in my Eclectic Box collection, usually.

Belgium (Liège): silver Ernestus, 1582


Cert number: 39640151.
Result: Genuine VF Details (97 - Environmental Damage).
Comment: Meh. Another "details" grade. Can't win 'em all. But I had relatively little invested in this piece, as it was part of a large bulk lot I bought. I sent it in to PCGS on a whim, simply because I thought it was cool looking. So its failure to straight-grade means I won't be keeping it, but I'll probably still come out just fine when I sell it later. To be sure, I had been slightly concerned about the faint greenish tint around the edges, since that kind of looked like PVC contamination. But I have seen similar on other 16th century silver from hoards. So I'm not surprised they ruled it environmental.

Spain: gold escudo of Charles IV, 1792-MF, Madrid mint


Cert number: 39640152.
Result: VF30.
Comment: I'm satisfied with that grade. Seems about right to me. I bought the coin for its toning and eye appeal, not its technical grade.


General Commentary:

• Like most I send off, this submission was a mixed bag (win some/lose some), but since the "wins" were on the gold and the "losers" were relatively less expensive this time around, I can't complain too much.
• I will say that in the last year or two I have not been quite as happy with the quality of the TrueView images: they often seem a tad darkish and lacking in contrast (though accurate enough).
• I will give them credit for a faster-than-expected turnaround on this particular order.
• As of this typing, I find it interesting that there is no population data showing on the cert pages. Maybe they'll add that later. In any event, with the exception of the Spanish escudo (and maybe even that), I wouldn't be surprised if all of these turned out to be pop.1 items, if only by virtue of having been the only ones anybody has ever submitted.

I still have another 6 pieces off in an Economy tier submission, awaiting grades.
https://www.pcgs.com/shared-orders/order-details/21871497

And yet another 6 away in an NGC Ancients submission.
https://www.ngccoin.com/account/my-submissions/tracking/5770260/

 

Aha. They've added the population data now. As I suspected, the Mecklenburg-Wismar "medieval mad cow" and the Basel goldgulden are pop. 1/0 (the only ones graded, with none higher). The 1792 escudo is pop. 3/8 (now one of 3 certified, with 8 in higher grades).