First one for sure. I would prefer lower straight grade every time, especially in this instance as the gouges on the second one are a definite no go.
A lot of this discussion depends on what we mean by “circulate”. Historically it appears that there were not many time periods, at least in the...
OK, now I see why it referred to a Kostel (Catholic church) instead of a Khram (Orthodox church).
Since the christening was during the reign of Alexander III, here is my most recent Russian acquisition, a PCGS XF40 example of a scarce issue...
Gold weight.
Mexican 50 pesos are the largest I know of, weighing 1.2 Troy oz.
Do you think the fingerprints held it down or is that less of an issue for coins that are already toned?
When I first started learning Russian my cursive Cyrillic handwriting was better than my English cursive. Now my writing is equally messy in both...
Екатерина Великая (Catherine the Great) [ATTACH] [ATTACH]
This thread got me interested in double mint sets and last night I pulled the trigger on this one from GC. With so many sets that have been...
Does the grading standard for MS70 state no blemishes visible to the naked eye, or also no blemishes visible under magnification? The spot on the...
I remember going to a 100 yen store in Aomori Prefecture and buying origami paper for my daughters. I’ve also been to a 30 ruble store in Russia...
In addition to Ginza I have been to this one in Shinjuku. Not sure if anyone is familiar with it. I spent some time on the street as a lost...
I see the term “lowball” used a lot. Why isn’t “highball” ever used? That describes most of the eBay listings I see.
Alexander III poltinnik (50 Kopeks). I was happy to get this coin as they are much scarcer than Nicholas II issues, or previous issues for that...
There are some sellers, such as Great Southern, that I keep scrolling past because I suspect that their photos are enhanced. Even if slabbed,...
Nice set! The “Huge O” variety definitely lives up to its name.
I voted 58 but should have known it got bumped up for luster and eye appeal.
I think a plus grade would have been in order. I’d rather have great luster with some contact marks versus a dipped out coin with fewer contact...
I still don’t understand what the coin looked like coming out of the ground? I would rather have a harshly cleaned coin than one with...
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