Hello and I hope you are all having a nice, relaxing Sunday. I am asking for opinions from all of you seasoned world coin collectors-- I was looking at a ungraded silver 1818 British Crown (KM675) LVIII in a shop, sorry no pics, since it isn't mine. In looking at it closely (pocket magnifier) I saw great detail that could get it past VF and a faint luster. BUT I saw really small black dots on the obverse, none on the reverse, and a ring of dark around the obverse inscription with none further in. There weren't any obvious mini scratches from a cleaning in the obverse field but it gave me pause. I was concerned about cleaning so I passed on it. He wanted $125 for it. He said he was into it for $100, bought it from a collector and couldn't tell about cleaning. He's more into coins for bullion and turnover. His interest is mainly stamps. I love the design of the coin but I was concerned about a later grading/sale of it. If second guessing was an olympic sport, I'd get the gold. Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated.
I am not being critical in my comments, but view your question from our perspective. We read a narrative about a coin, absent any photos, and are supposed to render a verdict whether you should buy or not. I subscribe to the theory, if you are in doubt, pass, but that is me. What you do is your decision, alone. Just curious, why didn't you take photos? I also wonder about the comments of the seller??? Good luck.
I was just asking to know whether my cues for possible cleaning were off or not, and what do the little black spots mean etc. Thanks anyway.
Never feel pressured into "having" to buy or not make a counter offer. If pressured by asking to take pictures, walk away. Black spots are called carbon spots and in almost all cases are not removable and will likely always be there and detract from the grade of the piece. You should carefully look at the coin then do some research on similar pieces and pricing. Good luck.
IMO your clues were spot on. In VF condition, the value is ~ $250, but the grade might get knocked down to F, because of the spots, which is ~ $150have been cleaned at some time. If the coin was cleaned, it would get a details grade and unless someone needed a hole filler, the value would be what someone was willing to pay. It has been said many times on this forum that many silver coins have been cleaned at some point. IMO, you made the correct decision to walk away. You could always call the seller and ask if you could take a few photos to study the coin. Once again, good luck.
