This cool coin came to me today, so I thought I'd share. This coin is cast, so these are often quite difficult to grade. Give it a shot:
cool coin. I have always wanted 1 like this for my "Coins with Stars" topical/themed collection. it is on the back burner for now. other coins come first.
Is there a different grading scale used for coins that are made in the casting process as apposed to coins that are stamped?
Not that I know of. Cast coins wear down too. Note the bright copper color still in the recesses. IMO, the coin is modern with brown color wearing off the relief. Nevertheless, looks like NGC graded it. Guess that's why it is a GTG thread. My gut says pass on this one; yet I'll guess it is graded XF. Those who want should find one well under $30.
I would agree with an XF. Compared to mine which i consider to grade at good. And it has some issues,
No, the basic grading rules for circulated coins still apply - the coin is graded based on the amount of wear. The big difference is going to be the"fabric" of the coin. A cast coin will have a very different surface texture from a struck coin. The copper color you see underneath is analogous to remain luster on a struck coin. There isn't really luster on a cast coin, but what you are seeing is original color. I'll give a hint: this is the highest graded example of one of these I've ever seen. No one has guessed correctly yet. As for price, a worn common date will be $15 - $20. This one was obviously more, but still quite reasonable.
I disagree. The copper color in the recesses is the PURE, FRESH, UNTONED, metal this "piece" was recently made from. I still pass. I'm still XF and can see even 45. The hint you give means they graded it AU-58 due to the "rubbed-off" color on the relief. I would like someone like Stephen Album (in this country) take a look at it. PS IMHO, there is no one at any of the four major grading services remotely qualified to authenticate this piece: however, as the finest graded, you should be very proud to own it,
Well, aside from Insider's claim of this being a modern counterfeit, nobody came close to the grade on this piece. (I've never seen or heard of modern counterfeits of these pieces - they are possible, but unlikely. Krause calls out contemporary counterfeits, but says they are usually significantly underweight. This piece is full weight). NGC authenticated it and called it AU-50. I think this is the right grade. There is only a slight amount of wear on the highest points - very unusual to find one of these in this high grade. Thanks for guessing! I will share more of these in the future, if anyone is interested.
NOTE: Insider is not qualified to call this type of coin counterfeit! All I pointed out were obvious characteristics of the piece that anyone can see. There are a few more anomalies I did not mention. The main reason I would PERSONALLY PASS on the piece no matter who said it was authentic is this: The modern copper fakes are bright copper. The deceptive ones they try to pass by professionals, are "weathered" or corroded. So, IMHO a coin of this age HAS NO CHANCE of having fresh copper showing in the deep recesses AND the "fresh-looking" brown color rubbed off the high spots. Only good reason not to fake these is they are relatively cheap. Unfortunately, that has not been the case anymore as common European collector coins have been targeted for the last few years. A quick look on the Internet will confirm this. Now, as you seem to collect these, my bet is you know more about the series and what they look like than either me or the guys at NGC.
I'm not really sure how old you think this coin is, but it was minted in 1288AH (not AD!). That is about 1871AD. The coin was clearly saved early in its life (hence the lack of wear). It is entirely plausible that a coin which was carefully preserved for the past 145 years could show red. There are many, many copper coins of the late 19th century with tons of red on them.... that there are glimpses of red on this is not unrealistic (although rarely seen, since these weren't saved much). And you go ahead and pass all the high grade Moroccan coins you see on to me. I'll take them. Do you own any of these, or have you handled any of these before?
