The small red wax was the identifier – it is an incredible story going back to 1644

The small red wax was the identifier – it is an incredible story going back to 1644 and changed the provenance.
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What is your coin worth?


The VALUE of A COIN is captured by each person in a different way. We are not the Judge to determine what the changing fashion that decides how to value a coin.


Numismatics has played a part in ART and HISTORY and the desire of the individual to acquire coins at a price to develop the hobby.


To keep it as simple as possible and I look forward to be corrected that many coins are cherished and would in many cases in the past be made into 'plaster copies', in doing this process they would use 'wax', in many pieces you might be lucky to today to find 'red spots of wax' that remains on the coin.


A modern day 'grading company’ was planning to damage European Numismatic Heritage via their restoration service. The image they show on a European coins shows where there is RED WAX they will remove it, this has the effect of immediately removing an identifiable link of the coin to a past sale.

The wax is from a cast taken to illustrate the coin in the first half of the last century or possibly even earlier. Sometimes that wax can be identified from the images in the catalogue and so a provenance established for the coin. That provenance could potentially greatly enhance the value of the coin in question as it may well provide links going back to the 19th or even the 18th century depending on the previous owner(s). The presence of wax is the only indicator with the coin in hand that it was illustrated in the past and so enhances the chances of finding it in a past catalogue. The continued presence of wax is important as one of the main pieces of evidence we have regarding a coin’s past and by extension its authenticity. Retaining wax will show the expertise of the grading company in assigning the correct provenance where possible and further shows that the grading company appreciates its significance.


A services to remove what is cherished by most in removing the wax before 'slabbing' the coin.


I WAS HORRIFIED


R

Geoffrey

 

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Thanks for a really nice write-up, illustrating a point that I (as a simple US collector) would never have thought of.