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ORDERING , PAYMENT TERMS AND MAIL CHARGES
IN THE UK SPECIAL DELIVERY COSTS STARTS AT £5.45 FOR £500 INSURED COVER.
INTERNATIONAL POSTAL CHARGES. INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR or AIRSURE. These provide a basic delivery service with fees rising in proportion to the insured value, with maximum levels of compensation and rates varying subject to country and in some instances destination within that country. Generally a fee of £8.00 should be added for delivery in Europe. Delivery to the USA often costs me £9.00 or more. There will be occasions when we should consult regarding use of international couriers, who can be very good value for money.
GRADING , DESCIPTIONS AND ABRREVIATIONS
All items are sincerely and honestly graded and described and guaranteed genuine unless stated.
GRADING TERMS I use on this site, and their very general definitions, AS I SEE THEM below. It is difficult to be absolutely clear when using general terms because the depth and complexity of detail on the piece in the first place does not govern the grade. For example, there will be far less original detail in a fine Edward VII or George V crown than there would be on a fine Victoria Gothic. One just has to learn by experience and hope that not too many lessons are learnt by expensive mistakes, because mistakes there will be.
MEDIOCRE. Very poor, with extreme wear and many very flat areas.
POOR. An improvement on mediocre, but still very worn.
FAIR. All of the main details of the coin clear, the portrait, the date and the legend, probably some weaker areas and/or small flat areas.
FINE. Generally main details bold with no uneven wear or flat areas.
Many people discovering coins collected from change left by deceased relation s saying 'They are really in good condition' are usualsly describing fine or fair coins.
VERY FINE. Significant detail, but noticeable wear to all high points.
EXTREMELY FINE. Little wear to high points, perhaps noticeable mainly under magnification. May often appear as having no wear [Uncirculated].
UNCIRCULATED. Having no wear at all.
BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED. No wear at all with FULL mint bloom or lustre - as if it has just come off the press.
Many use to term 'BU' to describe a piece which is Uncirculated and has lustre. I have never subscribed to the view that 'BU' can describe a coin that has lost some of it's lustre. Hence I used the phrase UNC and then state the percentage of lustre or bloom the coin still retains , ie 'UNC, 50% lustre'.
Many dealers, including myself, might use a phrase similar to 'Cabinet friction to the highest points, otherwise Uncirculated' to convey that being very critical the merest wear might be detectable under strong magnification.
Often sub grades will be used, for example GVF/NEF - Good Very Fine [better than VF] Near Extremely Fine [not as good as Extremely Fine]. Some criticise the use of half grades stating that if a piece is not EF then it is VF. Certainly as far as I am concerned it is simply trying to be as accurate as possible.
ABBREVIATIONS USED.
I may use the following abbreviations;
OBV - Obverse [the 'heads' side of a coin]
REV - Reverse [the 'tails' side]
Adj mks - Adjustment marks [or stirations]. Flans were sometimes scraped to remove excess metal to make the proper weight. Often portions of the scrape marks are left on the coin after striking. These may often detract from the eye appeal of the piece, but they are part of the piece and not damage subsequent to strking. However, beware scratches that might be misinterpreted as adj mks.
AFL - Almost full lustre
Eb or Eb's - edge bump[s] or briuise[s] [a depression]
En - edge nick [s]. A bump or bruise [a 'cut']
Esf - edge striking flaw [ a curve on a portion of the flan, where it was cut on the site of a previously cut flan].
Metal theft - the value figure, for example, 'stealing' metal from the obverse of a coin leaving a verticle line down the portrait. Often found on small silver pieces. This is part of the strike, it is not damage subsequent to striking.
Mfl - metal flaw, or Emf - edge metal flaw.
Hmking - haymarking. These terms refer to flan surface faults resulting from metal mix. They are essentially dark scars caused during and not damage subsequent to minting. There will be several coins on the site where examples can be seen.
O'c - refers to the face of a clock to indicate the position of a fault - such as an emfl, for example, on the flan.
Scr - scratch
Soc or foc = slightly or fractionally off centre.
Unmag - under magnification.
+ or - = better or worse than ie, F+.
There are many other terms that are in common usage which may be confusing to the newcomer. I chose not to list them all here, but shall happily answer any questions.
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