In this video I’m going to show you how to do it, alongside with few tips on assigning
a realistic price. But beforehand I must tell you that, in order to get a really nice deal,
you coin should be at highest mint state, that is uncirculated or otherwise contain trace of
some incredible error, lets say broadstruck and with major curved etc. For instance just couple
of days befor this 1983 one pound with upside down edge lettering was sold for 105 dollars.
So now I’m holding two circulated specimens. One to the left is heavily damaged as you can see,
so mainly will inspect the preservation, strike, luster and eye appeal of the one to the right.
Preservation is the number one priority in coin grading as for Shcheldon system
therefore this coin’s achieving higher grades is impossible. Overcirculated nickel-brass coin with
heavily abraded surfaces on the fields and device. So really short about its history. By 1980 it had
become apparent that with the general decline in purchasing power, the £1 unit of currency
was more appropriate to a coin than a banknote. After consultation with many groups including
retailers and special interest groups, the Government announced on 31 July 1981 that a new
£1 coin that was to be issued on 21 April 1983. Coins issued in 1983 circulated for 34 years until
they were demonetised in 2017 and replaced with the current bimetallic one pound coin.
Back to our coin. This is second portrait of Queen Elizabeth II facing right within
beaded circle and surrounded by legends in latin. Queens bust display heavy abrasions
and medium wear, on head and tiara. Between collar and beaded circle we see some concentration of
tarnish, mainly on upper half. One medium sized carbon spot catches the eye between D and G.
Edge is milled with inscribtion in latin, meaning an ornament and safeguard.
Strike of device is bold yet we see significant wear on device motifs.
Ribbon letterin almost flattened and thereby unreadable. Face of animals
of royal arms are also display eroded surfaces. Coin is devoid of luster and displays deep fading
in the outskirts of device elements and around beaded circle. Overall at very good condition.
Higher grade circulated one pound coins sell for 1 to five dollars on Ebay.
As for sales records most demanded speciemens are coins with upside down Decus Et Tutamen.
Which sometimes sell for over 100 dollars as one showed you in the beginning of this video.
Here Royal Mint explaines why edge inscription appears upside down on some 1 pound coins.
Sometimes the top of the edge inscription will be pointing towards the obverse of the coin and
at other times it will be pointing to the reverse of the coin. There is no right or
wrong way. The reason for this is because the edge inscription is rolled onto the coin blank
before the blank is struck between two dies to impart the "heads" and "tails". Depending how
the blank falls into the coin press determines the way in which the design is struck in relation
to the edge inscription. With ordinary circulation coins being struck at over
700 coins per minute it is simply not possible to ensure that each coin is struck with the edge