MS64 British Trade Dollar Grading Example and Tips

My personal guide for grading British trade dollar
1. Look at overall luster.
2. Look at the rim for any damage.
3. Details of the observe can be seen at the following high points.

• The hand: can all fingers seen
• The foot: can all toes seen
• The breast area... (sorry but high grade coin should buldge outward.)
• Details of the helmet.
• Details of the mintmark "B" at the prong

4.The Britannia surroundings has lots of empty space - should free from scratches or marks.

5. The reverse is generally no high points and less signs of worn seen here compared to the observe.

Ini pandangan peribadi saya tentang grading untuk British Trade Dollar:

1. Meneliti luster koin keseluruhan.

2. Meneliti tepi koin untuk sebarang tanda langgar / jatuh.

3. Bahagian depan koin boleh diteliti dari high-points berikut

• Tangan harus nampak semua jari
• Kaki harus nampak semua jari
• Bahagian dada... (maaf, namun koin yang tinggi great, dada harus tonjol keluar)
• Bahagian helmet tidak haus.
• Keterangan mintmark "B" di prong.

4.  Di sekeliling Britannia terdapat banyak ruang kosong - Sepatutnya tiada scratch atau mark di sini.

5. Bahagian belakang koin secara umumnya lebih rata dan jarang haus dengan mudah berbanding depan koin.

Memorable Trip Down Memory Lane

Going to flea market is one of my favourite past time and one of the ways to get coins for collection. The famous flea markets in the country include Lorong Kulit in Penang, Memory Lane in Ipoh, Amcorp Mall etc.
(Melawat ke flea markt merupakan salah satu kegemaran saya dan cara untuk mendapatkan koin. Antara flea market yang terkemuka di Malaysia termasuk Lorong Kulit, Memory Lane Ipoh dan Amcorp Mall dsb.)

I first knew this place when I was posted to work in Ipoh Town and it always ranked my favourite flea market. I like this flea market simply is because of its variety of items available here. On top of that, the road is quite spacious and despite the crowd, you will not feel the heat as much.
(Saya mengetahui memory lane ini semasa saya bekerja di Ipoh dulu, dan ia merupakan flea market yang paling saya gemari. Sebab selain kepelbagaian barangan di sini, laluan di flea market ini amat lebar dan ia tidak rasa panas meskipun sesak dengan pengunjung.) 

If you are antique collectors, Memory Lane offers the most varieties here especially the copper antiques.
(Sekiranya anda pengemar barangan antik, Memory Lane menawarkan banyak barangan gangsa. )

Besides that, there are usual items like electrical, appliances, used clothes and even a mini aquarium stall.
(Di samping itu, barangan yang biasa dijumpai termasuklah peralatan elektrik terpakai, baju terpakai dan akuarium mini pun terdapat di sini)

There are 2 -3 main coin and bank note sellers in memory street, while loose items can be found in most of the stores selling junk items. These uncles do not own any shop and only do business on Sunday here. It is good to ask the seller what item you are looking for, if they have it elsewhere, they may ask you to come back the following weekend.
Tips: Recommended to get their phone and call them one day ahead as reminder and as confirmation before you make the trip the following week if you are from outstation.
(Terdapat 2-3 peniaga koin dan wang kertas khusus di memory Lane. Namun peniaga-peniaga lain juga ada menjual koin koin dalam kuantiti kecil. Peniaga di sini kebanyakan tidak mempunyai kedai sendiri dan hanya datang ke sini pada Hari minggu. Pelanggan pada lazimnya akan memberitahu peniaga di sini apa yang dikehendaki dan sekiranya mereka ada stok, pelanggan akan diminta datang semula pada minggu depan.
Tips: Dapatkan nombor telefon peniaga dan hubungi mereka sebelum anda datang semula para minggu depan, khususnya pengunjung dari luar negeri)

I have since left Ipoh town after posted to KL, this visit refreshes my memory and my love for this flea market. I stayed overnight after a wedding dinner at Tune Hotel, Ipoh on Saturday, so that the flea market is right at my doorstep the next morning after waking up.
(Saya telah berhijrah ke Kuala Lumpur sekian lama, namun lawatan hari ini tetap menarik. Saya sengaja tumpang semalaman di Tune Hotel selepas menghadiri satu majlis perkahwinan kawan di Ipoh, agar keesokkan harinya, flea market ini berada di depan hotel penginapan saya.)

And my luck is good this time round, as i managed to pick up a good set of fantasy (some people prefers to call them counterfeit) straits settlements coins of 1/2 cent, 1/3 cent, 1/4 cent and 3/4 cent which is hard to come by nowadays.
(Rezeki saya agak baik kali ini, sebab berjaya mendapatkan koin fantasi (sesetengah orang lebih gemar panggil koin ini palsu) Straits Settlement 1/2 sen, 1/3 sen., 1/4 sen dan 3/4 sen. pada harga yang berpatutan dan makin sukar ditemui.)

I also saw quite a number of Duit Yasin offered for sales at a very reasonable price of RM30-50 per piece.
(Saya turut jumpa duit yasin di sini untuk jualan pada harga yang amat berpatutan di sekitar RM30-50 se keping)

I enjoyed the journey, and hope to make the trip in the future. Two hours drive from KL for a visit to Memory Lane and for a nice local meal here is well worth the effort.
(Saya amat menikmati lawatan ke memory lane dan bercadang untuk melawat lagi pada masa akan datang. Perjalanan 2 jam dengan kereta dari KL untuk melawat ke Memory Lane serta bersantap makanan Ipoh pada Hari Minggu ini  kira berbaloi bagi saya.)

Counterfeit British Trade Dollar

Before you rushed to buy a British trade dollar and any other crown silver coins, It is very important to learn some knowledge on identifying fake coins.

Above is a fine example of a "copy" or "reproduction" British Trade Dollar.

• Weight quoted as 26.55g
• Course surface
• Dirty and faint dentales.
• Rough features, esp on britannia.

26.55g is typical weight for coin with white copper as material.
White copper is non magnetic.
Quoted buy it now price on ebay: RM290.00 (US 97)

Sometimes, the seller are cleverer  and will only put a small picture on the sales page. If in doubt, always ask for a closed up shot from the seller.

***

Sebelum anda membuat keputusan untuk mendapatkan British trade dollar atau crown silver coin, anda perlu mempunyai pengetahuan yang cukup tentang koin palsu untuk mengelakkan diri daripada tertipu.

Contoh di atas adalah sebutir "copy" atau "reproduction" British trade dollar yang ditawarkan di ebay untuk RM 290.00

• Berat koin ialah 26.55g
• Permukaan koin yang kasar
• Gerigi tepi koin (denteles) yang kotor dan tidak teratur, agak cetek.
• Paras rupa Britannia yang tidak cukup sharp.

26.55g ialah berat koin yang dibuat daripada white copper. ia tidak melekat magnet juga.

Kadang kala penjual yang cerdik hanya meletakkn gambar kecil di ebay. Sekiranya terdapat kemuskilan, anda dinasihati tanya seller atau cuba mendapatkan gambar besar untuk penilaian.

Coin Grading - NGC and PCGS Verification Sites

NGC and PCGS are the two most trusted coin grading service in the numismatic world. They provide online verification for the slabbed coin as below. They are very useful to determine the authenticity of the slabbed coins as there are news about fake slabbed coins coming in the market. However, so far, i haven't seen one.

Coin verification page

NGC:  http://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/index.aspx



PCGS:  http://www.pcgs.com/cert/


NGC dan PCGS adalah dua syariket yang dipercayai dalam dunia numismatik. Kedua-dua syarikat ini telah menyediakan perkhidmatan pengesahan kesahihan koin yang telah "slab" melalui alamat internet di atas.  Perkhidmatan ini amat berguna memandangkan terdapat khabar angin yang mengatakan bahawa terdapat "slabbed coin" palsu di pasaran. Namun demikian, setakat ini, saya belum terjumpa satu slabbed coin palsu lagi.