Proof and Prooflike - Difference

[gerard974]

hello
i have one question maybee stupid,what is the difference beetwen prooflike and proof. Some Russian coins have these grades. I dont know the difference but the value is not the same
Gerard

[chrisild]

In German "Polierte Platte" (PP) means that both the dies and the blanks are "polished" before minting a piece. That is quite an elaborate procedure, usually reserved for low mintage surcharged pieces.

"Spiegelglanz" (sp) means that the dies are polished, but not the blanks. That is what the German mints do. Scratches and other damages are still a No-No, of course.

So much for German.   But as far as I know, "Proof" is basically the same as PP while "Prooflike" is the equivalent of Spiegelglanz.

Christian

[chrisild]

Moved the topic here; if it is catalog related, we can always move it back. By the way, if you also collect Austrian coins, things get even trickier: The Austrian Mint uses another term, "handgehoben" (hgh). As far as I know, that is similar to prooflike, except that the minting pressure is higher. Somebody more familiar with the procedure may correct me.

Christian

[gerard974]

thank you very much,for the value the difference is prooflike 3$ proof 42$
gerard

[Figleaf]

Proof: high elements are white, low elements are shiny and mirroring.
Prooflike: all elements are shiny.

Peter

[gerard974]

hello Peter
than you very much good explaint,now i go to seen my Russian coins
gerard

[Prosit]

To me, Proof is a method of manufacture with the intent of making the highest quality of coin possible.
Proof-like is a condition of a coin that isn't manufactured as a proof but has some proof coin characteristics or appearance.

but that is just my opinion.

How to tell the difference?  Darn if I know 


Dale

[zookeeperz]

Prooflike will not have cameo subjects its complete visual appearance is mirror like . Proof the subjects will be matt in appearance giving a 3d effects where the background is deeply reflective and enhances the the look of the cameo subjects. Here is a simple way to tell

[JoeYuk]

I don't know the procedure but here are BU examples and their Prooflike counterparts.
The sets were marked by the manufacturer as BU and Prooflike.

[Bimat]

I have found it very difficult to differentiate between a proof coin and a proof-like coin; Luxembourg euro collector coins for example. They describe some of their coins as 'Proof-like' while some are 'Proof', however if someone is not aware of this, I don't think it's possible to differentiate between the two.

Aditya

[Figleaf]

There is no guarantee that mints wil stick to this. Even less that swollen-face hot-air sellers will.

A proof coin was struck at least twice, at low speed with polished dies. Raised parts are milky white and sharp. Fields are shiny.

A proof-like coin is the same, except that the dies are not polished. The whole coin is shiny. Depending on your taste, the result is often ugly, as design elements seem deformed and unsharp in the shine.

Proof and proof-like should be easy to distinguish. The difference between proof-like and BU (struck once at normal speed) is more difficult, especially when the dies are still fresh.

Peter

[chrisild]

Hmm, Germany issues "prooflike" coins, no "proof" pieces. And yet parts of the pieces may well be frosted.

Christian

[Figleaf]

That's likely to be an "early strike" effect: new dies are polished, like the dies for proof coins. This may produce a frosting effect, but it will diminish quickly, as the dies are not polished again quickly enough. This explains why on most proolikes, the effect is partial.

Swiss coins routinely have this effect even on circulation coins.

Peter

[Bimat]

Swiss coins routinely have this effect even on circulation coins.

...And many of the Finnish collector coins too (I'm referring to bimetallic €5 coins)

Aditya

[chrisild]

Well, this page explains quite nicely (but in German) what "Spiegelglanz"/Prooflike means for German collector coins. Don't think that people would buy such pieces if the effect was gone after X strikes ...

Christian