Angola 40 reis 1757

[mrbadexample]

If you ever want to sell it, please, contact me first. 

Duly noted.

[Afrasi]

Thanks! 

[mrbadexample]

I promised some better photos. These show the true colour better. How would you grade this please? I've really no idea where to start with this coin, as it is outside my normal sphere of collecting and quite unfamiliar to me:

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxBRenK8v0n-d291UUdKdU5zRHc&usp=sharing

[Afrasi]

Uncleaned it looked better to me. Grading is not my hobby. To me it is wasting time and money.

[mrbadexample]

It hasn't been cleaned Afrasi, it's exactly the same. This picture I took outside with a camera, the first inside with a USB microscope. The link to the bigger pictures shows all the dirt!

[Figleaf]

Sunlight does wonderful things. A USB microscope can't compete, but it enlarges so well. I do think it was cleaned once, probably long ago, by rubbing. Between the legend and the globe it is clean, between and inside the letters and inside the globe it is still somewhat discoloured. IMO that doesn't detract from its appeal.

Grading is a simple (and simplistic) exercise. Look for wear on the highest points. On one side, that's the jewels of the crown, in particular those in the headband (it very often is.) On the other side it's the sides of the diagonal band on the globe. Dots are a bit difficult as they don't wear in an obvious way, but by the way they reflect the light I would guess they are not worn (worn parts are duller) and neither is the diagonal band. It has no original metal colour left. Two small green spots at T and I and some discolouration as noted. I'd give it ef, but if you are into split grades, it would be ef-unc.

Peter

[mrbadexample]

Thanks Peter, my difficulty in grading this is that I have no reference to an example as struck, or close, so I cannot judge the amount of wear from new. I'd have given this a VF but I'd be judging by more modern standards, as it were. With the English milled coins I collect, there is always an uncirculated example I can compare mine to. I have seen very few of these (and mine's the best!  )

I think the clean fields are more from handling than a specific clean, but who knows what's happened to it since it was minted. Wouldn't it be fabulous if we could track the journey from when it was minted in Lisbon(?) until the day it arrived in my hands?