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Iceman

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Journal Entries posted by Iceman

  1. Iceman
    One hundred years ago in 1922 Iceland issued there first ever partial set of legal tender coins the 10 and 25 Aurar's.  With a growing nation that was in desperate need for coinage because all the coins used up to that time was from other nation's like Denmark, Norway or they would use tokens that was issued by large merchants companies that was either based in Iceland or Denmark and even the Faroe Islands. Iceland banned the use of tokens prior to 1922 because merchants can manipulate the cost of such things as bread For instead when the consumer tried to pay for a loaf bread using a token they were given in change for one free rye bread the merchant would tell the person at a later date  that the cost of the bread as risen and the token was no longer acquit for the promise of one free loaf of bread causing the consumer to fork over more funds for something they should have been given for free from the get-go.  The first and only coins for this year was the 10 and 25 Aurar minted in Copenhagen Denmark and in 1925 was when the next denominations was produced the 1 Krona (singular)  and 2 Kronur (plural). It took 100 Aurar's  to make a single 1 Krona and in 1926 was when the final three denominations was produced the 1 Eyrir (singular) and the 2 and 5 Aurar's (plural). It took four years to produce the seven coins needed to complete a set of coins comprising of all denominations.
       The 1 Eyrir and the 2 and 5 Aurar's minted by the Copenhagen mint was made of a 95% copper  4% Tin  1% Zink from 1926 to 1939 but they did mint a few 2 Aurar's dated 1940 before the London's Royal Mint in England Took over the mintage of all the coins dated from 1940 -1942 after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany. They changed the composition of all the copper coins dated 1940 to 95.5% Cu   3% Sn  1% Zn  but they made one final change for the dated 1942 Copper coins to  97% Cu  0.5% Tn  2.5% Sn . From my understanding according to the records of the Royal Mint the new updated second metal change accrue part way into the production of the 1940 dated 5 Aurar so there are two different metal composition varieties for the 1940 5 Aurar coin but none for the dated 1940 1 Eyrir and 2 Aurar since they were all ready minted. The royal mint did not always produce the individual coin denomination the year that was indicated on the coin and it is believed that some coins was minted as far as two years after the date like some of the coins dated 1942. and the 1940 1 Krona and 2 Kronur was produced as far as into 1944.  On a interesting note Staffen Bjorkman noted in his 15 page summary on Icelandic coins 1918 to1959 he made mention of a 1925 1 Eyrir with a mintage of 4000 pieces which the Icelandic national museum collection never made any mention of one ever having existed but this may only be nothing more then the first batch of 1926 Eyrir's ( 4000 coins ) was just the number of coins that was minted in 1925 for the 1926 Eyrir just like the U.S. mint does by Producing the following year's coins. Record keeping can be a problem if its not written down correctly. There are some interesting varieties for the 1 Eyrir from this time period some known and some not, But that's for another journal.  I have tried to research the Copenhagen mint records online and to no avail I couldn't find any records having to do with the minting of Icelandic coins. Maybe I need to hop on a plane to Denmark. 
    Thank you  for reading my journal entry and I'm going to write more about the mintage of Iceland Kingdom Era coinage in my near upcoming  journals       
  2. Iceman
    Back on June 2nd I submitted 21 Icelandic Coin for grading that I have collected for a number of years and finally decided to have them graded and did very well with them. I also mentioned that I had around 30 more to send in as well . Its been nearly 3 months now and I sent in a total of 22 more coins.... Most of these coins are from the Republic era that span from 1946 to 1980. What I sent in was a bunch of 10 Aurar from 65 to 73  a few 1 Krona 61 70, 71, both 73's  and to my delight a newly acquired ...last week.... a beautiful Gem 1957 1 Krona  I sent one in 3 months back and it came home a MS63 which I was happy with because it had a light fingerprint ..this year and the 57 is very very hard to find in MS UNC ...But the new 57 is in incredible condition and it will not surprise me if it gets a MS66 . and the other coins I got after the last submission is a 1959 5 Aurar and again the last one only got a 63 but this one should get a least a 65  These late 50's coins are really tough to find in very nice condition....I just got lucky   The other coins are a 50 Aurar and a 66 2 Kronur normal planchet   and 5 Kronur and a few 10 and 50 Kronur coins that should all grade around the MS 64 to 66
    But The best two are the 1966 Thick Planchet 2 Kronur and the 2000 10,000 Kronur Gold Comm in ultra cameo... I had both of these coins for years but about seven years ago I sold all my Icelandic Comm's because I needed cash and the only one I didn't have was the 1961 Jon Proof ...But a friend in Iceland did come across one that he sold at auction and got over $5000 for it and if I had the money It would have been in my collection...Boyyy The up and downs of collecting ....Its madding 
    As you can imagine it has been very costly to replace all these coins but its finished now and that makes me happy again..... 
    I will post the results when I get them ...I did send in the 66 and 2000 gold in Express Tier and they got them today....This coming Friday.........I hope
     
  3. Iceman
    The results of my submission of 21 Icelandic coins to NGC for grading....
    (001) 1957 25A - MS-66      (002) 1959 5A - MS-63RB      (003) 1960 5A - MS65 RD     (004) 1961 5A - MS-65RB     (005) 1963 5A - MS-65 RB
    (006) 1966 5A - MS-64 RD     (007) 1957 1K - MS-63     (008) 1959 1K - MS63     (009) 1962 1K - MS-65     (010) 1963 1K - MS-65     (011) 1965 1K - MS-66
    (012) 1966 1K - MS-66     (013) 1969 1K - MS66     (014) 1974 1K - MS-66     (015) 1975 1K - MS-67     (016) 1962 2K - MS-65     (017) 1963 2K - MS-65
    (018) 1986 S500K Banknotes- PF-70 UC    (019) 1994 S1000K Bjornsson PF-69 UC  (020) 1994 S1000K Asgeirsson PF-69 UC   (021) 1994 S1000 Eldjarn PF-69 UC
    I'm very happy with the results and what was the best part about it was the fact that they received the coins on June 2nd ( It took 13 days to get there by USPS PRIORITY MAIL......) and was finalized and shipped on the 9th a week later.....Well I'm just going to have to mail out the other coins I have been holding on to for a long time.
       
  4. Iceman
    I just got finished buying three more Icelandic coins from a Ebay seller and now I'm convinced that I have a problem with these darn coins. I have never been obsessed about anything in my life other then my work....But when it comes to coins especially my Icelandic coins I'm a total Loony-Tune. As I was scrolling down the ebay listing to see if anything good was posted ...My heart began to race and I intensely clicked on all three listings and bought all three of the four coins the seller put up. They are truly beautiful coins with two of them have some really nice toning....So I just had to have them.....God.... Please Help Me ,,,,I don't ask for much........LOL
    Well here are the pictures of my latest additions to my collection
       1929 2 Kronur MS-66  

    1946 2 Kronur MS-65

    1946 1 Krona MS-64

  5. Iceman
    Well For the past few months I have been pondering on sending in the Icelandic coins I have been collecting for the past 15 years from the Republic era from 1946 to 1970's and being that modern tier from 1955 to date is $5 dollars cheaper I decided to mail in 21 coins for grading....Mostly 5 Aurar's  and 1 Krona's with two 2 Kronurs and as well as four proof coins....Well off to the post office.   
  6. Iceman
    I have seen a Ebay seller from Maryland put up around twenty Icelandic 1942 5 Aurar's coins in ANACS holders with a grade range from MS-64 to 66 and from RB to RD but he wants anything from $75 to $250 for the 66-RD. I offered him $150 for the best looking 66 red but would't take it and since you couldn't magnify the image of the coin so there was no way to see the details. I have read in the past that ANACS have graded some coins as much as 2 points higher then NGC or PCGS so all this had me very concern about just how nice these coins really are. 
    About two weeks ago I was searching the internet and came across a coin site by a Dr Bruder and he had a 1942 5 Aurar MS-64 RD in a PCGS holder and only wanted $59.95 so I snapped it up and it now in my collection . Until these coin were on the net I have never seen a red 5 aurar before I have RB ones but no RD's Someone must have been to Iceland in 1942 or about that time and saved a whole bunch of them.  

  7. Iceman
    I'm the most happiest coin collector in the world right now. I just received my submission results from NGC and was super happy with the out come of the coins I sent in. I only needed two coins to complete this set a 1942 1 Eyrir and a 1942 10 Aurar and both are very hard to find in a grade above 63  that is worthy of sending in. The 42 1 Eyrir is a very common coin but never seen one that would grade above a MS-63.... I had one that would grade higher then a MS-63 put was holding out for something better.... may be a nice red one... but having searched for 16 years now I just thought best to send in the one I have been holding on to for 8 years now ... it has a very nice dark blood red with some  nice luster and toning to it that makes it a beautiful little coin.....And to my delight the graders thought the same thing they gave it a MS-67 Brown....WOW ...It nearly knocked me over.....The highest grade given to any Kingdom Era coin from Iceland......
    The other one I needed was a 1942 10 Aurar that was make out of a Zinc alloy and any one that is aware of how difficult zinc coin can be to find in nice MS condition will know  the searching involved to find one never mind the fact that this coin had a low mintage  of 2 million would be very hard indeed. Well after another many years of looking I finally found one that was worth sending in...It has a small planchet flaw but very nice luster with very little dark wood grain running threw the coin itself. It came back a MS-63 Very Very happy with the grade ...There is one graded higher that is owned by my friend Siggi in Iceland.   I had upgraded four more coins to my set A 1925 1 Krona to a MS-65..... A 1942  25 Aurar to a MS-63.... A  1923 10 Aurar to a MS-64  and addition to these coins I also found another 1933 25 Aurar that came back a MS-62 and also a 1925 2 Kronur  came back a MS-62.
    Well this is my happy day.....  
     
    OH.....Forgotten to Thank NCS and NGC......Thank You....          
  8. Iceman
    When I arrived home today I noticed a thick large padded envelope sitting on the kitchen table that my wife brought in sometime today from the mail box and it was from NGC and thinking what can this be and to my delight it was a plague with my Registry award for my Icelandic Kingdom Era Collection. Was not expecting this at all, maybe a paper certificate.  Thank You NGC for this wonderful plaque and I will proudly display it in my home.    
  9. Iceman
    Another MS-66
    Well I added another upgrade to my Icelandic Kingdom Era coin set tonight a 1929 2 Kronur NGC MS-66. This coin I was looking for many years now and was one of only a hand full of Icelandic coins graded by NGC back some 12 or 13 years ago,, Back then I wondered if I would ever get to see this coin as the years gone by and around two years ago I came across a auction in England that had this very coin while searching the internet for Icelandic coins and I had missed it by only a few days after the auction had ended. Well I said to myself well I guess I will never see that coin again. Well Heritage just auctioned it tonight and I was the lucky one to win this gem for my collection for a measly $235 with the buyers premium included. Hopefully there will be other gems for my set in the future.
    Thank you for reading my journal and I hope you all find the coins you have been looking for.

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  10. Iceman
    I Can't believe It
    I was checking out a certification number tonight and noticed that the Register Awards where given out on the 6th while I was away on vacation which I had forgotten all about. As I scrolled down reading about the sets that was honored this year and to my complete shock to say the least I seen my set being one of the five that was awarded NGC Registry Best World Sets. I had to look again to make sure that what I was really reading was in fact what I was reading. I never ever thought that my set would win because of all the terrific sets out there. Well I would like to thank NGC for this honor and yes I will in the near future get those other coins graded,,,Well I did come across a nicer 1942 10 Aurar then the one I have. And in the passed two years a close friend of mine in Iceland became the curator of the Numismatic collection in the national museum in Iceland and I have plans on visiting him and viewing the collection,,,specially the 1940 1 and 2 kronur coins that are believed to be proofs. Someday I hope to buy a good camera so I can include photos to my set.
    Well thank you once more and graduations to all the other winners and I guess hard work does pays off.
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  11. Iceman
    A Very,Very Happy Camper
    Its been nearly a year and a half since I acquired a upgrade for my Iceland Kingdom ERA set from 1922 to 1942. Its a mark free 1926 5 Aurar in MS-66 BN with nice surfaces. Red/Brown and Red are virtually impossible to find prior to 1940 which is when the London Mint took over production from the Copenhagen Mint,,Which used copper planchets that has already turned brown prior to production.
    Any coins from this period is very hard to find in this grade and higher.

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  12. Iceman
    Wowwwww
    Hi Everyone
     
     
     
    Its been a while since I wrote in my journal.
     
     
     
    I just wanted to take a minute to do a little bragging about my reason upgrade of a 1929 1 Krona that was graded by NGC in MS-65 that I just Won at the Stacks online auction last night,,,They described it as having full luster which is a bit rare for these coins,,, I have a ms-63 in a PCGS holder that has full luster but with a planchet flaw,,,,So this will be a great addition to my collection,, especially at the winning bid of $153.00 with the BP.
     
    The picture does not show the luster of this coin,,,Its very hard to capture luster of these coins

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  13. Iceman
    Paid twice the money but well worth it.
    On May 17th 2011 I mentioned that I needed a Iceland 1933 25 Aurar to complete my Kingdom Era collection. Well nearly two years later one showed up on Ebay. Its the only one I have ever seen raw or graded. Now my set is complete for the exception of the 1940 1 Krona and 2 Kronur in Proof,,,Which I mentioned that none excites in the royal mint collection according to Harry Spencer in his 1986 report of the Proof record of the royal mint ,,,I will not count them in my set

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  14. Iceman
    WHATS HAPPENING
    I HAVE NOT BEEN AROUND FOR SOME TIME NOW AND JUST ABOUT A HOUR AGO I READ A JOURNAL BY A MEMBER HERE SAYING THAT NO MORE PCGS COINS WILL BE ALOUD IN ANY OF THE SETS AND ABOUT THE HIGH COST OF HAVING THERE COINS GRADED BY NGC COMPARED TO PCGS. I FELT IN THE PAST THAT NGC HAS GONE A BIT OVERBOARD WITH THEIR FEE'S MAKING ME THINK THAT I WOULD BE MUCH BETTER OFF GOING TO PCGS AND ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THIS IS THAT NGC SEEMS TO BE CHANGING THERE STANDARD FOR GRADING WORLD COINS. i HAVE BEEN SENDING ICELANDIC COINS FOR GRADING TO NGC FOR ABOUT 5 OR MORE YEARS AND I CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE FROM HOW THEY ONCE GRADED THESE COINS OVER THIS PERIOD,,,MEANING THAT AT FIRST NGC WOULD GIVE A COIN ONE GRADE AND BY SENDING IN ANOTHER ONE JUST LIKE IT NOW OR EVEN THE VERY SAME COIN,,, I WOULD GET A GRADE HIGHER,,BUT WHATS EVEN GET MY GOAT EVEN MORE IS THAT ALL THE COINS I SENT IN BEFORE THE CHANGE IN GRADING HAS TAKEN PLACE IS THAT THE COINS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVIN A GRADE OF 64 GOT A 63,,,,HAS ANYONE ELSE NOTICED THIS. I REALLY LIKE NGC AND THEIR OTHER SERVICES, I HOPE THEY GET BACK WITH THE PROGRAM AND STOP RAISING THE FEE'S BECAUSE I THING MANY PEOPLE WILL BE TURNING TO PCGS FOR GRADING THIER COINS,,,,I KNOW I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT.
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  15. Iceman
    ADDED SIX NEW COINS AND UPGRADED TWO IN MY ICELAND REGISTRY SET
    I added six new coins,one in which I won on ebay for a very fair price considering that it a 1942 5 Aurar in a NGC-MS64RB holder. Its a stuff coin to find that is worth slabbing since all the ones I have ever come across,which is many are always brown and full of contact marks and other not so nice looking things. This coin I have now has a very pleasing blood red color and nice surface condition. The other five coins I've had for about a year now and I still had my coupon for five free coin gradings and just got them back Monday,They did better then I ever hoped. They are a 1926 2 Aurar MS-65BN, 1937 1 Eyrir Narrow Date MS-65BN, 1937 1 Eyrir Wide Date MS-64BN, And the last two, 1939 1 Eyrir Large 3 and Small 3 with both grading a MS-64BN.
    One of the upgrades was a 1925 10 Aurar that I have in MS-64 and now have in MS-65 which was rather cool.
    But the best one is a new 1925 2 Kronur in MS-64, I have one in 63 but it took nearly eight years to find that one and is very rare in MS, You have all heard of when it rains it pours well after finding my first one a friend in Iceland got a very nice one few months later with only 3 to 5 known in the whole country and when checking the pop report for Iceland a few weeks ago I seen someone had one of these rarity graded and it came back as a MS-64, soon after that it showed up on Ebay well I won the coin at under Krause book value. Now just have to find a nice 1933 25 Aurar and the remainder is just a few common date coin that I may send in when i get my coupon next month. As far as the 1940 1 Krona and 2 Kronur proofs I don't think I will ever find, because I don't thing they exist. According to Harry Spencer that took note of every proof coin in the Royal Mint collections, He mentioned the 1,2,5,10,25,Aurar as proof but not the 1 and 2 K's
    Below is one of the four Specimen coins I have from 1940 which are, two 1 Krona which was minted in a nickel looking metal and two 1940 2 Kronur which I have with two different metal types one which looks very much like a normal brass alloy and the other that was minted with the same nickel alloy as the 1 Krona,,,I think the nickel alloy is what was referred as proof back then.

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  16. Iceman

    RE:OK Just exactly

    By Iceman,

    The future of Coin Grading
    RAM-VT Journal entry has sparked some ideas of want the grading system will be like in the future. I can remember as a kid looking at both the Redbook and the Bluebook and only seeing the one price for any coin in UNC only. The dealers back then would have a higher price's for those coins if they were better then most and even higher price for those that showed exceptional quality of preservation. Its always been a dealers game even before the Sheldon's scale was put in affect. After the grades of Unc, Ch-Unc, BU, and Gem-Bu has come and been accepted for a number of years, The coin dealers were very happy, but after a few years has past with this grading system well into affect they stated adding a (plus) sign next to the grade that they felt was a little bit better then the grade that they assigned to that particular coin, Thus pushing there asking price a little bit higher. Now all this did was to help confuse and make the new collector very weary of coin dealers because many dealers had over graded there coins in the first place and thus making it harder for the collector. By Know ANACS has come into the picture, but was not fully accepted because not many people liked the idea of having there coins entombed in plastic,,,I know I didn't, But the idea slowly became more and more popular because people started to awaken to the fact That the art of coin doctoring and other shady practices was well rooted in the coin hobby. Well then came PCGS and NGC, Both great TPG to give a more sense of worth and honesty to this great hobby of ours and making the coin dealers more respectable if not more honest. Now to the present time and with the introduction of the full 70 point system and its + and * designations pushing it to 30 to 39 different Unc grades as VAM-VT put it and with the CAC now in the picture, There is only one way we can go now with this is to take the human element of grading process and replacing it with a Super high laser scanner and digital electron microscope cameras that would be so sensitive That it would pick up every mark,blemish,toning with colors as well as all the features of the strike of the coin. Those giving us a 101 point scale for a MS-00 to MS-100 and now after something like this comes along it would also be applied to all grades below MS-00.... Another crasy idea would be if these machines can be installed, Like a ATM at all the Major coin shows and someday have a compact unit like the size of a scanner next to your laptop or a Apps for you IPhone, Don't laugh its right around the corner.
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  17. Iceman

    Unbelievable

    By Iceman,

    What a bunch of insufficiently_thoughtful_person's
    I was watching a ebay listing for a 1959 1 Krona that was graded by PCGS at MS-65 sell for over $39.00. what kind of person has a $3.00 coin graded by PCGS and tries to sell it on ebay and expect someone to pay that kind of money or more for it unless that person has a few people bidding on it for him/her (Plishing The Bid)in Hopes a person like me will be willing to pay that kind of money for it,,,Yeah Right ,,,not in this life time since I have a group of great people in Iceland and here in the States looking for these coins for me without such high prices,,granted the cost of grading and all,,There are only a few people that really collect Icelandic coin and those people will not pay those kind of over priced coins unless they are worth more then $3.00 I'm putting a set of Icelandic coins together from 1946 to 1966 and no matter what the condition of these coins are they are not worth spending that kind of money to have them graded because they would never ever be worth it. So to the poor sap that payed all that money for this coin,,,You have my sympathy.
    Another listing I was watching last week was a 1973 50 Kronur graded by PCGS at MS-65 that had a so so toning, And to my amazement it sold for just over $114.00. I know people like toned coins and so do I,,,But 114.00 bucks for a less then a five dollar coin,,,,That's INSANE pure and simple. And for the poor sap that bought that coin I have two thinks I can offer you,,,,One...A straight jack or Two..A bridge that was built in Brooklyn. There has been a few dealers on ebay that have been trying to sell a key date 1931 5 Aurar in a nice UNC for around 40 to 100 dollars with no bites...The one that is listed now had been started at $100 and then at $85 and the dealer has since listed it two more times for under $50.00 and no bites...Now why wouldn't anyone that collects Icelandic coins not jump on this...But if I was to bid on this coin all soughts of people would show up out of nowhere to bid the coin way up. Since I stated buying Icelandic coins on ebay back in June of 03 I started to notice that people that never had bid or won a Icelandic coin was showing up at those auctions to bid so I started to keep track of all the bidders that participated and keep a list of them and checked there feedback,sometimes they would win,if the bid didn't reach the full value of the coin and sometimes they would lose,,,If it became over prices... but the funny part of it is that they never seemed to have bidded on Icelandic coins before but just bidded on coins from that dealer,,,but now since ebay keeps the bidders ID hidden you don't know for sure if he's bidding for the dealer. Another funny one was a dealer that was selling Icelandic notes from the years 1948 to 56 and one person was bidding on them all for just under book value...He must have won everyone of those auctions,,,enough to wallpaper a small room and all of them had the same signature's on the notes,,,either he was working for the dealer or he's another one that needs a straight jacket. So to my fellow coin collectors beware of what the dealers on ebay are doing. Stop buying coins on ebay since there is so many good dealers and reputable auction house's out there to deal with.
    Thanks for taking the time to read my rant
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  18. Iceman
    A COIN THAT WAS MINTED FOR ICELAND
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  19. Iceman

    Merry Christmas

    By Iceman,

    To All
    I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years and for our Jewish friends a Happy Hanukkah,,,,and for the rest of you a Happy,,Healthy and prosperous New Years

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  20. Iceman
    Only 10 slots to fill
    Well I finally completed adding all the coins in my set,with only 10 slots to filled. Out of the 10 slots, I have seven of them in unc that need to be graded and one, The 1933 25 Aurar that would properly grade a low end AU which would leave only the 1940 Proof 1 Krona and 2 Kronur. Only by a act of God would I ever acquire such coins. The Royal mint in England only produced the 1Eyrir to the 25 Aurar in proof and the King Norton Mint (ICI Imperial Chemical Industries ) made the 1 Krona and 2 Kronur and the only coins that I'm aware of other then the circulated strikes is the specimen's they struck for there own collection that came up for sale a few years ago. Harry Spencer wrote a paper about the proof collection of coins that is housed in anyone of England's museum and noted in his report of all the coins in the collection as proof and no mention of a 1k and 2 k being a proof and only the 5 other coins as being proof, so there may just not be any. I have included a picture of one of the 1940 2 Kronur Specimen I have, with the other one being struck from a yellowish brass alloy. As you can see that this coin has a silvery looking metal alloy that properly has much more Tin in the brass alloy. Now is this coin a proof since they called Specimen's proof back in the day in England and no one ever bothered to use the correct terminology as described today. Please if anyone knows anything about how England differentiated the proofs from the specimen strikes and how they used it in its history of coin making, would be greatly appreciated.

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  21. Iceman
    Re: Heart aches of coin collecting
    Well my friends here at the collectors society I have finally found the 1940 proof set from Iceland that I was talking about last April when I wrote a journal entry about NGC grading a complete set of 1940 proof coins from Iceland and how I lost the bid on a seemlier set that was being auctioned off in Australia in July of 09 that sold for $2600.00 AUD and only to see that very same set being sold by Strand Coins (Who won the auction) in Australia for 15,000.00 dollars AUD. And then seeing that NGC graded a 1940 set from Iceland.....Boy did that make me depressed. Well that very same set that NGC graded came up for auction at Stacks last month and I won. Well to say the least I was so happy that it made me nerves because I was afraid that the internet bidding made a mistake because all the bids was not in yet because of delays....Well any why I got my invoice,,, payed for the set and became a very very happy camper once again. When I got the set from the auction house I see that the coins has a thin layer of film on them so off to NCS they go and to have them placed in individual holders

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  24. Iceman
    My 1925 2 Kronur
    Well after nearly 8 years of searching for a Ex-Fine or better gradable Icelandic 1925 2 Kronur coin with a mintage of only 126,000 coins, My search has finally come to an end with much more then I ever expected result from my NCS/NGC submission. I obtained this coin from a Icelandic coin club auction back in early September. My friend in Iceland went to the auction on my behalf to bid on this coin for me but what was more interesting about this was that the coin was graded at 01 or Ex-fine to AU and my friend circulated around the auction that he was bidding on this coin for a buyer in the U.S. and was told that he was to bid what ever it took to win this coin....Well no one else bidded on this coin so I won this coin at the opening bid of $68 bucks. When he send me the coin I noticed that the coin had a thin layer of film on the coin which made me think that the owner of this coin thought that this was wear so after sending the coin to NCS and then to NGC the coin came back a MS-63. Now with a mintage of only 126,000 coins,,, only 3 to 5 are known or believed to be Mint State in Iceland and NGC was the first TPG to grade such a coin. Up untill now I have been only able to find a VF at best and I would have never thought that I could find such a wonderful coin like this. So to NCS and NGC Thank You for a wonderful job.
    Here is a picture of the coin just before submitting it to NCS

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  25. Iceman
    What A Disappointment But All Good Things Comes To Those Who Wait
    About two weeks ago I received my auction lot I won on August 15th which had a 1925 2 Kronur in it, Which looked really nice and I thought it would grade an AU but when I held the coin in hand it looked horrible to say the least. I guess the auction house must have used some kind of scanner that left a lot of the detail out of the surface of the coin that made it look so much better then it was,,,I was really amazed at the difference. So I contact the auction house in Denmark and told them I was not happy at all with the coins and they told me to mail them back for a refund. So in the long run I lost about $50 bucks with the registered mailing back and forth.
    Well A few days after the 08/15th Danish auction I get a email from the Icelandic Numismatic Club in Reykjavik, Iceland with a list of coins and metals they have in the September monthly auction and was surprised to see that the 2nd coin on the list was a 1925 2 Kronur coin in 01 condition which means that the coin could be anything from EX-Fine to AU, So I contacted my friend in Iceland that's a member of the club and asked if he has seen this coin yet and he told me that he will be going to see the coins in two weeks or when they will be on display. When he got back to me after the veiwing he told me that this coin has nearly full mint luster and the only better one he has ever seen was in the National Collection, which is UNC. Well I got all excited to hear this and told him to get this coin for me at all cost and he told me,, Just leave it to me. Well he got back to me about the coin and how he got it was rather slick on his part, He circulated a story about how he was representing a buyer in the U.S and told people that he was authorized to bid up to $450 dollars and low and behold I won the coin at the opening bid of $68 Bucks, Boy am I a happy camper because of a great friend in Iceland. The 1925 2 Kronur was the first one to come up in auction in Iceland for at least 7 years, whether one has come up before that, I don't know, but I do know that this coin is very rare in EX-fine and up condition with only a few, 3 to 5 known in UNC.
    Here is a picture of my new addition to my collection of Icelandic Kingdom Era Coins

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