Extremely Rare Belgian Congo Specimen Proof 5 Centimes Conservation posted by Congo Kid

[CSJournals-migration]

SP65 upgraded to SP66 after lovely conservation services.

 

1917 5 Centimes (KM17) NGC SP66. Extremely Rare.

The only one graded by NGC, none graded by PCGS, and the first I have seen after more than a decade of searching.

Now graded SP66 after dramatic NCS conservation (Previously SP65). They removed cloudiness and some slight staining. It now is as beautiful as the day it was minted.

 

I wish I could post before and after photos here. They really did do a great job.

 

See more journals by Congo Kid

[Six Mile Rick]

Congo,

The proof looks great. It makes me think of the 3c silver that I long to own. I have a group of coins that are adding up and eventually will send the batch to NCS. They do very impressive work and bring out full value in the process.

[hunter's gold]

I have never had the need arise yet too try NCS, but from all the post and pictures I have seen posted on here they do some amazing work. An outstanding coin and great job on keeping after it until you got it.

[jcriller]

wow this is a really nice coin, great work

[JAA]

I agree that NCS does a very good job. Although the coins that I sent in for conservation did not go up in grade there was a great deal of improvement in eye appeal and it was definately worth the cost of conservation. Your coin looks great. Do you have a "before" picture that you can post so that we can see the improvement?

[Scott A]

Thanks for the responses people. Sorry it took me so long to respond back. Sometimes eye appeal and preserving the surfaces of the coins are more important than the grade in regards to conservation. I have had a few coins conserved with good results in my opinion. This is the first to have the grade increase, which I actually expected for this coin.

 

I did leave the old old version of the "before" coin in my Custom Set. They should be one after the other in the set if you want to check them out.

[newprepper]

Since the grade went up, do you think it was undergraded to begin with?

[mkman123]

Whats the mintage number on this coin?

[Scott A]

newprepper - The grade was correct due to the eye appeal not being quite nice enough with the cloudiness. That's one good reason to get a coin conserved properly.

 

mkman123 - I do not know the mintage figures. I do know that one a few of my major contacts in Belgium have never seen one of these yet, and one is a dealer who knows the material well. I suspect that only a handful were made at most. How many survive is anyone's guess. I'd love to get my hands on mint records for all the stuff that was produced.

[newprepper]

newprepper - The grade was correct due to the eye appeal not being quite nice enough with the cloudiness. That's one good reason to get a coin conserved properly.

 

mkman123 - I do not know the mintage figures. I do know that one a few of my major contacts in Belgium have never seen one of these yet, and one is a dealer who knows the material well. I suspect that only a handful were made at most. How many survive is anyone's guess. I'd love to get my hands on mint records for all the stuff that was produced.

 

Thanks for your response, however now it has me more confused. I thought grade was determined by the lack of marks on a coin and wear (or lack of) is it different for a proof? I did not think toning affected it.

[Scott A]

Grading is partially technical and partially subjective. Eye appeal is an important factor. Grading works the same way with Proof coins and Business strikes alike. Believe me, NGC and PCGS is far from infallible when it comes to grading. Not even always by a point or two. I have actually broken coins out of AU holders and resubmitted them, knowing full-well that there was no wear on the coin and the coins have come back in an MS grade. Who knows what kind of hangover some of these guys have the morning they grade your coins? Or what kind of mood they might be in? It's a machine at those places at times I'm sure. Move those coins through as fast as they can.

[Scott A]

newprepper, a good part of grading is derived from the number of marks on a coin, however other factors such as eye appeal can certainly influence the grade, as can striking issues for a particular issue. Some coins or years for certain issues have known striking issues for instance. If a grader knows the various determinants for these coins he will better able to understand what would be an appropriate, justifiable and fair grade for that particular coin. Proofs are graded in the same manner as business strikes.