Sarawak Coin posted by Ir Dannies Fum

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RAJAH CHARLES VYNER BROOKE 1927H -- 1941H BRONZE CENTS COIN

 

The Sarawak early coppers / Bronze coin has been neglected and not everyone realizes how rare they are mostly in Mints state condition. With the demand has increased in last past few years, these coin are still way underrated compared to the actual rarity.

The Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke Bronze Cents consist of five different year type, which is 1927H, 1929H, 1930H, 1937H and the most popular is 1941H. If we refer to any coin's catalog, the 1941H piece is the most expensive piece among the rest. (Stack's Bower Hong Kong Auction Dec 2015, graded MS64RD sold for USD3,585.00)

For 1927H, 1929H, 1930H and 1937H type, it is quite common and can be easily obtained in the market. However, not everyone aware that the 1927H and the 1929H year type are very rare in mint state condition. Personally I have come across thousand piece of this type of coin in year 2004-2015 (not including 1941H), most of it is in fine to almost uncirculated condition. A lot of it were environmental damaged due to weather condition and improper storage, none of it is in mint state condition. The K.N Boon catalog (2012-2014) putting a price of RM280.00 for the 1927H and 1929H year type coin in uncirculated condition. However, at Dec 2014 in Singapore Mavin Auction House sold a piece of 1927H type coin graded by NGC MS64RD for Singapore Dollars $600 or equivalent to Malaysia Ringgit RM1800.

The following are the population record by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation as show in their census report on 20 March 2016. From the report, you can see how rare they are for the 1927H and 1929H type in mint condition as compare to 1941H piece.

1927H - 9 pieces graded as Mint State

1929H - 9 pieces graded as Mint State

1930H - 35 pieces graded as Mint State

1937H - 168 pieces graded as Mint State

1941H -- 22 pieces graded as Mints state

 

by Ir Dannies Fum

 

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[World Colonial]

Not sure how long you have been a collector but the NGC population report does not provide a basis to assess rarity. The reasons for this are:

 

First, most collectors outside the United States do not demonstrate a preference for TPG. This is evident from the frequency coins are sold in a holder in non-US auctions, non-US dealer inventory per their website and eBay. So unless most who own this coin are American collectors its unlikely it is representative.

 

Second, the prices of most non-US coins and the price spreads between a graded and "raw" coin or between MS grades does not provide much of an incentive. This might not be true of the 1941-H but it may be of the others.

 

It is highly like that some of the available supply is owned by non-collectors, especially outside of the United States.

 

Specifically for the 1941-H, to my knowledge, it is considered the "key" date. I consider it expensive for the likely supply and probable/potential collector base. In a prior listing, Heritage cited the Krause estimate of approximately 50 as the estimated surviving population. Considering the current combined count (including PCGS) of 32 and potential number of duplicates (low in my opinion), I consider it likely that the actual number is some low unspecified multiple.

 

Going by the Heritage prices realized and the alternatives which can be bought in the same price range, I don't believe this series is particularly cheap or overlooked.

 

[Ir Dannies Fum]

Not Sure how will / Expert you are in Sarawak coin Collection. Do you even know where is sarawak? and the history of it.

 

Answering to you point of view.

 

The population in PCGS and NGC only show the records of coin been registered and not the coin been registered and cross over and the one slap been opened. The rarity of the coin can be determined by using measurement method in the numismatic book that been published.

 

you can use the references for comparing rarity scales from various parties such as William Sheldon, J. Hewitt Judd, David Bowers (developed his own Universal Rarity Numbers in 1992), The Hibler & Kappen So-Called Dollars book published in 1963 provided overly simplistic rarity ranges (far right column in the chart below), but fortunately the editors of the revised 2008 edition adopted the Sheldon scale instead, providing a more realistic reference for collectors.

 

Be happy is you can post of some of the supplier who have 1927 H 1929H and 1941H Cents sarawak coins in MS Grade.

[World Colonial]

I know a little about the history of Sarawak and yes, of course I know where it was located.

 

I don't believe rarity estimates published in books mean much of anything, regardless of the series and this includes this one. Sometimes it is an educated guess and for a series like this one given the potential geographical distribution of the coins, I'd say the margin of error is proportionately large if not outsized, whatever the number estimated. So no, absent specific evidence to support if for this series, I don't (as an example only) believe that the 1941-H has only 50 as the Heritage listing claimed and no, it isn't incumbent upon me to prove it.

 

Your reply indicates that you seem to believe that there are a noticeable number of duplicates in and between the NGC and PCGS population reports. What evidence do you have to support this assumption? I don't believe this for most non-US coins absent specific evidence to demonstrate it either. There may be some, in very limited instances a high proportion and in most instances, I believe the number for coins with low counts such as these, none.

 

How many duplicates exist is a function of the current market price, the cost of resubmission, the price spreads between grades and the owner's opinion of the likelihood of an upgrade. For this series, the Heritage archives don't show that the price spreads combined with the probability of an upgrade makes the likelihood of duplicates that high. The highest probability is presumably with the 1941-H.

 

I collect a variety of series from the 18th to the 20th century that aren't widely collected, just as Sarawak is not. I'd say most of the coins I collect are scarcer than this series and except for the more available South African circulation strikes and Bolivia Republic decimals, likely by a substantial margin at least in better grades which are those most collectors want to buy. Even the best known collections such as Remick (for South Africa Union) and Patterson (for Spanish colonial pillars) didn't have many coins I have seen elsewhere or owned myself.

 

The price level, geographic distribution and limited collecting in most markets makes it difficult to find many coins, even though in the overwhelming percentage of instances, there are more or far more out there than is apparent. Some of the coins I am collect show up on occasion at public auction, on eBay and in dealer inventory but mostly infrequently or almost never.

 

It is only for a low percentage of coins that the available information is remotely an accurate indication of what actually exists, where you or I can find them or not.

 

[Ir Dannies Fum]

Is Difficult to make you understand why all the Sarawak copper ,Brass, bronze and copper nickel coin is hardly survive in Sarawak if you don't understand the weather condition, the economic situation , the environment of people live here in the 18 and 19 century. Even worst is you not even collecting Sarawak coin. That all I can say.

[World Colonial]

I understand your point exactly. Like many other collectors, you make improbable assumptions and don't grasp facts which contradict your personal preference.

 

I have already explained to you there is no reason to believe the population (census) for NGC and PCGS is representative of the likely surviving population. Most collectors outside of the United States and a few other countries elsewhere (such as South Africa and maybe China and Canada) don't like graded coins. This is not an opinion. It is a fact which you can confirm for yourself.

 

I can also list any number of coins for you where there is every reason to believe they are scarcer or much scarcer than these coins yet the counts approximate some of them and where they don't, there are still almost certainly more of them out there than is apparent now.

 

To give you one example, I collect Peru pillar minors dated 1752 to 1772. 18th century Peru was at least as economically backward as 20th century Sarawak (when these cents were struck), logically far more. Travel was also a lot more limited, there were either few or no local collectors and the coins circulated for a century or more before Sarawak coins even existed. If there are as many as 10,000 series available, I'd rate these four at least in the scarcest 5% and of those which lasted for 20+ years, even higher like in the top 1%. It is either a practical or for the 4 Reales, maybe an actual impossibility to complete it. I have collected it for 14 years and have never seen many of the coins.

 

Last year, I bought a 1755 Real I grade either XF-45 or AU-50. A few weeks ago, I found another on eBay which looks high AU and might have a shot at MS. I should receive it shortly. I also have high grade duplicates of the 1756 and 1757 plus duplicates of the 1756, 1757 and 1761 half real. These coins are easily scarcer or much scarcer than Sarawak, yet I have multiples of them anyway.

 

If you like these coins, I am not dissuading you or anyone else from collecting them. However, given the data I provided to you, I don't see any reason to believe they have compelling financial prospects either.

 

Maybe collectors in the Pacific Rim like them a lot more than I believe but this doesn't apply anywhere else.