King of England,

 When it comes to submissions you will get better in time and experience.

Heck --- I have completed a submission in the past with 2 black eyes!!

Nothing to be ashamed of as you can't learn to grade coins if you don't submit them.

Rick

Keep on giving it a shot. At this grading service there is a premium put on pristine (or near so) surfaces.

I try to get a handle on that first, then on lustre of the piece, then strike, then eye appeal (also very important)..

Strike is not as important on post 1816 pieces as they are more consistent in general, but is more important in pre 1816 pieces where the primitive technology of the time made it far more inconsistent.

In that area there are a lot of highly graded pieces with incomplete detail due to a poor or weak strike. I would rather have a lower graded piece with a complete strike in that case. Here is an example. This type is notorious for having incomplete or little detail on the portraits on the obverse due to how the design was done. this one has a lot more than normal. But it is not the highest graded piece out there.

RMW,

Wow, your knowledge is impressive! Thank you very much for sharing it with me.  I have read all your posts and I have seen the pics you add.  Your coins are truly amazing.  Maybe one day I will be more convenient in myself to try some pre 1816 instead of just submitting modern coins every time.  Baby steps for me.  I am proud of myself for at least trying pre 1950 for now.  I just need to put in the time and maybe I'll get a little closer on my grades.

Thanks again. 

RMW,

I just figured out how to add pics. So, what should I do?  Add a pic of course. 

This may seem silly to someone like you but this is one of my pride & joys (for now).  A near perfect 1970 half crown proof.

Hi King.

One thing Ive done is to get my hands on a lot of reference material. My three favorites are

Standard Catalogue of English Milled Coinage by Cope and Rayner, 1662-1972. This gives rarity of coins by denomination, year and condition (although not necessarily up to date as new coins re unearthed).

Standard Catalogue of British Coins, issued annually by Spink, giving retail values of most all British and English coins going all the way back to pre-Roman.

English Copper, Tin and Bronze Coins in the British Museum, by CW Peck. This is an old book, issued in the 60s and 70s in a couple of editions, but is THE go to book to learn about that group of coins.

There are a bunch of others and I get current and old auction catalogues from all over, enough now that I can barely sit in my office.. And there is a lot of material on the Internet as well.