Topic: Great Wall 1984 3.3 oz. Silver Medal - Two Versions

[mmissinglink]

Okay, now I understand...that makes sense Pandamonium. Thank you.

[SANDAC]

mmissinglink,

I agree with dynamike.  It won't cost you $200 to grade the coin.  The coin, if genuine, is worth quite a bit more than $200 because it is so rare even though a lot of value is lost via polishing.  NGC or PCGS can establish its authenticity and just how much damage is done to the coin.  If you choose to sell it, your buyer will know exactly what they are buying.

[mmissinglink]

Okay, now I understand...that makes sense Pandamonium. Thank you.

Thanks for the good advice dynamike. It is because of generous people like the members of this forum that I have learned more in a couple or so days than I have in the past few years regarding this fascinating and apparently rare Chinese medal. While I have always loved the beauty of this Great Wall medal, I would never have suspected that it could be as valuable as it seems to be.

I will probably kick myself for a long time thinking about how I depreciated the value of this gem of a medal by not realizing how cleaning off the natural silver tarnish affects its value.

[mmissinglink]

SANDAC, thanks for corroborating the advice by dynamike. I will look into getting membership with NGC.


Now if I eventually do decide to sell this wonderful medal, do you good people have any advice or suggestions on what might be a good choice to get most exposure?

I have had this medal for so long that I am not even sure I want to sell it, but I do have steep medical expenses and this may help quite a bit to ease the pain of those bills. I'm sure you can all understand the impulse for that.

Thanks in advance for all your suggestions.

[pandamonium]

Grading by NGC is your best option.  However, you could take digital photos (no digital phone cams) of it from various angles and post them on CCF to possibly guage what price you could get.  I doubt it will sell cheap.  The biggest concern is the polishing but maybe digital photos will show that.  What is Noxon?  A cream paste w/ grit?.............

[mmissinglink]

Grading by NGC is your best option.  However, you could take digital photos (no digital phone cams) of it from various angles and post them on CCF to possibly guage what price you could get.  I doubt it will sell cheap.  The biggest concern is the polishing but maybe digital photos will show that.  What is Noxon?  A cream paste w/ grit?.............

Hi Pandamonium,

Yes, Noxon is a viscous creamy paste and I have to assume that thiere is some sort of fine grit in there.

I'm assuming that the grading is the first step. Is there enough information out there about The Great Wall medal so that the folks at NGC would be aware of different genuine variations of a rare medal? It seems, from the little I was able to find on the web, that there is still a lot that is not known about these Great Wall medals....do I have that right? If I do, maybe it's premature to get the coin graded until more is known about the different variations and such.

But let's say that I went ahead anyway and got the medal graded by NGC....I'm assuming that this is a requisite before trying to ascertain what price this medal might fetch. Now, is there a section that people use in CCF where they post pictures and specifically ask members what they might pay? How would this be done?

[NBM]

  What is Noxon?  A cream paste w/ grit?.............

Metal Polish, Used To Clean and Shine Brass, Bronze, Copper, Chromium, Stainless Steel, Aluminum and Pewter.

http://www.amazon.com/Reckitt-Benckiser-6233800117-Noxon-Polish/dp/B000QOIEVC

[mmissinglink]

Yeah, please don't remind me....I will be kicking myself for a long time for being so ignorant about cleaning a coin with a polish. Sigh.

[Hippanda]

Oh, enough... Stop beating yourself up over it -  it's only second worse, to the guy I knew who shined up his Piedfort Gold Year of Child Coin


with a power sander with 10 grit auto body
carbide wheel ...

[dynamike51]

Hi Pandamonium,

Yes, Noxon is a viscous creamy paste and I have to assume that thiere is some sort of fine grit in there.

I'm assuming that the grading is the first step. Is there enough information out there about The Great Wall medal so that the folks at NGC would be aware of different genuine variations of a rare medal? It seems, from the little I was able to find on the web, that there is still a lot that is not known about these Great Wall medals....do I have that right? If I do, maybe it's premature to get the coin graded until more is known about the different variations and such.

But let's say that I went ahead anyway and got the medal graded by NGC....I'm assuming that this is a requisite before trying to ascertain what price this medal might fetch. Now, is there a section that people use in CCF where they post pictures and specifically ask members what they might pay? How would this be done?

mmissinglink:

If you don't sell it, grading it will let you know what you have - removing the doubt. On the other hand, if you want to sell it, buyer(s) will want to know the authenticity and its condition. How much this medal will fetch largely depends on the condition.

You spent $100 to buy it 30 years ago. You aren't hesitating to spend $50 (my estimation) to have it graded, are you? It's an easy decision, to me.

[mmissinglink]

Oh, enough... Stop beating yourself up over it -  it's only second worse, to the guy I knew who shined up his Piedfort Gold Year of Child Coin


with a power sander with 10 grit auto body
carbide wheel ...

Ha ha! I know that can't be true but the effect is what counts....thanks for helping me brighten up!

[mmissinglink]

mmissinglink:

If you don't sell it, grading it will let you know what you have - removing the doubt. On the other hand, if you want to sell it, buyer(s) will want to know the authenticity and its condition. How much this medal will fetch largely depends on the condition.

You spent $100 to buy it 30 years ago. You aren't hesitating to spend $50 (my estimation) to have it graded, are you? It's an easy decision, to me.

Right, the numbers make the choice seem so obvious. There's no doubt, thanks to the advice from the kind members here, that getting it graded is the only meaningful thing to do. In fact, for enthusiasts of such coins and medals, which clearly there are many in this forum, they are probably as interested as I to learn how much or little damage I have done to such a precious rare item and what grading it will receive.

I will give updates here and of course when I get the coin back I will naturally post pics and results.

[dynamike51]

Right, the numbers make the choice seem so obvious. There's no doubt, thanks to the advice from the kind members here, that getting it graded is the only meaningful thing to do. In fact, for enthusiasts of such coins and medals, which clearly there are many in this forum, they are probably as interested as I to learn how much or little damage I have done to such a precious rare item and what grading it will receive.

I will give updates here and of course when I get the coin back I will naturally post pics and results.

Can't wait. Good luck.

[fwang2450]

 

Oh, enough... Stop beating yourself up over it -  it's only second worse, to the guy I knew who shined up his Piedfort Gold Year of Child Coin


with a power sander with 10 grit auto body
carbide wheel ...

Are you serious? How many tens of thousands of dollars went down the drain?

[Hippanda]

Relax, just an inside joke with DynaMike and Pandamonium from an old thread about cleaning valuable coins with sandpaper and belt sanders - HA !