| The Very Hardest Questions... |
| The Things People Ask Us! |
|
Q
the order sheet won't let me write my order and i'm not able to print.
what should i do?
anon
A
We are quite happy to receive orders written out by hand.
We wonder if he means 4 days per week 30 hours per day, 4 hours per day 30 days per month, until 4.30, or on the 30th of April? He's obviously too busy to make his enquiry clear, just a he was too busy to bother reading the pages of information already on our site.
Note
We could have added that we get really frustrated answering questions which are already answered on our site, such as one of this person's previous enquiries:-
Since chashing U.S. checks is so expensive, when ordering, would you prefer an international money order or credit card to a check?What we actually say on our US order form is:-
* Attention US Customers: Please make your check payable to "Chard", not "Chard Limited" or Chard (1964) Limited. The reason is this: Our regular bank charge us almost $20 for every US check, and insist that each one be processed using a separate document. Instead we use a different bank who charge us $15 to process up to $5,500 worth of US checks regardless of quantity. So unless you want to pay an extra $20, just put "Chard", thanks.We don't consider 0.25% for processing our US dollar cheques to be expensive. It's only when customers fail to follow our simple instructions such as "make checks payable to "Chard"", and they go and put Chard Limited or Chard (1964) Limited, that it costs us the extra.
Q
Dear Mr. Chard,
My question submission was not to add to your list of trivia questions. The purpose for my submission was to receive an answer, which I thought the authors of this page would have some insight into. A very similar question was at the end of the page which stated which is heavier a ton of feathers or a ton of lead and the answer was they are both the same. My question, which is heavier a pound of feathers or a pound of gold, has been answered through a very simple internet search.
Thank you
p.s. I will not address the unnecessary insult
A
Oh Dear!, The purpose of our reply was not to upset you, simply to point out that we had in fact already answered your question on our page, and that you, in common with many other people, had not taken the time and trouble to read to the end of the page, or to work out that feathers would come into the category of "almost anything else", and did cause me to doubt your attention span. As you may be able to appreciate, it can be quite frustrating to go to all the effort to present easily assimilated information, for free, with a touch of humour thrown in for good measure, only to have people e-mail because it's easy, and ask questions which are either already answered, or which could be worked out with only a modicum, of intelligence and application.
It was not our intention to insult you, however some people are more easily offended than others. Perhaps your sense of humour is not quite so keenly honed as your sense of insult. Could I infer from this that you are not an undergraduate, but a member of staff? Perhaps we should be generous and realise that it's getting late on a Friday, and you probably had a hard week.
There is a saying here in Lancashire which begins "Ask a stupid question..."
P.S. We presume you do mean British Pennies, not US Cents!
.
It doesn't invite you to write asking us for a free valuation of your coins.
On our site, we provide lots of useful information which we know most people appreciate, however when we get e-mails like yours, we get intensely annoyed.
We created this page (Questions They Ask Us) originally to answer lots of the smaller questions we get asked, but then discovered that by publishing some of the most repeated ones, together with some of the most stupid ones, it helped us to let off some steam.
Do us a favour, before sending anybody else any questions, check first to see whether the answer to your question is staring you in the face. Learn to read, and think about others first, be a little less selfish and ignorant, and help make the world a better place.
By the way, you should say "...a 1780" and not "...an 1780", and we also are aware that this is year 2000, you didn't need to add that particular piece of information.
If anybody else is reading this, we don't usually get quite so bitchy, but every so often, we just have to relieve ourselves, otherwise we go mad.
and I'm not sure about the former."
-- Albert Einstein
A
Dear Rob,
When we saw the header on your e-mail, we groaned and said "Oh, no, not another!" about half the enquiries we get some days are about people who have found "rare" or "valuable" £2 coins.
But...
Yours is the first time we have been asked about a transposed centre section. Because of the production method, it is not possible for this to happen, therefore we can be quite certain that the coin you have has been tampered with.
Incidentally, coins are not cast, but struck.
The Royal Mint's website has an interesting page which shows how the £2 bi-metallic coins are struck. If you go to http://www.royalmint.com, then click on "About Us", "How We Make Coins", £2 Coins, you will see why it is impossible.
P.S. We like the Einstein quote.
Our reply received this response:-
Maybe I should have read your history of the £2 coin before I sent the last e-mail sorry to waste your time, NEIL.cheers.
"It's amazing, as a consumer, how much conflicting information one gets!"
"I am in the process of having an engagement ring made, and am trying to chose between white gold or platinum."
"Essentially, I am a silver lover. I love the "whiteness" or lightness of silver. I am trying to find a precious metal that most closely emulates silver."
"We are trying to keep to our budget, however, so we are tentative about Platinum."
"Can silver be used for a ring setting for a gem (e.g. a sapphire)?"
"I am assuming it is not used because it is too soft a metal, but I have been told that platinum is equally as soft?"
"What are the chances of loosing the gemstone if a silver setting is used?"
"Is platinum plating ever used for rings?"
"If so, how long would the platinum plating last?"
"Would plating white gold in platinum be much less expensive than getting straight platinum in the long run?"
"I understand that Platinum scratches easily."
"Can anything be done about the scratches periodically?"
"If one were to use Platinum instead of 18k Gold, and Platinum is a "softer" metal, does it make sense to "beef up" the ring setting to compensate?"
"Does it not get expensive to have one's white gold ring "rhodium plated" every time the initial plating wears off?"
"Do you have any suggestions as to how I can keep the cost of the ring down and still get the "lightness" of the metal I am looking for?"
"Thank you very much for your time!"
"Have a wonderful day................ Janet"
Now, about the fee for the advice...
By the way, you should try to ensure that you get .950 platinum, not .900 or .850 as these lower grade alloys will not be quite as good. In the UK, it is now possible to get .999 platinum hallmarked, but this is not practicable for jewellery, most pure metals do not possess all the required or desirable properties which it is possible to achieve with the optimum choice of alloy
P.S. My skis are waxed and ready to roll!
yes it sort of helps thank u very much
A Dear R.
A Dear Lee,
Hello
Glad to hear you found the answer.
DNS for host watford316.btclick.com is mis-configured
The following recipients did not receive this message:
Simon, if you are reading this, it sounds like you entered your e-mail address wrongly.
Q
I don't understand what then meaning is of your web page. Are you bagging the Vandal or Police or maybe even both.
Darren P., Audtralia
A
Dear Darren,
Thanks for your enquiry.
Really we are just highlighting the fact that people drive and park on our
pavements / sidewalks, whereas they should drive and park on our roads.
Hopefully if the drivers or vehicle owners see their photographs on the
'net, it may get them to think and act more responsibly, although maybe we
are being over-optimistic.
As to the police car, we think the police should try to set a good example,
obviously in an emergency, they have reasonable grounds to act differently.
If we can bring awareness of driving standards, which are only a symptom of
general attitudes, and help improve things, then our effort will have been
worthwhile.
Q
Diana Crown Enquiry!
I just want to ask that in England is their a coin dedicated to Diana ?
Erin, New York, USA
A
Dear Erin,
The form you used to send your enquiry was on our "Princess Diana Crown" page. It shows photographs of the Princess Diana Commemorative crown, and information about it.
Q
Is a two pound coin with a necklace on the queens head worth more then its value?
Thank you very much
Ricki Patel, Leicestershire
A
Dear Ricki,
Yes this is an extremely valuable coin. As you will note if you read our "£2 Coin Necklet Rumour" page, the queen is usually shown wearing the necklet around her neck.
Q
Whats the rumour and what are they worth?
Ricki Patel, Leicestershire
A
Dear Ricky,
As our previous reply said:-
Read the "£2 Coin Necklet Rumour" page on our web site.
It is not too difficult to find!
Q
why is the inscription on uk coins in french language
m. watson, uk
A
Dear M.,
Your question is somewhat cryptic.
Most inscriptions on British coins are in Latin.
There are a few British coins which have inscriptions in other languages, English and Welsh spring to mind.
Is there a particular coin you have in mind?
Q
i was curious to why 'bleach.co.uk' is registered to yourselfs as i am starting a company named bleach, unitil i searched the name
ama, uk
A
Because we registered it!
We thought it was a good name, and you seem to think likewise.
Q
£2 Pieces Story - Enquiry
HOW MUCH ARE THE TWO POUND COIN WORTH AND WHERE WOULD I BE ABLE TO SELL IT
MARK BENNETT
A
Dear Mark,
You e-mailed us from our "£2 Pieces Story" page. The answer to your question is on that page.
I don't know what they teach you at South Cheshire College!
Q
dear sir,
i am enclosing herewith the duly attached file for
your ready reference. this is regarding images of 4
coins which i am interested in selling. if you are
interested in purchaseing the same you are requested
to send me offer and other terms and condition, which
will enable me to take further action in this regard.
regards
k j gohel
A
Dear Mr. Gohel,
It is not good internet or e-mail manners to send people you do not know, a
picture file of approximately 1 megabyte, without at least asking their
permission first.
To send it out to 10 different people is 10 times worse.
Many people quite rightly prefer not to open e-mail attachments for fear of
virus infections.
Actually we risked truing to open you file, but could not do so. We do not
know what application supports the file type you sent, so are unable to view
it in any case.
It appears you got our e-mail address from British Coin Dealers Directory at
www.numis.co.uk. On that site there is an advice page, suggesting ways of
obtaining appraisals, identification, and valuations of coins:-
http://www.numis.co.uk/coinidentifyvalue.html
It would have paid you to read that page first.
We also have a similar page on our site, www.24carat.co.uk
which gives similar advice.
Are you aware that it can be very frustrating waiting 5 or 10 minutes for a
single e-mail to download, and are you also aware that most dealers in
Britain have to pay for their telephone connection time to download your
files. If you have coins which a dealer wished to buy, he may well change
his mind or his price in view of your discourtesy.
Later today, we will send you a further copy of this letter with your
original attachment, and you can see how long it takes to download. We hope
you have a fast connection.
You may also note that we have sent a copy of this letter to all the other
dealers to whom you originally circulated a copy.
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
On your coin index page is shown a very beautiful gold coin...what is it...is it for sale...please advise
D.H., California
A
Dear Dick,
If you hold your mouse over the picture, you would be able to read the tag we placed on the picture, which reads "Obverse of Gold Aureus of the Infamous Roman Emperor Nero".
To see details of the coin, you would need to click the
Ancient Coins link, followed by the
Ancient Roman Gold Aureus of Nero link
On this page you will find a photograph of the reverse of the coin, and also a further link to a page containing larger pictures (640 x 480 pixels), of both sides.
We agree it's a beautiful coin, and we were lucky enough to have excellent lighting, daylight, on the day we photographed it, so that the photo also is excellent, especially considering the limitations of our digital camera.
Unfortunately it is now sold, but if you like, we can let you know when we next obtain such an excellent specimen.
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
Please can you inform me how many of the 1999 £2 coins with the rugby ball were minted?
Neil P., England
A
Dear Neil,
Sorry for the delay in replying, the answer is now on our site.
Q
Please advise if you are interested in this coin. Images attached
Yours faithfully
Philip Smith
Picture Attachments:(2)
A
Dear Neil,
It is not really very good internet manners to send anybody 2 large picture files without asking the person first!
They took about 5 to 10 minutes to download, and I was trying to get some work down at the time! You didn't even crop them to save space!
You could have taken the time and trouble to read some of our pages first, especially our page "I've found an old coin, what's it worth" page, which deals with selfish thoughtless people like you who think nobody else has anything better to do than give free valuations to you.
If anyone reading this gets the impression that I'm annoyed, they are right.
Only great restraint stopped me from publishing your surname and e-mail address here.
Q
is it true that a two pound coin with the queens head about 20 years younger than she is today is worth about £20.
Neil I., UK
A
Dear Neil,
Yes indeed, we would snatch your hand off to buy a 1980 £2 coin for £20!
Lawrence Chard
Yes Lawrence, Point taken!.
Dear Neil,
That's OK, but you are now on our "questions they ask us page".
We preserved your anonymity!
LC
Q
are there any guided tours of the British Royal Mint available?
or special tours which are arranged for coin collectors or can be arranged privately? my father in law is a long time coin collector and is due for retirement in april, therefore we would like to arrange something such as the above as a gift.
also, can you buy coins ie: krugers/sovereigns directly from the royal mint.
many thanks, sarah c., England
A
Dear Sarah,
Your enquiry made me realise I had started to add a few more paragraphs to our "Royal Mint" page, and got interrupted part way through.
I have now added most of the information you want if you would care to revisit our page.
Visits:-
For the general public, forget it, we have orders with them this year for about £500,000 and I was not sure I could get a trip round!
Buying direct:-
You can buy certain products direct from them, but we are usually more competitive, e.g. year 2000 sovereigns, RM price £69.95, our price £65, 10 pieces at £59 each.
We are still more competitive than the Mint on quantities up to 10,000 sovereigns.
If you do decide to visit, make sure you get the correct Llantrisant!
Hope this information is helpful.
Lawrence Chard
Q
I've got 4 different kinds of pound coins: one has the Scottish thistle, one has the Welsh leek, but how about the others: a depiction of a tree (the oak tree Charles II hid in???) and the three (sort of) lions??? Are there still other possible coinages?
Love to get an early reply.
Thanks in advance!
Denise M., Belgium
A
Dear Denise,
You were looking at our "Pound Coins - Silver Proofs" page, which actually lists many different types, but if you had clicked the "Pounds" button, you would have found our "Pound Coins Index" page, which links you to other pages, including The Story of The One Pound Coin, this page features photographs of eight different reverse types of pound coins.
This should give you more information, and we intend to add more to the page eventually.
Q
I have heard that the two pound coin with the portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II , wairing a pearl necklace is worth more that the tender price of two pounds , is this correct? if so , can you please piont me in the right diredtion of where i might sell such coins ?
Yours Hopefully,
Wayne Reid.
A
Dear Wayne,
Read the pages on our site!
Q
COULD YOU TELL ME IF THIER IS ANY VALUE IN THE 1997 2POUND COIN WITH THE NECKLACE AROUND THE QUEENS NECK
THOMAS T., MANCHESTER, ENGLAND
A
Dear Thomas,
No, it's only valuable if she is wearing it around her ankle!
Our apologies for the facetious reply, but when we get about 10 similar enquiries per day, it gets a little tedious sending everyone the same old reply, which is that the information is already on our site, and quite easy to find if you try (about 150 people found it this week!).
By the way, there is no need to shout, it gives us a headache!
Q
Proof Silver £2 1994
Proof 1998 Football £2
1993 £1 proof Alderney
1997 £1 silver proof Gurnsey
Values please
Thank you for your great site
R. Wynne, Ireland
A
Dear Mr. Wynne,
Thanks for your kind comments about our site.
We spend a lot of time trying to make our site interesting and informative, not only for customers, but also for the general public. We don't mind spending several hours writing a page which will be read by thousands of people.
We are sorry that we do not have the time or resources to give individual answers or free valuations.
Take a look at our "Value of my Coin" page.
Q
Hello,
I don't know if this will be relevant to you, but, I have a £2 Coin
dated 1986 & I thought it was a bit funny as they (The £2 Coin) have only
been out for about 2-3 years.
Could you please Get Back to me with any details about it.
Mark McN., Glasgow
A
Dear Mark,
If you read our page "The Story of the £2 Piece", you will learn that £2 coins have been issued since the days of Henry VII in about 1487.
Base metal ones have only been issued since 1986, when 8,212,184 were issued. Information about them is also on the same page of our web site.
Q
I heard a rumour that 250,000 Rugby World Cup commemorative £2 coins were stolen from the Royal Mint, all of which were subsequently recalled and the commemorative issue then cancelled. Is there any truth to this or is it another urban myth? As you may have guessed, I only ask because I have one.
Rob Hunt, England
A
Dear Rob,
We very much doubt that anybody would manage to steal 250,000 coins from the Royal Mint, it is a very secure factory! We certainly have not heard of such a loss, of course, coins do get stolen from elsewhere.
If all the 1996 £2 coins were recalled, you couldn't possibly have one, could you? Therefore this rumour, like the "necklet" one, is untrue. We have also noticed some of them in circulation.
We are currently waiting for the Royal Mint to publish their statistics for the 1999 coin issues, but we expect this issue to have been many millions, in addition to all the varieties of the same coin produced for sale to collectors.
Q
Is there any value in the commemorative £2 coins (both "solid", and bi-metal).
ALSO, i read in the SUN that there was one (only one) £2 in circulation, that had the letter I missing from "GIANTS", from around the edge of the coin. Could you tell me if this is true, and how much is one of these coins worth??
Thankyou in advance
Marcel B., UK
A
Dear Marcel,
Sure, we pay at least £2 each for them! Try reading our "Questions They Ask Us" page, or the rest of our pages about £2 coins.
I wish you would give us the date of the Sun issue, then we could see exactly what they said. Better still, send us the cutting.
If you have quoted them accurately, you may try asking yourself how they would know.
Do you think the Royal Mint would make one odd coin out of a batch of over 100 million?
Why only one?
If they did, why?, and why would they let it out into circulation?
Why would they tell the Sun newspaper?
None of it would make any sense!
As to the value of such a hypothetical coin, why don't you ask the Sun newspaper to tell you its value, I'm sure they could invent something!
Don't believe everything you read in newspapers.
Don't believe everything you read in The Sun.
Should you believe anything you read in The Sun?
Q
I have recently inherited a £2.00 Euro 96 coin and was wondering if it was worth as much as i have benn told it is? Please could u help
Joe, Oxfordshire
A
Dear Joe,
How much were you told it was worth?
Q
I was wondering whaich two pound coin has the words "standing on the shoulders os giants" on the side.
Thanks.
Linda Lee, Canada
A
Dear Linda,
You were reading our "Story of the £2 Piece" page. If you clicked back to the "£2 Index" page, you would find a list of different £2 coins which you could try reading until you find the correct one. Actually you don't have to read them all, just try using the "edit - search" option on your browser for "shoulder".
The information also appears on our "Coin Inscriptions" page.
Another great way to find this information is to search using Alta Vista for +"standing on the shoulders of giants" +"two pound coin", which turns up our page in the first 10 results.
You could also use Canada.com, but this only finds us if you put an "s" on the end of "coin".
Q
how much do they cost to make?
Daniel S., London
A
Dear Daniel,
We know you were reading our "£2 Pieces Story" page, but how much do what cost to make?
Q
I have a rugby two pound coin, made from base metal..is it worth anything??
Cheers!
Martin K., England
A
Dear Martin,
Read our "Story of the £2 Piece" page, or see the previous answer on our "Questions They Ask Us" page.
Q
i have a two pound end of world war11 coin i think it is gold, well it certainly looks gold and i was wondering if it is of any value
Lorraine W., Northern Ireland
A
Dear Lorraine,
Your coin is probably nickel-brass rather than gold.
(Enclosed our standard £2 coins reply)
Q
Please could you tell me if a 2pound coin with the queen wearing both earrings and a necklace is rare and worth more than 2 pound,and if this is true where could you take it.
Mrs. S. Bowen, Flintshire
A
Dear Mrs Bowen,
Only if she is wearing one pearl and one diamond ear-ring. If they are both the same, either both diamonds or both pearls, then you should read our page all about the £2 coin rumour. You stopped when you found our "Coin Inscriptions" page.
Q
Could you please tell me if there is going to be any new £2 coins comming out.
Thankyou
Mark, England, March 4th, 2000
A
Dear Mark,
Yes we are sure there will be new £2 coins being issued every year. There are, of course some in the year 2000 coin sets. They are the, by now, definitive design as on the 1997 issue.
If you meant, any new designs of £2 coin, we do not know of any imminent plans to issue any new designs, but as there have been 9 different reverse designs produced in the 15 years from 1986, we expect that there will be commemorative versions issued in many future years.
We hope this answers your question.
Q
I have amonst various £2.00 coins a '10th European championship' coin which is not listed in your £2.00 coin information list. The minting date is 1996, can you tell me anything about it?
Secondly for those of us with coins on your list are they worth more than their face value?
James S., Dorset
A
Dear James,
Our list you refer to is not an "information" list, but a "for sale" list, although it is true that we try to include as much general information as possible, to make our site interesting and informative both for our clients and the general public.
There are several reasons for us not listing a particular item, the first being that we might have only a small stock, or none, of the piece. the second and more likely reason is that we have not yet had time to get round to listing the particular item. As less than 5% of our stock is currently listed on our web sites, the second reason is always the most likely.
If you read our "Story of the £2 Piece" page, you will see that we mention the 1996 coin.
Apart from the fact that the nickel-brass coins were rather heavy and unpopular, there is no reason to believe that the 1996 coin is rare or valuable. The Royal Mint's issue figure for it was 5,141,350 excluding special editions for sale to collectors.
Most of the modern coins we list are special editions for sale to collectors, and as such are superior to the ordinary coins struck for circulation, even when such coins are obtained uncirculated straight from the banks, as new. A collector would only want the ordinary issue if he could not afford the superior specimen version. It is extremely unlikely that any collector would pay a premium price for any modern coin which was in less than mint condition.
Even if you kept circulated coins for fifty years, it is unlikely that they would become desirable to collectors or dealers.
Q
I have read with interest the facts and the myths of the "rare" coin, However is it not the case that when the coin with this portrait was first minted the majority of the vending machines at the time had problems accepting the coin, thus leading to a delay in circulating them fully, my understanding is that there are only c1m of this particular design, whereas there are many millions of the later coins with the more familiar design.
Truth or Fiction??
I would like to know as iI am about to bank 195 of these coins and as the banks do not need the revenue that a 'rare' coin would realise, I would not mind. Still on the bright side I have at least saved £390.00.
Many thanks in anticipation,
James S., Christchurch
A
Dear James,
I think the fact that you have managed to find 195 of them answers your own question, however I recently asked the Royal Mint for the actual mintage and issue figures for the 1997 £2 coins, which was 13,734,625. We have placed a more complete answer on our "rumour" page.
Do you realise that if you could acquire the other 13,734,430 of them, you could corner the market, but this would require £27.5 million assuming the price didn't start going up when you got partway. For only £16.25 million, you could corner the market on year 2000 gold sovereigns (at our single price of £65), and if you took advantage of our bulk buying prices you would only need about £12.5 million. I know which coin I would prefer to corner the market in!
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
What is the significance of the inscription engraved on the edge of £2 coins "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants"? Is this from Coleridge: "The dwarf sees farther than the giant, when he has the giant's shoulder to mount on"? Why should this be on the £2 coin?
John B., UK
A
Dear John,
You were 1 click away from the answer.
From the page you were on, click
"1997 First Bimetallic Issue"
and all will be revealed.
Regards,
Lawrence Chard
Q
I am interested in gold bullion coins, particularly Canadian Maple leaf
coins. You web site did not indicate that you could supply these Canadian
coins or even the American Eagle sets either.
Can i obtain Canadian Gold Maple leaf and or Platinum and Silver Coins from
yourselves or do i have to go to a US or Canadian Source.
Thank you
Baz. M.
A
Dear Barry.
You do not say where you are from, but I will assume it is the UK.
As you will know if you have read some of the information on our site, gold coins only became exempt from VAT on January 1st 2000. They have been subject to VAT since 1973. Because of this, it is taking us some time to establish supplies of many of the "other" bullion gold coins at the right price and in sensible quantities, which is why we do not currently have them listed.
If you are looking at gold for an investment, we believe either krugerrands or sovereigns offer the best value.
We do not intend to offer platinum bullion coins because they remain subject to VAT, as do silver bullion coins. Additionally silver bullion coins sell at many time their intrinsic value.
Did you look at our Tax Free Gold web site? It is linked from our front page, and from many of our gold coin pages.
Hope this helps,
Lawrence Chard
Q
Good afternoon from snowy Whistler,
I wanted to thank you for your extensive information about gold and platinum etc. It's amazing, as a consumer, how much conflicting information one gets!
I am in the process of having an engagement ring made, and am trying to chose between white gold or platinum.
Essentially, I am a silver lover. I love the "whiteness" or lightness of silver. I am trying to find a precious metal that most closely emulates silver (ironic I think, given the price of silver!). We are trying to keep to our budget, however, so we are tentative about Platinum.
I, therefore, have a few questions for you if you wouldn't mind:
- Can silver be used for a ring setting for a gem (e.g. a sapphire)? I am assuming it is not used because it is too soft a metal, but I have been told that platinum is equally as soft? What are the chances of loosing the gemstone if a silver setting is used?
- Is platinum plating ever used for rings? If so, how long would the platinum plating last? Would plating white gold in platinum be much less expensive than getting straight platinum in the long run?
- I understand that Platinum scratches easily. Can anything be done about the scratches periodically?
- If one were to use Platinum instead of 18k Gold, and Platinum is a "softer" metal, does it make sense to "beef up" the ring setting to compensate?
- Does it not get expensive to have one's white gold ring "rhodium plated" every time the initial plating wears off?
- Do you have any suggestions as to how I can keep the cost of the ring down and still get the "lightness" of the metal I am looking for?
Thank you very much for your time!
Have a wonderful day................ Janet
A
Dear Janet,
I'm seriously thinking about giving up trying to sell jewellery, and going into the consultancy business. How much do you think we could charge per question?
I counted 10 question marks in your enquiry, and a few of the statements appear designed to extract a comment also!
However you did ask in such a nice way, that we can't resist trying to help, so here goes, I am going to repeat your questions, followed by the answers:-
That's usually because sales peoples don't like to admit to being ignorant, and resort to bullshit instead, but let's be kind to them, and assume that they guess, and get it wrong more than half the time.
For the small difference in price, go for platinum. You will get more pleasure in the long term.
All metals except gold and copper are a silvery colour. Unfortunately silver tarnishes easily, and is to soft to be recommended for delicate rings holding precious stones.
Is an extra $100 going to break the bank? Is the engagement ring intended to last a lifetime?
Yes, but it may need to be a "chunky" ring, silver is not strong enough for precious stones in delicate mounts.
Which idiot told you that? Take a look at our Hardness of Gold Alloys page.
Quite high, although much high quality Victorian jewellery was made using silver settings soldered onto high carat yellow gold, so that the "white" silver showing off the diamonds better, but in these pieces the silver was only in the form of a flat wire or sheet soldered directly onto the surface of the gold, quite thin, almost like a plating. this meant the silver did not need to provide structural strength. Even so white gold or platinum would have been better. It was just not generally available at the time.
To my knowledge, no! Even platinum is sometimes rhodium plated, but it doesn't need it, whereas most white gold alloys do need it.
Not applicable, but if you mean rhodium plating, it depends on how well and how thickly the plating was applied, how much abrasion you give the ring, etc.
No, I believe that getting platinum in the first place would work out more economical in the long run.
All jewellery metal scratch fairly easily, I don't believe that platinum scratches more easily than most of the others. Actually, I think that platinum and 18 carat yellow gold both look pretty good even when they start looking slightly homely and lived in!
Yes, if they really bother you, you could get the ring repolished.
It isn't softer, so no!
Yes, you are quite right.
No, you almost always have to pay more in the short term to get high quality. In the long term, its superior quality should repay the extra cash many times over, especially in terms of satisfaction.
You are welcome!
While I was writing the above, it occurred to me that I sounded like a platinum salesman, giving all the "textbook" answers, however I am only interested in disseminating honest accurate information. If PGI (Platinum Guild International" ever read this, I should be in line for a "PLATTY" award; so far no such thing exists, but if we can have GRAMMY awards, I don't see why we can't have "PLATTY" awards.
That's very nice of you! Hope all this helps. Most of it can be found somewhere on our site, but it doesn't do any harm to repeat it here.
I love skiing, and I know that's what Whistler is famous for. If you look on the How To Find Us page, you will see where I spent a week this January, in Courchevel, France, one of the world's best ski resorts. Now many people tell me that skiing in North America is even better than in Europe, I like to keep an open mind about these things, so some day I intend to try out the double black diamonds over there. Actually, when I meet American ski-bums in Europe they usually tell me that European skiing is far more extensive than US or Canadian skiing, and because they are usually advanced skiers rather than the intermediates who praise North America, I would tend to believe them rather than my English compatriots.
I must warn you that if you extend me any invitations to visit you in Whistler, I almost certainly will turn up one day, and if I like it, you may find it difficult to get rid of me!
Q
Hello again,
I just sent off an e-mail to you and I forgot to ask one question. It is a gem cutting question. Hopefully you can help:
I am looking at a 1.22 sapphire that is the exact colour I have been looking for (a tanzanite colour). It is an elongated cushion cut with the following dimensions: 4.6mm * 7.6mm. As I mentioned the colour is great but the cut is less than great. The has good fire on the sides of the belly but in the middle is a bit of a window.
Is there any possibility that this gem can be recut to get rid of the window (I have been told that windows are due largely to poor cutting) and improve the liveliness of the stone, without reducing the surface size? I don't currently know the depth of the stone but I can tell you it seemed to have a fair belly. I have a contact with a gem cutter who is good and very reasonable but I am not ready to ask him yet.
Thanks again, hope to hear from you soon!!!!!
Yours truly,
Janet
A
This one is much more difficult to answer.
Windows form because of the inherent character of the stone, either colour banding or shape, good cutting and some luck, can reduce or sometimes eliminate it, but not always. Usually it is shallow stones which suffer from windowing, so if yours is deep, it may be best to leave it alone.
You really need to get a lapidary to give you an opinion, and don't be surprised if even he can't be certain. I think that most lapidary work is partly lucky guess. Before half the world's lapidaries e-mail me, let me say that the more experienced and skilled a lapidary becomes, the luckier he gets at guessing.
Q
are the two pound coins with a necklace on the queens neck worth more than without a necklace?
are the rugby union coins worth more?
E.F., UK
A
Dear Ellen,
Thank you for your enquiry. We have a page on our website https://24carat.co.uk
which tells you all you will need to know
about the £2 coins.
From our front page, click
"Products Catalogue"
Coins Index
Two Pound Pieces
The Story of the £2 Piece
Please take a look at this page.
Because we still get e-mails from people viewing our
Two Pound Pieces
page, we have made it even easier for you, by creating an extra page linked from it, called
"Necklace" Rumour.
Any other coins you find in your change are unlikely to be valuable, because they will not be mint condition. Collectors understandably tend to prefer to get their coins in perfect condition, untouched by human hand, especially if they are paying more than face value for them, otherwise they would probably prefer to find their own at face value, wouldn't you?
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
What is the tradition behind giving eternity rings i.e. are they traditionally given for a particular event e.g. aniiversary, birth of 1st child etc...
C. S., UK
A
Dear Chris,
We believe that all the information you ask about eternity rings is already
on our site:-
https://24carat.co.uk
then click
Products
Rings
Eternity rings
The Story of the Eternity Ring
Hope this helps, if we have omitted anything, please let us know.
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
Dear Sir or Madam,
You may like to add to your articles that there is now a two pound coin
in general circulation once again.
Yours faithfully,
D. P.
A
Dear David,
Thanks for your comment.
You do not specify which of our pages you were looking at, but we are not aware that we give the impression anywhere on our site that £2 coins are not in circulation. In fact, if you take a look at our page:-
https://24carat.co.uk/twopoundsstory.html
You will find it states:-
"In Circulation - At Last
From 1997, a new bi-metal two pound coin has been produced, which seems to have become quite widely accepted in circulation. Although it retains the same diameter, it is thinner and lighter, weighing only 12.0 grams, and this appears to have contributed to its popularity. It now looks set to become a common sight in our change after only just over 500 years!"
Regards,
Lawrence Chard
Q
Where does the quotation about "shoulders of giants" around the edge come from?
P. J., UK
A
Dear Philip,
You were on our "1986 £2 Coin" page before you e-mailed us, if you had looked at our 1997 £2 coin page you would have found out, similarly if you had looked at our "Coin Inscriptions" page.
If you search Alta Vista for "shoulders of giants" it returns 4006 matches, but searching for "Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants" produces only 1376 pages, of which http://www.win-uk.net/~jherbert/giants.html was very informative, telling us:-
A guestbook entry from Alan Williams quotes the Oxford Dictionary (of Quotations?) as crediting Bernard of Chartes with the first usage of "on the shoulders of giants" in about 1130.
If you search for:-
+"standing on the shoulders of giants" +coins
you will only get 14 pages, one of which is ours.
Searching for
Q
I have a collection called "United Kingdom Uncirculated Coin Collection 1983" from the Royal Mint. It is in it's original packaging, and includes the one pound coin, as well as a 1/2, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 pence coin. They are sealed and in absolutley perfect condition, never touched.
Love to know if they have any significant value. thank you for your time...
Bob S., Ohio, USA.
A
Dear Bob,
If you take a look at the British Coin Sets page on our site, you will find our asking price for this item,
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
A
Q
Good day. I suggest including more coin-related terminology in your table of
terms, such as "Unc" which is used occasionally at your site when discussing
grading/pricing of particular coins. I don't know what "Unc" means, but am
guessing "Uncirculated"--is that correct?
Christopher
A
Dear Christopher,
We already do.
It's on our
"Coin Grading" page, which you can find by going:-
https://24carat.co.uk
then click:-
information
frequently asked coin questions.
Q
Dear sir/madem
I have a George V 1913 gold half sovereign minted in Ottawa. I have a coin book that was printed in 1996,in the book theres
a gold sovereign minted in Ottawa, which is worth £350.00 in extra fine condition.But theres no George V 1913 gold half sovereign minted in Ottawa,so could you tell me how much it is worth.
from J. R., England
A
Dear Jack,
As you already appear to know that no half sovereigns were produced at the Ottawa mint, what makes you think that the half sovereign you have is one from the Ottawa mint?
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
How many old pennies make up a florin?
N.H., London
A
The answer is usual is already available on our site.
From our information page, click:-
frequently asked coin questions,
British Coin Denominations. What is a Groat, etc.
Then look at florins.
Q
Hi,
I wonder if you can help me. I am trying to find out which British coin
has/had the insciption "What's past is prologue".
I would be grateful for your help
Thanks,
Tony,
A
Dear Tony,
Please take a look at our "Coin Inscriptions" page.
Q
Dear sir.
I have been given a 2 pound coin which i been told is worth more than 2 pounds. I wonder if you could let me know if it is correct.
The coin has a dove of peace on one side with the words (in peace goodwill 1995 +1945 )on the edge.
It is all gold and the queen has a neckless on. I would appreciate your comments.
yours P. h., England
A
Dear Philip,
Please take a look at our pages about £2 coins.
Q
Any likelihood of introducing on-line ordering?
Colin, Coventry
A
Dear Colin,
Yes certainly!
When once we get over 50% of our products online instead of under 5%, we
will be trying to move to online ordering.
Naturally when we do that, we would want our system to be able to perform a
stock check, raise an invoice, and charge your credit card.
Is it jewellery or coins you were interested in?
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
I would like to purchase a 1961, 1962,
and a 1972 Proof set. But can not
find how to do it on your website.
Mykul, Ca, USA
A
Dear Mykul,
Sorry, we have been so busy just trying to build our site content as quickly as possible.
It now has about 2000 hours invested in it.
We just haven't had time to put order forms in place for all our pages.
Just a brief note of what's wanted, with a cheque, and your address is sufficient, and of course, we have our name and address on all, I hope, of our pages.
The good news is we finally got round to creating "Coin Sets" order forms, not only for the UK, but also for the USA. Just click the appropriate link on the page you were at.
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
I have got an 18 carat white gold engagement ring and wedding ring. They have both gone yellow and seem to be very scratched. I was wondering whether any chemicals (esp. solvents - i work in a lab) could have caused the yellowing or whether it was just a very thin plating. I have only had my wedding ring for 8 months and it went yellow after about 3 months. Also what is the best way to clean diamonds from behind the setting. My earrings esp. need a good scrub. Please help
Sonia C., England
A
Dear Sonia,
We have a page or two on our site specifically about white gold, and why it turns yellow.
Try information; jewellery FAQs; white gold
Cleaning:-
Use warm soapy water and an old soft toothbrush.
Sorry this is brief, pre-Christmas rush, 16 hour days!
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
when will the millennium crown be availible
to the public at local bank if they
wish to stock it , or can i get the
crown from you at face value ?? .
Thanks in advance
Jim C., UK, December 1999
A
Dear Jim,
Since last June! You should ask your bank.
When the coins were first announced, it was stated that they would be available from banks and post offices.
If your bank does not have any, it's probably because they aren't making any money on the deal.
We were offering to supply advance orders at face value before June, but have now stopped.
Some people actually complained about marks on them!
The specimen in folder is so superior that we most people prefer it rather than the ordinary Uncirculated.
If we sell the ordinary one at face value, we lose money, we have staff to pay, many other expenses, and we can barely keep up with paying enquiries as it is.
Hope this helps.
Lawrence Chard
Q
Hello there,
My enquiry is I have a gold bangle. It is stamped 375. Does that mean it is 9ct gold? Over here 925 is sterling silver. Could you pleae answer this.
With thanks,
Robyn, Australia
A
"Does that mean it is 9ct gold?" - Yes
"Over here 925 is sterling silver." - Same over here!
Q
What Henry VIII's shilling known as? Does it have a particular nick-name? (Other than "bob" which was the common name for a shilling generally.)
Alisdair, England
A
You are possibly thinking of a "testoon". This was the first shilling ever issued, in about 1487, during the reign not of Henry VIII, but of his father Henry VII, who created major improvements in British coinage.
It was called a testoon after the Italian "testa" meaning head, because it featured a particularly fine portrait of the king's head.
Testoons were also issued, in larger quantities, for Henry VIII.
After his reign, although shillings continued to be produced, they were no longer referred to as testoons.
There is an old but faintly humorous story about the old lady who informed a dealer that she was in possession of one of Henry VIII's testoons, and that it was very well preserved, to which the dealer replied that he would be interested in buying it because he already owned the other one.
I am enquiring about a coin dated 1780 with what looks like cryptic writing on the front: R.IMP.HU.BO.REG (imprint of a woman) M.THERESIAD.G
On the back: BURG.CO.TYR.1780.x (imprint of a coat of arms) ARCHID.AVST.DUX
There is also a great amount of detail along the edge of the coin, with the words CLEMENTIA and TUSTITIA
Lori S., W.V., USA
A
What you have is a Thaler (Dollar) of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresia.
It may surprise you to learn that it was not minted in 1780. Although, as opposed to newspapers, you can generally believe what you read on a coin, in this case, you can't.
The original and genuine thalers of Maria Theresia were struck from 1740 to 1779. If yours had been dated in this period, it may have been authentic. All the thalers dated 1789 were struck later.
They were for many years a commonly used trade coin in parts of the Middle East, and have been struck by many different mints. As far as I know, the Austrian mint in Vienna still produce and sell them. From this you will guess that they are of little value. Some years ago, our company used to sell them at about £1 ($1.65 US) in uncirculated condition, and a proof version for about £1.50 ($2.50 US).
Our selling price now would be about £5 to £10.
Sorry about the last message; that was intended for my office mate who
researched the coin for me. At any rate, though, thank you for your
response!
Lori
Q
I'm sorry to bother you but I've tried and tried to find info on your site re £2 coins with Queen wearing a necklace! I even found a reference to it in 'the things you ask us' but I still can't find anything else!
Please forgive me if I am just being stupid! (PS I don't have the coin myself, a colleague does, and I promised to try and find out for her!)
Thanks, Maddie, UK
A
Dear Maddie,
We are sorry you couldn't find the page you were looking for on our site.
We actually expend quite a lot of thought and effort trying to make it easy to navigate, and crosslinking various pages.
Here's how to find the pages about £2 coins:-
Reload our site:-
www.24carat.co.uk
click the button marked "Products Catalogue"
the the link "Coins Index"
then Two Pound Pieces
and The Story of the £2 Piece
This should tell you everything you need to know about it, except the name of the idiot who started the rumour.
Regards, Lawrence Chard
For anyone reading this page, and looking for the same information, use this link The Story of the £2 Piece
Q
1820 Georgius III "Crown"
Reverse. Man on horse with sword.
Condition - Good
Looking for an estimated value.
Regards
Alistair N, Scotland
A
Dear Alistair,
Almost every one of our coins for sale pages contains the following
paragraph:-
If you want to find the value of a coin you own, please take a look at our
page I've Found An Old Coin, What's It Worth?
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
Dear Sirs/Madams:
I would like to enquiry about the worth of the following three coins:
1. A ten Reichpfenning piece from 1941.
2. A copper Chinese Tai-Ching-Ti- Kuo.
3. A fifty pence piece from the Falklands Islands. This coin was minted to celebrate the liberation of the islands on June 14th, 1982.
Big coin; 3,7 mm in diameter.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH IN ADVANCE!
Marcelo Kogan, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
A
Dear Marcelo,
Please read the "I've Found an Old Coin. What's It Worth?"
page.
There is a link to it from the page you were on.
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
i am wondering that you have information about chemical element analysis
about plantium, gold, diamond, sliver, sapphire. because i am student at
local university for assignment which require by my tutor
thank you
shahab reza
A
You could take a look at:-
www.webelements.com
Its a very informative site.
LC
Q
simply the two pound coin with the queen sporting a necklet is it of any
more value thank you
A
Dear Terry,
All the information you need is already on the pages of our website, on or linked from the page you were at.
Q
Dear Sir's
I have a jewellery repair business based in Birmingham U.K. At the
moment of writing I am looking into setting up a web site, aimed directly at
the home retail market.
Without wishing to sound cheeky, I would be grateful if you could pass on any
advice regarding a site i.e. is it worth it!
Thankyou for your time.
Yours sincerely, A.P.W.
A
Dear A.,
Since we started this site on November 28th 1998, we now have four separate sites, with plans for more. That should speak for itself. Mind you I have invested about 2000 hours of my personal time into the sites, so they should repay this. I believe you only get out what you put in.
Yes, go for it!
Lawrence Chard
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
All the best, A.
Q
Have you received any reply on your porblems. We have the same proble as your number 9 ""Micro$oft Word" Word cannot change printers. No printers are installed."
A
Dear Malcolm,
Yes and No!
A few kind people have given us a few tips, but...
We ended up getting a new (bigger, better, faster) computer, with a complete new NT4 installed on it.
The problems may have been cause by us not knowing how to install and set up NT, but it doesn't come with anything in the way of a manual, and the help files are pathetic as usual from Microsoft.
It may help to re-install service pack 4 (?), or even back everything up, and then do a complete re-install.
I suggest putting a page on your site relating your problems, if everybody did this, Microsoft might just get a little more customer friendly and helpful.
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
1911 British George coin:
What is it called? approximate
value or price for circulated
or sort of good condition but
not extremely good condition.
Coin is stamped 1911 D.G. Britt:
OMN:KEX F.D. IND.IMP 00 ?
GEORG IVS
W.F., Illinois, USA
A
Dear Wynn,
Near the bottom of the page from which you mailed this enquiry is a link to another of our pages:-
Value of my Coin. What's it Worth?
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
i have a 2 pound coin dated from 1986,could you please send me in formation or please tell the value of this coin
thanks
nick, UK
A
See next question.
Q
I have a 1986 CommonWealth £2 coin.
It is "goldy" coloured otherwise the same design as the one on your web page.
Is this the same as the one in the picture and is it worth the same amount?
Many thanks
S. I., United Kingdom
A
Dear Steve,
The coin we illustrated on our web page is made of nickel-brass, and is therefore also a "goldy" colour. The colour our coin appears to you will depend partly on your monitor. Our "About Our Site" page tells all about the digital camera we use, and the fact that accurate colour reproduction is difficult. To give you an idea of this, the background we use for most of our coins photographs is white. The fact that it appears to be different shades of blue, or sometimes gold, is because our "intelligent" camera tries to adjust its output to allow for the colour of light used.
It will be the same coin as ours, except that:-
Yours will probably have been in circulation, and collected wear, scratches, fingerprints, etc.
Ours is not only Uncirculated, but is also a "Specimen", a specially struck and selected coin, without any marks, untouched by human hand. When it was produced by the Royal Mint, it will have been singly ejected onto a rubber conveyor belt instead of a metal skip with thousands of other identical coins. Each Specimen coin is individually checked for defects before being packaged.
Ours is packaged in an attractive display folder, designed and produced by the Royal Mint to prevent the coin from being accidentally handled or damaged, to maintain its perfect mint state.
Our price includes an element of VAT, and we also like to make a profit on the coins we sell to pay for the service we provide.
The value of anything is what somebody else is prepared to pay. Most collectors would prefer to pay extra for perfect examples rather than (even slightly) imperfect ones.
You will be able to guess from this that your coin is unlikely to be "worth" as much as ours, however if you manage to find a buyer prepared to pay more for it, then you can always set up in business buying coins from us and reselling them at profit.
Hope this helps.
Lawrence Chard
Q
How is gold wholesale price per gram figured?
Al, Florida
A
We reckon that most wholesalers take a guess at the highest price their customers are prepared to pay, but because most wholesalers are human, they will all arrive at different answers.
They will also give discounts to quick payers and volume buyers.
To be able to give you a more precise answer your question would need to be more specific.
Q
hi, my name is charlotte and i go to wangenheim middle school. i'm doing a project having to do with the song "the twelve days of christmas" if you could help me out i'd really appreciate it. i would like to know how much a gold ring would cost and if their would be a discount if i bought a cetain amount of them? thanx for ur coroperation! bye
charlotte, California
A
Dear charlotte,
Are you quite sure your name isn't Charlotte? Capitals are quite important you know. If California didn't have a capital, where would all the people in Sacramento live? Also where would all the state government officials meet to decide important matters like "who's going to collect the garbage?"?
It's difficult to give you an exact answer to your question, because there are thousands of different designs of gold rings, and the price depends on many factors, such as the weight, the gold content, the quality, whether there are any gemstones, and more. It also depends on what the buyer is willing to pay.
Most jewellers would probably give you a discount if you wanted to buy "five gold rings" at a time. Our prices for plain gold rings start at about £20 and go up to a few hundred pounds.
A pound is worth about $1.65 US, you could check if your teachers or parents know the exchange rate of Dollars against Pounds. You may be the only member of your class who knows!
There is probably a local jeweller you could visit who could show you samples and give you even more information.
Does this help?
Regards,
Lawrence Chard
always, Charlotte
Q
What is the correct name for the edge of coins that have "ridges"?
ex: the US quarter has a ridged edge. What is this edge called?
G. R., Pa, USA
A
Milled (or grained or reeded)
Q
I have got a "Half Penny" coin dated 1905.
On one side of the coin is showing "Edwards VII Dei Gra:Britt: omn:rex fit:def:ind:imp:
I just wnat to know the real value of that coin.
Kind regards
Marcos Paulo
A
Dear Marcos,
Take a look at out page:-
Information
Frequently Asked Coin Questions
I've Found an Old Coin. What's It Worth?
Regards,
Lawrence Chard
Q
(From our "1900 Sixpence" page)
I HAVE THE SAME COIN BUT IT IS A ONE PENNY
ON THE FRONT WITH A ROMAN GUY SITTING IN A CHAIR AND THE
QUEEN VICTORIA ON THE BACK 1896
Adam M., TX, USA
A
How do you answer that?
Q
Enquiry begins:: How much are the £2.00 coins worth with the Queen wearing a neckelace
Andrew M., England
A
Dear Andrew,
We have already provided an answer to your question on our site:- www.24carat.co.uk
Just click:- Products - Coins - Two Pounds
Regards,
Lawrence Chard
Q
I would like to know the value of a 1857 Gold Sovereign with Victoria Youg Head / Sheild reverse in very good condition. Also I would like to know the weight of the coin.
Thank You- Jack McP., Indiana, USA
A
Dear Jack,
There are similar coins listed for sale on our site, you can see how much we are asking for them.
There is also a page with technical specifications of sovereigns listed, including weight.
Regards,
Lawrence Chard
Q
Lawrence
Perhaps my head is not working but I am still confused. If
your airmail shipping is $10, then the coin price is $50.45.
What is the extra $2 charge? That makes a total of $12 to
ship airmail.
Also, will you accept my credit card in lieu of a check.
This would allow me to take advantage of the prevailing
exchange rate. In my travels I found that to usually be to
my advantage because of the fluctuations in rates. If you
agree, then when I desire a coin, quote me the itemized cost
of the coin and also the charge for shipping, all in pounds,
instead of having me write a check in dollars.
A
Dear Fred,
We show our prices the way we do to make life easier for our customers, and us.
Lets take an item where the price difference between surface mail and airmail works out on our order form at $10, plus the $2 handling - not shipping - charge.
This is because the surface mail rates work out quite evenly, each item costs us, say $3. To sen 1 item costs $3, to send 2 items costs $6, etc.
With airmail we find that the rates are $2 less per extra item, e.g.
1 item might cost $15 ($12 more than surface) to send, but 2 items only cost $28 ($22 more than surface) to send.
By adding the $2 as handling per order, it saves adding $2 to every item, and saves our customers money.
If you can't follow this, don't worry. It took me about 2 hours to check all the rates, and calculate a simple formula.
Credit Cards
Credit cards would add about 3% to all our charges, we currently don't accept them.
In addition banks are not happy with "cardholder not present", mail order transactions.
One CC acceptor will give us mail order facilities if we give them a 25% deposit on our projected annual CC sales. This means that for the first year we would have to pay out more than we took, especially if our CC sales increased rapidly.
Exchange Rates
Most of our US $ prices are calculated at $1.65 per £1.
The current rate as I write is $1.6413, we will probably need to give our bank about $1.68 dollars to get £1.
American banks will probably charge you more, about £1.70 per £1, because your transactions are smaller. We bank about 10 to 20 US checks each time.
We hope you will agree that our current pricing and ordering arrangements are arranged to help us give you the best deal.
Regards,
Lawrence Chard
Q
What is the approximate value today of £5,000 worth of Krugerands that were purchased in 1980
J.W., Sussex, England
A
It depends exactly when in 1980, and how much premium you paid on them, because the first problem is to work out how many you could have bought for £5000 at the time. It would be easier to work out the price of a known quantity of coins.
An even simpler way would be to find the £ price of gold at the time and divide the £5000 by that figure, then multiply be today's price.
Q
What is rose gold? What is green gold?
Jessie J., Wa, USA
A
Dear Jessie,
The answers to your questions are already on our website!
If you reload our site:-
https://24carat.co.uk
and then click
Information
Frequently Asked Jewellery Questions
What is Rose Gold?
What is Green Gold?
You will find the answers.
Q
G'day,
Just a quick question. I was recently going through some
old stuff off my grandmothers and found a necklace with a
pendant attached. On closer inspection I found the pendant
to be an "1823 Crown" (with King George III on it), the ring
for the necklace had been welded to the top with what looks
like brass.
To cut to the chase my question is: Does this conversion
serverly depreciate the coins value, which on its own I
would grade as Extremley Fine (40), except for the lump of brass
attached to the top. I have a feeling it does but would like
some clarification.
Thanx for your time
Peter B, Australia
A
Yes, it does absolutely ruin it, and reduces it to near scrap value.
Please not, though, that 1823 crowns don't exist, could it be an 1823 £2 gold piece, (or a copy). In EF it catalogues about £550, mounted it's worth about £80 to £100
Also 1823 would be George IV not III
You weren't testing the amber nectar before reading the coin by any chance?
Q
Why does the 1952 Coin Set
only contain 4 coins ?
Cheers
Tim H., England
A
Dear Tim,
Because only 4 different denominations were issued that year!
The mint only produce coins according to supply and demand, although the
death of King George VI may have been a contributory factor.
Hope this helps.
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q In what order should youwear your ringsi.e. wedding ,engagemntand eternity on the same finger?
R.F., England
Wear them in any order you wish.
The most traditional order is wedding ring first, many people never remove them, followed by eternity ring (which is really a "dress" or "best" wedding ring), then the engagement ring.
Many people alter this order depending on the design of the rings, and their own personal preference.
Jewellery exists for the pleasure of the wearer, not the other way round.
Hope this helps. Regards,
Lawrence Chard
Q
I've never seen 18 Carat White gold yet your article suggests it exists. Why then in jewelry stores do they always seem
(to me) to have 10 and 14 carat white gold, but 18 carat gold rings with silver always have platinum as the silver color. I thought
maybe it required more than 25% other metal to get a nice silver color, but your article refutes that too.
By the way nice website.
Lee L., California, USA
10 karat and 14 karat are cheaper and not as good as 18 carat.
You need to look in better jewellers! It's the same in this country.
Thanks for your kind comments about our website.
Regards,
Lawrence Chard
Q - (6 separate e-mails)
how much is the 1999 Delaware realy worth and what is the miss print?
i have a 1936 buffalo nickle how much is this worth?
i have a 1901 quarter haw much is this worth?
i have a 1961 penny that looks kinda like gold but i don't think it is and it's realy shiney how much is it worth?
i have a 1941 half dollar how much is it worth?
i have a 1922 silver dollar but the word Trust in IN GOD WE TRUST is spelled with a V like this TRVST how much would this coin be worth right now?
Jennifer, New Mexico/USA
A
Dear Jennifer,
If you revisit our site:-
https://24carat.co.uk
then click
information
Frequently Asked Coin Questions
I've Found an Old Coin. What's It Worth?
You will find some useful advice.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Lawrence Chard
Q
I am looking for the test methodology to look for nickel content and nickel release in Jewellery.
Hope you can help.
Thankyou
J.D., Great Britain
A
Dear Jonathan
Any of the 4 assay offices should be able to help you.
Try Sheffield, Tel: 0114-2755111
Q
Dear sears,
I decide contact you, because you are one of famous on the world. I have something what was I inherited, but I don't know what is it (coins or medals) and is it worth. So, if you have a little time for me pleas check it and answer me promptly. I'll thanks in advance.
Sincerely yours, VX
CC: 7 pictures of samples.
A
Dear Jovica,
If you revisit our site:-
https://24carat.co.uk
then click
information
Frequently Asked Coin Questions
I've Found an Old Coin. What's It Worth?
You should find some useful advice.
Hello
I wonder if you could help me. A jeweller near me is selling a pair of
earrings which he says could be Alexandrite, set in 18 carat gold. I don't
know why I feel this but the setting seems middle eastern in design -
although subtle. He is charging only £180 which makes me very suspicious,
although he says that he hasn't tested them. Surely he would have done so,
particularly if testing for authenticity is fairly simple. I am going to
have another look at them tonight although I don't intend to make a decision
yet as I want to make sure that I put the birthday money I have received
from my father to good use, but could you give me any ideas how I could, as
a layman test whether they are corundum?
I would really appreciate your advice.
Many thanks
V. S.
Further to my email yesterday regarding checking Alexandrites, don't bother
to reply to it as I did a bit more research and when I went back to the
jewellers, I carried out some light tests and checked them through a glass.
Pretty sure I saw tiny air bubbles, so reckon they were synthetic corundum.
Many thanks anyway.
V. S.
Usually if the offer sounds too good to be true, then it isn't true!
There are some good books on gem testing, when we get chance, we will put a review or list of them on the site.
LC
Lawrence
Thanks for your replpy, I did'nt mean to take up any of your time. I was just
looking for a quick guestimation, to see if it was going to be worth my time
to get a more acquire valuation
thank you
R. W.
Q
Enquiry begins:: What does 14KT GE UNCLAD mean?
It is stamped inside a ring we have
S.G., Ohio, USA
A
Dear Shelly,
The 14KT stands for 14 carat (karat in the US and Canada) gold. We do not know what the GE or UNCLAD mean. You should ask the people who sold you the ring!
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Q
I am wondering why you have this web site ?, and what is the point point
you are making.
I know all about Mr Ratner, and and the crap statement, and it was taken
out of all context by the papers and now you. I worked for the Ratners
for over twenty years, perhaps i can fill you in on all the details that
led upto that comment.
joe.
A
Dear Joe,
I am still waiting for the further information you half promised in your
e-mail, to which I replied several weeks ago.
By the way, I don't consider that I quoted GR out of context.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Regards,
Lawrence Chard
Dear 24 carat,
Congratulations to your Website; very informative and easy to use.
I am currently in Australia on a working holiday; got some money
saved, which I would like spend on jewellery. This would be an
investment with possible easy selling in few years time when cash
needed.
Question: opal or diamond? Which one keeps its value better? Are
they better buy here than in Europe?
Yours sincerely,
Mr. A. C., Adelaide, Australia
Hello,
I will be in London this August (17th -Sept 2) and would appreciate if you could tell me where in London would I be able to purchase the prince charles 50th birthday 5 pound crown and the princess diana five pound coin. Thanks.
s. c., hawaii, USA
How much means one carat versus kilogramo?
a. r., mexico city
How long does Rhodium Plating last on a 14 karat "white gold" ring?
Dawn M., WV, USA
Dear Sir,
I am a jeweler in mauritius. I would like to know weather the alloy of 16k,18k,22k ect can made by acid. It is the only theory or not.Please mail me for this small enquire thanks.
SUMODHEE, MAURITIUS
As I noticed that the color of platinum is similar to white gold or silver. How can I distinguish them?
Is it true that the pure platinum will be soft like pure gold? Can the jeweler really make ring from pure platinum? If not, what is the appropriate purity for making platinum (wedding) ring ? (with out diamond)
What about the appearance of the platinum ring ( after several years of wearing) ? Will it be scratch or scrape and leave the mark on the surface of the platinum ring easity?
Thank you for your kindness to answer my questions.
Prateep W., Thailand
I have a collection of shillings, sixpences, threepences, halfcrowns and crowns dating from roughly 1850 onwards. In what dates are the coins silver and which coins are rarer
Pau C., England
What amounts are needed to obtain 14 k white gold alloys with palladium and nickel?
D. F., Mexico
Looking for help in advertising in uk for qualified jeweller. We market similar goods to you and are desperate for good jewellers. Limited supply in oz. Could you point me in the right direction. Pleeese.
Thank you in anticipation.
Graham T., Australia
What is the cubic volume of an ounce of gold?
Dan H., WI., USA
how do you determaine value of white gold and is it worth spending money on
Jack, New York
how does one take care of white gold jewellery ? ie cleaning or polishing methods so it keeps its lustre.
May, Singapore
My friend has a 1783 george 111 spade guinea i notice it's not on your list could you possible please value it for me.It's in perfect condition but it's got a rim attached to it to make a necklace so it's quite hard to make out wether the last number is a 3 or a 5 he insists that it is a 3 and he says there are only about tfour in existence and the queen has one of them.We dont live very far from Blackpool so could you oblige.
Mike B., England
Q
My partner recently bought me a diamond from the South African mines whilst he was on holiday there. The diamond is .37 ct and is graded colour G and clarity
VVS 2. It came with a certificate.
I have been told by a local jeweller that he can by the same quality stone (i.e. G and VVS1 at the same size)for £250. He didn't see my diamond, but was just commenting that he can buy them for that price. I was horrified as my partner paid far more than this for the stone!
I realise that you are unable to price a diamond you haven't seen but I would be very grateful if you could give me some indication how much a stone like it would cost. I have checked a couple of American web sites, but obviously, the pirces would be different over there anyway.
Please don't worry that I will be disappointed with your reply! The fact is that the diamond is really beautiful and I love it anyway! I will just have to resign myself to the fact that it's worth much less than my partner paid for it if that is the case!!!!
I look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for your help.
Kindest regards
Lynne H., England
A
Dear Lynne,
While we are thinking about your question, how much did your partner pay for
the ring, this will make it easier to comment.
Regards, Lawrence Chard
Hi
I sent you an enquiry yesterday from your web page regarding a diamond
bought for me by my partner. I was unsure of the certificate that came with
the diamond, but I have since found a site (under construction I'm afraid)
with details on about the certificate I have. I thought you may be able to
give me better advice if you were able to see the site - that way, you know
exactly where the diamond came from, and have full knowledge of the
certificate. It states that it is the official certificate of South African
Diamonds and also says that it is the accepted equivalent of the GIA one.
You'll know better no doubt!
The URL is: www.offtheweb.com/thesource/diamonds/djcerthb.htm
Incidentally, I'm really impressed with your web site. It's extremely
informative.
Thanks for your help - I really appreciate it! (Can't say I'll feel the same
if you tell me the diamond is worth about 50 quid though :))))
Lynne H., England
Hi
Thanks for replying.
The diamond was not in a ring, it was just a diamond on it's own!
I'm not absolutely certain what price my partner paid for it (and please
don't think it matters if it's not worth as much as he paid!). I believe it
was in the region of £700.
Hope you can give me some indication.. I really don't expect you to be able
to give accurate information via e mail.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Lynne
Hi Lawrence
I spoke to my partner last night about the diamond and I have a little
further information for you.
He was told that by buying a diamond from the mines meant he was getting it
far cheaper and that the diamond would be worth far more than he had paid
for it.. particularly as in Europe, diamonds were more expensive anyway. He
was under the impression it was worth at least double. He realises that this
may not be the case!! We've seen similar diamonds for sale at much higher
prices though.. so it's intrigued us!
I'm not telling you this so that you feel you have to give me a high price
on the diamond Lawrence! Please don't think that I am!!! I realise it may be
worth less.
As I said in my previous mails... the diamond is really gorgeous and I love
it. That's all that matters I guess.
I wrote to you because when I saw your web site, I got the impression that
the diamond was quite a good colour and clarity.
I look forward to hearing from you.... thanks again!
Lynne,
Will appreciate if you can furnished me the design and material required to make a mould for a gold ring, and where to get it. Thanking you in advance.
W. K. L., Malaysia
I have made two 14k gold alloys:
one is quite yellow: 58.5% gold,
27% silver, and 14.5% copper.
The other has a softer color
tending toward a bronze.
It is 58.5% gold, 14.5% silver,
and 27% copper.
I like the first alloy,
but it seems brittle.
Is there a better alloy of 14k
yellow gold? I notice that some
gold alloys contain zinc. What
does the zinc do?
What will make an alloy more ductile,
and malleable?
S. R. R., Oregon, USA
How do u take care of 18 K white gold jewellery ?
My piece has is not as lustrous as before, is there any way to restore the shine such as polishing and if so, with what agent ?
W.M. L., Singapore
What causes 14k white gold to turn dark grey and not longer shiny?
It looks kind of tarnished. I have another white gold ring and neklace that has stayed
perfectly shiny and white. Could this happen if they did not put a rhodium plating on.
Jen, IL, USA
Q
I have seen gold sovereigns for sale in Kuwait and Bahrain airports. All of them appear to be new, and all of them are dated 1926.
How can so many new 1926 sovereigns be available ?
M.H., Kuwait
A
They make and sell their own, which makes them copies or counterfeits, illegal to posses in the UK and many other countries. Some have "22" stamped on them, technically that may make them a "copy" rather than a counterfeit. We also sell the genuine product for less, see our bullion sovereigns page. If you import coins bought outside the EU, you are liable to VAT unless you smuggle them in which is risky and pointless.
Q
I recently purchased a 14k white gold ring and it keeps turning yellow. Several jewelers stated that white gold can't turn yellow, it can errode but not turn yellow. They said if it is turning yellow it is probably yellow gold with a rhodium finish. My jeweler denies this. However, he did do a rhodium finish to solve this problem but now, 2 months later it's turning yellow again. Can you tell me if white gold can turn into yellow gold?
T.H., New Jersey, USA
A
Dear Terrie,
Have you read the FAQ pages on our site?
If you go to:-
https://24carat.co.uk
then click
information
Frequently Asked Jewellery Questions
The 2 pages:-
What is White Gold and Where Does It Come From?
Why Does White Gold Turn Yellow?
Should be interesting for you!
how do you determaine value of white gold and is it worth spending money on
Jack, newyork
how does one take care of white gold jewellery ? ie cleaning or polishing methods so it keeps its lustre
May, Singapore
Hi
I sent you an enquiry yesterday from your web page regarding a diamond
bought for me by my partner. I was unsure of the certificate that came with
the diamond, but I have since found a site (under construction I'm afraid)
with details on about the certificate I have. I thought you may be able to
give me better advice if you were able to see the site - that way, you know
exactly where the diamond came from, and have full knowledge of the
certificate. It states that it is the official certificate of South African
Diamonds and also says that it is the accepted equivalent of the GIA one.
You'll know better no doubt!
LH
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