mezmer1411

This dealer does his own ‘grading’ and ‘certification’ and for some reason always sets the focus plane on the label. I am sure @Choi bought the coin based on the images of the coin outside the holder which are in focus.
Consider these holders as sales packaging; the motto “buy the coin, not the holder” has never been so true as with this specific french dealer. 

Here is my entire collection
 
(from the left top)  
1.1811 Napoleon 
2.1815 Louis XVIII   type 1
3.1818 Louis XVIII   type 2
4.1843 Louis Philip
5.1867 Napoleon III later type
6.1875 Belgium Leopold II
7.1880 Hungary  
8.1896 Switzerland  type 1
9.1898 Angel 
10. 1904 Tunisia
11. 1902 Rooster
12. 1925 Switzerland type 2
 
I  started to collect all kinds of 19~ early 20th century  european gold coins since July 2018 , and the LMU coins(20 francs and other denominations) are my favorite.

Unfortunately not. The size is the same (21mm) as well as the composition (.900), but it weights a little bit more - 6.78g. The same as Austro-Hungarian Corona coins from the same time period.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces73816.html

Thanks to this thread I discovered the wonderful world of LMU coins and got myself a few. Since I'm just but a noob, can someone more experienced share a piece of advice?
Note: I'm stacking mostly for gold content, so buying only bullion grade coins, but I do want to keep it interesting by seeking variety etc.
Anyway, I have an opportunity to get this coin for almost spot (219 €) from a LCS. It is worn (advertised as 6.41 gram) but by the pictures it seems in a decent enough condition and it's the only year this particular variety was minted. I haven't yet got the chance to check it out in person. I will go by them this week to have a look.
By everything stated above, what do you think of this coin? Would you buy it?

Thanks!

@Cornishfarmer @Lea79 @augur @ilovesilverireallydo @KevinFlynn @eddi @mezmer1411 
@SilverTanner @steve1905
Hi, whilst you were all enjoying a nice long snooza, I managed to get the thread name changed with the assistance of @HelpingHands
Decided to ditch the French ! I think we discussed this a while ago but never got round to doing it.
Regards to all..
Kook
 

coin photography pushes the limits of technology as the dynamic range (dark to bright) usually maxes out the capabilities of the sensor, especially proof coins (hence the matte proofs in the past).
in order to compensate for the shadow when photographing without a semitransparent mirror (to avoid the reflection/shadow of the lens/camera) you can play with the exposure to make use of the dynamic range the sensor has captured (the display can show even less than the sensor captures).
to adequately capture a coin you would have to photograph through a semitransparent mirror and create a HDR (high dynamic range) picture to capture the brightest reflection to the darkest shadow but this requires an extensive setup and extensive post processing. I haven't yet risen to this challenge, so this is my shortcut 😊
 
Phone of evil – the one with the bite on the forbidden fruit.

@Kookaburracollector thank you for some great advice.
As I live in Croatia, most of the local dealers are familiar with the LMU coins, especially with the Austro-Hungarian ones as Croatia was a part of it back then.
My plan atm is to attend Numismata coin fair in Munich (2nd and 3rd of March) - my first coin fair :). Looking forward to checking out some LMU coins in person there and probably picking up some. Although the buy/sell thread is really tempting me right now.

I can only tell about late LMU Swiss Vreneli 20 Franken, and I am just into bullion, not a collector per se.
These are among the most liquid coins I can trade in Germany. No problem to sell at a multitude of places.
If you want to stack, as opposed to collect LMU coins, just have a look at what is offered around the country you live in. Pawn shops and local dealers offer a good indication about acceptance among the general populace. I am sure a suitable coin will present itself.
 
I think I heard that in southern europe the Sovereign is really strong, I am not sure about south eastern europe though. And I would not want to derail the thread...

Hi Mezmer,welcome to the forum and to this thread.
To put your mind at rest...I don’t think you will have any problems selling any of the LMU coins, either on this forum (after you become known) or to a dealer...gold is gold at the end of the day, and these have become more collectible recently.
22ct gold is also not a problem..most gold coins made are not 24ct, as this makes them too soft to go into circulation..they would not last very long at all.
Regards to sovereigns - they will always be the most liquid of coins in any collection, as the collector base for these is huge. As much as I love, and personally prefer the 20 francs coins, I do not think they will ever compete with the popularity of the sovereigns.
The big plus for me with these coins is they are relatively inexpensive to buy...you can pick them up for a little over spot if lucky.
The only issue I can foresee is your location...not all sellers of coins on this forum are happy to sell into countries outside the UK, despite the fact you live in a beautiful country.
Best of luck and enjoy the forum, suggest you spend some time looking through old posts to improve your knowledge.
Regards @mezmer1411
Kook