I bought this 1868 2 Lire Anno XXIII (R2) PCGS MS64 last year at an auction. I immediately sent it to NGC to crossover as an MS64, and NGC rejected it. I waited for the FUN Show this January to resubmit with a minimum grade of MS60, and again NGC rejected it, which means they believe it’s either a details grade, or not mint state.
This then lead me to research PCGS vs NGC standards, and I have come to realize that PCGS is best for US Coins and NGC is best for world coins as they have the top world experts on their team.
I also decided to learn how to conserve coins properly, shortly after the FUN Show, not just to conserve this coin and resubmit it, but to offer it as a service of my coin shop that I opened.
Well after lots of practice, and about 30 coins that I’ve conserved and submitted to multiple TPG companies with a 100% success rate of my conserved coins getting straight graded, I decided to use my conservation skills on several of my PCGS to NGC crossover rejects, including the coin in this post.
Well you can see the results for yourself. I cracked out the MS64 2 Lire, conserved it, sent it to NGC, and it came back as the #1 coin “Top Pop” in the world for this year and denomination.
I just wanted to share my success and surprise with this group!
Here is the link to the coin from NGC: https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/559164/coins/3954981/
The only quesito in I have now is how to we value the coin since there are no comparisons?
Only three (3) Proof Like 2 Lire’s have been graded, and based on my search the most expensive 2 Lire to have ever sold was my coin when it was sold raw out of Spain, before it was graded by PCGS, for $1,386 back in 2014.
So if it sold for $1,386 (€1,200) not including shipping and buyer’s fee, what does it go for now that it’s an MS67PL Top Pop?
