The Curatorial Desk

Authentication & valuation.

Submit a coin or banknote for examination by the Jardines Galleries curatorial team. Provide clear photographs and the details below — year, denomination, metal, condition, certification — and we will respond with a written assessment. Serious evaluations require facts.

— What to expect —

The process

Response in 24 – 48 hours We acknowledge every submission within two working days.
Examined by two curators The Library researches it; the Gallery confirms market position.
A written assessment By email or WhatsApp — including any caveats and grading recommendations.

Two services

What You Need First

Service · One

Authentication

“Is this real?” A diagnostic examination of an unidentified or uncertain piece. We compare against known die markers, verify weight and dimensions, look for the standard counterfeit indicators, and — where possible — recommend whether the piece warrants third-party grading by NGC or PCGS.

Choose this when: you have an inherited coin, a flea-market find, an estate piece, or anything that arrived without paperwork and needs verification before you buy, sell, or insure it.

Service · Two

Valuation

“What is this worth?” A market-position assessment. We reference catalogue values, recent auction realisations from the Jardines Catalog database, and current bullion spot — and provide a fair-market estimate, an insurance estimate, and (where relevant) an auction-realised range. The two figures are usually different.

Choose this when: the piece is already known and authenticated, but you need a current, defensible figure for insurance, estate, sale, or a probate inventory.

Submit your piece

Required Details & Photographs

Fill in the details, attach your photographs, and submit. We’ll acknowledge within two working days and route your submission to the appropriate curator.

Three photographs

The Single Most Important Instruction on This Page

For the best assessment

Three good shots beat ten poor ones.

We can authenticate from photographs only if the photographs are good enough. A single phone-camera shot of a coin under fluorescent light, held in a hand, almost always fails. Three deliberate shots — taken on a flat surface, in daylight or near a window, focused — give us everything we need. Please send these three.

— Shot one —

The obverse

Coin flat, daylight or window light, camera directly above. Fill the frame. Avoid hand-held shots and yellow indoor light.

— Shot two —

The reverse

Flip the coin, same lighting and framing as the obverse. Both sides must be readable at a glance.

— Shot three —

The edge

The edge tells us things the faces cannot — reeded count, casting seams, mount damage. Stand the coin on edge against a flat surface and shoot side-on.

What happens next

From Submission to Assessment

— The flow —

Three steps, plain language

We acknowledge Within 24–48 hours of submission, we confirm receipt and either flag any missing information or set expectations for the assessment timeline.
We research Library curators check die markers, mintage records, auction comparables, and the JG-ID database. The Gallery side cross-checks against active market positions.
We respond You receive a written assessment by email — clear, sourced, and honest about uncertainty. If the piece warrants NGC/PCGS grading or further physical examination, we say so.

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