Ugly or beautiful coins?

God recently blessed me – with the help of a dear friend – to obtain these three coins, which I personally consider very beautiful, while some may consider them ugly (especially the face!).

These coins have a funny story... The Riyal (rated 65) and the Shilling (rated 66) were offered for sale, and I noticed that the certificate numbers for the two coins were sequential. Upon checking the appraisal company's website, I realized that the original owner of the set had appraised a coin from the same set (rated 66), and it had been sold separately some time ago. I was upset because I had hoped to own the complete set without any divisions... However, surprisingly, within a week, the missing coin was offered for sale by another dealer, and the same dear friend pointed it out to me, and I was able to acquire it, thus completing the set!

I sat down to organize my thoughts on the whole situation:

First: I realized deep down that my greatest gain was getting to know this friend and that this was much more important than obtaining the currency. I asked him to allow me to thank him for the year, but he preferred, as usual, to remain mysterious and away from flattery… Nevertheless, I thank him.

Secondly: I noticed when I bought these pieces that I didn't even pay attention to their grades, but their natural colors were the main reason that motivated me to buy them, and I realized that the mentality of a collector makes him seek to collect the most valuable coin because of the beauty of its condition... but beauty comes in many forms... and if these pieces were Abbot Anser, I wouldn't have hesitated for a moment to buy them.

Thirdly: I wondered if a day will come when people will establish standards for evaluating the "beauty of each piece"? Will a scale of 1-70 for beauty emerge in the future? I don't think so... the definition of beauty varies from person to person. In the past, collectors preferred perfectly white, pristine coins, like a mirror, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with some people preferring this appearance. Similarly, some collectors prefer slightly worn coins and dislike unworn pieces, as the wear and tear indicates that the piece has a history and has been traded more than once. People have different tastes, and if it weren't for the diversity of preferences, there would be no market for goods!

Fourth: This is an important point regarding genuine colored patina (underline the word genuine several times!). In my personal opinion, patina on silver coins is rare and expensive, but patina on bronze is the normal situation due to the ease with which this metal reacts with air. However, the rare situation – which is clearly reflected in the prices – is finding bronze pieces in their original “red” color without reaction. Therefore, a bronze piece may be beautiful and have a wonderful golden color, etc., but I do not think it deserves a higher price because of this color.

These are just thoughts that crossed my mind as I contemplated these pieces, and I wanted to share them with my fellow amateur artists.