| Author |
 Topic  |
johnny54321
Pillar Of The Community
United States
3821 Posts
|
Pictures don't tell the whole story. I've been in the market for one of these for quite some time. Certified Retail, even for circulated ones seems to be in the $450-500+ range. I saw this one on the bay, and honestly wasn't very impressed. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...TRK:MEWNX:IT
It did look to have some nice crust on it around the rim, and I figured I'd be fine with it if it went cheap enough. I put in a low bid, and won it to my surprise. PCGS put 58 on it, but it honestly doesn't look like a 58 to me at all from the pics. Absolutely no luster, details look pretty weak, lots of hits etc....They are pretty big pictures too. Well, it might look 45-50 or so in hand. I paid $350, so probably about what it's worth to me.
I received it today, and was absolutely blown away.  Not only does it have luster, but full, blazing, uninterrupted luster! It is actually really well struck too. The eBay pictures, though large, really hide a lot of the detail. The best part though is the crust! What I thought was dirt, or brownish toning; is actually irridescent blues and purples! I know gold coins can tone in irridescent colors, but I rarely ever see it and have never owned one. And now I own one that with colorful toning...completely by accident! The only thing that the eBay pics show accurately are the little nicks. Yes, those really are there, but remember that this coin is the size of a dime and the nicks are practically invisible unless you look at the coin under a loupe. This coin truly has the look of a quality MS-61 to 62 in my opinion, and is one of the most beautiful coins in my collection right now.
You can tell I'm pretty stoked about this coin! I will try to get some "more worthy" photos up tonight.
edit: looking at the eBay photos again, it almost seems like they swapped coins.
Edited by johnny54321
10/05/2009 9:09 pm
|
|
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
1648 Posts |
Maybe you can post some pics that were better than the sellers?
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
3821 Posts |
Edited by johnny54321
10/05/2009 9:39 pm
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
3821 Posts |
Sellers pics for comparison. Looks dead and lifeless. Looking back, I can't believe I actually bid on this coin..lol.   |
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
949 Posts |
Very, Very Nice! I can see why the coin went for $350! Those sellers pics look terrible. Looks like you stole one. Your pics look like a 10x better coin. I can't see how it is the same coin. The seller pic's coin has much more wear and looks dull and lifeless.
I bet the color sure is pretty on a gold coin.
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
1648 Posts |
I agree, looks like a different coin! very nice!
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
5319 Posts |
NICE steal!! Sweet coin, Mr. Johnny!!
Congratulations!
|
|
Valued Member
United States
106 Posts |
Yeah, the eBay pics make it look like AU-58 was a gift.
Edited by Brannenworks
10/06/2009 12:19 am
|
|
Moderator
United States
11757 Posts |
Very nice! Sometimes those auction pictures play to your benefit. With a return policy, you can take a chance! This one payed off. Congratulations.
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
3821 Posts |
Yeah. I feel a bit hypocritical though since I'm always telling folks to buy the "coin" not the slab. I didn't follow my own advice, and ended up lucking out. It could have easily gone the other way.
Honestly, the coin looks better in hand than my pictures as well. You can imagine my shock when I opened that package. The only way I can even tell it's the same coin is by the location of the nicks. Sometimes it is hard to capture detail and luster when photographing through a slab....I guess the seller just really got hung up on the photography, because he should have gotten more for this coin.
|
|
Moderator
United States
17295 Posts |
Nice purchase!  It looks like the seller's pictures are scans, which almost always look dull and lifeless compared to a good photo. Jbuck! ... Coin Collector since 1978 ... Learn about my Avatar here!
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
936 Posts |
Awesome job! The seller's photos look like I took them LOL
Nelrak aka KenCollecting 1909 P and VDB Cents, Type, Early Proofs, Jefferson Nickels, Morgans, Peace, and Older "Close to UNC" Non-USA coinage"How much you want for them old coins?"Coins For SaleMy NGC Registry Sets
|
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
3821 Posts |
Nelrak, you take MUCH better photos than this in my opinion. You don't always capture the luster, but you get a lot of detail and color in your shots.
I agree they are probably scans. But even scans should have picked up more detail when they are this large.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
465 Posts |
You did great, Johnny. Like that design.
|
|
New Member
United States
1 Posts |
I want to say, I just signed up on this forum, 10 minutes ago, so my first post. I bought one of these in PCGS MS-63 and paid around $700 as I recall, I have the companion silver half in MS-64, which looks like heck in comparison, I think you did well, mine is sharper, a bit more luster, but not a lot better looking than yours, good job. |
|
Pillar Of The Community
United States
1054 Posts |
Thats a great looking coin at a great price. Congrats,
Wornslick
Wornslick ANA R3154225 " The Sunshine Bores The Daylights Out Of Me " |
|
Topic |
|
Posted 10/05/2009 8:50 pm
