I haven't seen where anyone has been arrested for Wayne's robbery. Wayne has been in business for many, many years in the same location. His store is a mess and it's difficult to find anything in it. One pretty much has to ask Wayne if he has such n' such. He's also Mr. Grumpy. I'm sorry that he was robbed. We have another store in town and that's now my go-to. It's very nice.
For a VF, I would be looking for more distinct veins on the wreath and clearer feather details on the headdress. The "Liberty" could be a little stronger as well. It looks more like "wear" than "Environmental Damage" to me. Sure it has a few dings and wear that are expected for a well circulated, very old copper cent. Does not appear that it has been cleaned and yes, it appears very real.
I do agree that you have a very nice low mintage coin which some call a key date and others refer to it as a semi-key date due to the popularity and highly collected 1877.
I have years of researching and specifically collecting the Indian Head Cent and am very particular in my personal preferences. You have a nice coin that would pass the muster to me for a 1909-S!! Enjoy!
It seems that your Sister has the same sense of humor that you do.
I'm ok and I'm so glad that you're doing well. Since having Pneumonia last May, I've had multiple tests and still have more plus Pulmonary Re-Hab starts in a week or so. I'm doing ok.
I'm in the VG-8 to VG-10 range as well. Yes, we look at the "Liberty" on IHC's but, with the entirety of the coin, I raised the grade to VG. Value is definitely North of $500 by quite a bit. Nice '77!
My Mom was still collecting in the '60's and she continued to grab silver coins for years after the changeover. She collected whenever she saw them in circulation.
I began to get serious about collecting around '65 when I opened my own S&L account and was give a nice UNC Morgan Silver Dollar from the bank. I have times when I kick back and some times that I get into fast gear. I'm kicking back right now but, like back in the '60's, coins will still be available for a while!
I agree that they appear to have that "cast" look to them. Could they possibly be Period/Contemporary copies? If so, is it possible to tell if they are?
That "2" looks odd to me as well. I agree that it may look that way because the other numbers are so weak (or worn). I checked both of my '92's and the "2" looks pretty much the same as this one. I'd go for it...especially with the return policy.