1877 3 Cn

I would put the grade for the obverse at AU. I think I see wear on the high point of the cheek and the hair by the ear. The obverse is pretty well struck - I look forward to seeing the reverse (and possible the rest of them!).

Cheers!

I need to pay better attention, 1877 is a proof only year so if this is authentic, it would probably be an impaired proof. Pictures of the reverse would really help.

Here is a picture of the reverse, the reason for the change in color is that the front was taken through a glass picture frame. The reverse was taken with the back of the frame removed. Both were taken with different camera's also.

I'll have him take another picture of the front out of the picture frame, so that you can compare both sides, I understand what you mean.

I spoke with my son about the difference of colors between the two sides. As I stated at the beginning of the thread, the coins were kept in a glass picture frame, the back of the picture frame was wood not cardboard, and the coins were kept in place by that piece of wood for over 50 plus years with no paper behind it to protect the coins, thus the discoloration on the back of the coins. Hopefully, when he has the coins graded, the grading company can also restore the coins to their true color.

Still a little difficult to judge, but the new pictures are probably more representative of the coin. Based on the new ones, this might not be an impaired proof. If I had to wager a guess based on the new photos, I would put it in the lower end proof scale (61 to 63), which is not a bad range to be in. I think is does have a weak strike that would keep it in the lower range.

To slab or not to slab? IMHO it depends on what your final objective is. If your son wants to keep it for his collection, there is nothing wrong with not slabbing it. If he is thinking about selling it, then slabbing might be a good way to go. There were some interesting results on Heritage in the past couple of years:

February 2013, ANACS PF30, $2585 (I have a feeling this is an outlier but there ya go!)
January 2013, PCGS Genuine (environmental damage), $1410
April 2013, NGC PF63, $1997.50

These prices include the buyers premium so cash is hand is lower.

You mentioned there were other coins in the collection you were considering slabbing. Feel free to post those in new threads. It may not make financial sense to slab them all...and I would get to see additional 3cns!

If it were me and I was thinking about slabbing, on the circulated side, I would defiantly slab 1883, 1884, 1885, 1887. If the 1880, 1882 and 1889 were better grades, I would consider slabbing if they were on the edge of making the higher grade where there is the is a price jump. Believe it or not, the common dates at lower grades can be had for $10 to $20 so they may not be worth slabbing.

I am not as familiar with the proof market so my approach would be to look for the 1886/7 variety and try to figure out where the price difference is.

You will find many opinions here on slabbing. I prefer raw coins and would only consider slabbing if I were selling something that would net a higher value slabbed (but I have yet to sell a coin!). There are others here who slab anything valuable for various reasons (i.e. registry, easier estate liquidation, etc).

As far as posting here, I would recommend those dates I mentioned but feel free to post anything you would like an opinion on. While I mentioned some of the common dates often sell lower, they also often have clashes and some fun varieties.