Rummage Sale Find

Nice find!

I'd estimate the grade at F-15.

A common 1831 in F-15 should wholesale for $30-35 and retail $40-50. (I'm not sure whether being an N-2 in medium die state adds any to the value.)

Nice find!

I like that die centering dot on the reverse. Nice find!

I'd say it's way better than Fine, maybe VF 30, but I'm not familiar with these coins.

j74b, do you think this is because of the grading companies or what? this one coin dealer was telling me about grading companies more recently have started grading based on what they think would pass for a 'market AU' for example rather than their merit alone

With EAC grading it was basically for collectors being able to rank their coins and scarcity with Newcombe for Cents , I used Cohen for 1/2 cents, these are collector coins. In 1986 David Hall and six cohorts started PCGS with the principal that coins could be marketed (like stocks) buy and sell ,sight unseen , and this would bring investors into the coin realm, at the time only ANACS Certified coins and they were coming under fire, because at that time, you only had MS60 Unc, MS63 Choice Unc, Ms65 Gem Unc, and Ms67 Superb Unc. they wanted to add more numbers and some felt they should use descriptions only. Some feel this was PCGS tightest grading, NGC followed , every so often, they say grades change with the market. What is the Market ?, with the price of gold per ounce , that eliminates gold coins. you have halves(Walkers, Franklins) dollars (Morgans and Peace to smaller extent), and Modern (the search for MS70), when collector coins get caught in the investor market which usually involves high grade keys only, these dry up and they go onto the next great deal, some say PCGS makes the Market, but as collectors we should buy the coin first, and like that coin not its market value. Twenty two years ago common date Ms65 Walkers in PCGS or NGC Holder sold for over thousand dollars, I keep the old CW's and Coin rags how many more years do they have to hold these to make a profit? Just my Two Cents worth.(or large cent)

I'm not expert, by any means, but the coin has a sweet reverse and it's 177 years old. Buy what you like, you'll never be disappointed.

I guess you just gotta know something about what you're seeing, when you see it, to know if it is a good value or not. Many others must have dismissed that coin as nothing out of the ordinary. Keen eye, and proper knowledge, and a little luck.