1798 Draped Bust Large Cent Worth Grading?

to CCF. It does look iffy.
John1

Agree that it looks counterfeit.

just one of the markers for this coin not being authentic is the raised metal bumps all across the surfaces. indicative of a sand casting. sand particles would make a negative when the metal was poured and result in these. the raised line from the neck to the edge most likely caused by dripping metal as it was being poured

return this coin if possible

Guilty. I've had the same sentiments in the past.

But now that I'm looking at it more closely, I'm not so sure that it's fake. I had the same concerns about the raised bumps thinking that it might be cast. But it's an S-157, and I found a graded S-157 large cent at Heritage that has the same horizontal die break across the obverse field and bumps that they attributed to rusted dies. So could this be a combination of rusted dies and environmental damage? The images of the authentic 1798 are below.

to the CCF!

Don't be upset that you had conflicting answers. The members here are giving honest answers from what they've seen in the past. Threads can turn into debates, just as this one. Once members have some time to research a coin the opinions are sometimes reversed.

I was thinking it could have been counterfeit, but the seller in this case is a well known eBayer with lots of sales and a 100% feedback rating. I also thought it could have been a real coin that was corroded. With the detective work done by Zurie, I think that's the case.

Now we need to answer your original question. I think it should be certified if only to answer the question of authenticity once and for all, but only if you intend to sell the coin at some later date.

THANKS for posting this coin. It really opened my eyes! I hope you post many other coins for us to comment on and "Debate."

Shoutout to Zurie for the research.

If genuine, I have it as F12 details/corroded.

VF-20 ED. Genuine.