Is This 1799 Dollar Authentic?

There are still lots of high-priced coins out there that aren't slabbed. Perhaps it was once slabbed as a details coin for cleaning, and the owner preferred it raw. Or maybe it was in a type album. But I agree that not having it graded and authenticated may limit the buyer pool.

Please be more specific about your conclusion.

Late to the party here and no opinion on the authenticity of the coin in question.

That said - definite opinion on the ebay seller hsturn - run away from his/her auctions as hsturn his personally proven to me to be a seller of doctored/cleaned authentic coins.

I shudder to recall the days when I was a newbie on classic commemorate coins - 15 years ago - and naively purchased several hstrun coins based on the ebay photos - all proved to be PCGS 'details genuine cleaned'.

I can't believe the seller is still active and all those positive ebay reviews.

As they say ... buyer beware. Coming from hsturn there is a nefarious reason this otherwise valuable coin is not TPG certified.

Actually, that is a typical shady ebay sellers trick: crack out a Details coin and pass it off as a problem-free raw coin.

Not a professional on these for sure, but here is a great site for them. I have used it to tell fakes before when attributes do not show up:
http://www.earlydollars.org/wizarddate3.htm

@NumisEd, there are 22 die pairs for the 1799 bust dollars. This one has a regular date, but the date position varies depending on the obverse die used. Here is a comparison of the ebay coin (on top) and a genuine 1799 variety B-8 from NGC. The forking at the base of the letters and the trailing of the stars toward the rims is a result of a deteriorating die.

I think it may well be a fake.

The 'so-called die cracks look more like casting lines on the stars leading to the edge. they are all too uniform and regular to be random die cracks.

Look at the Liberty at the coins top. The horizontal bar of the 'B' 'E' 'R' and 'T' is weak like it was worn out but the accents of these letters is strong and barely worn out.

Seeing the wear patterns on the forehead, Cheek, Nose, Shoulder, and Breast is the ONLY places I see wear and what is missing are scratches you would find on a coid that has this much wear.

I found an almost identical coin on the Etsy site. more worn than this one, it shows scratches, and dings. And the stars and cross bars on the lettering look more to what I would expect to see on a circulated coin of this age.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/922485...968cfa1abf0d


Just MHO

Edited for bad spelling and overall terrible typing skills.

There is a subtle die crack through LIB on the obverse, and through ES on the reverse, consistent with a B-8 die marriage. The lines running from the stars to the rim aren't die cracks, they are metal flow lines from Die Deterioration. Here is a graded bust dollar with similar flow lines from a late state die. There's no way to guarantee authenticity from photos alone, but I don't see anything that would indicate a fake.