1796 Draped Bust Large Cent S-92 Reverse Of 1795

I was thinking the same thing, VF net VG. Minor corrosion I can deal with, but the scratch corrosion combo would not be a keeper for me as a non-variety collector.

But still a very nice coin, considering it is the first die marriage of the draped bust series!

XF details

regarding value. its in the eye of the beholder and what someone would pay. due to its value even in lower grades I would not purchase it. its not a bad looking coin but if I was paying over $1k for a coin I agree with paralyse

this variety is an R-3. thats as common as it gets for a 1796 draped bust cent. they are all tough coins.

i grade it eac 35 net 8. and think it would slab at AU details.

i love showing this coin around for grading opinions. people are all over the place on this one. some have it at au. some wouldnt buy it at any price. I have had a lot of people look at this coin. the EAC club consensus is vf35 net f12. that is also what dealer Tom Reynolds graded it on his envelope which is included.

i would never have bought this coin. the price point I would want to get into it at would be an insult to any competent seller. they can get more from someone else. I cant stand the scratches on the obverse and the hamfisted attempt at removing the reverse problems really marred up the fields. I dont mind the pits on the obverse too much. they are mostly out of the primary area of focus so despite being significant I dont find them all that visually detracting. to me the pit in the hair is worse than the ones in the field.

now that ive beat it up, lets talk about what it has going for it. cause WOW. if this coin werent damaged it would be amazing. the strike is phenomenal. the color is stunning. the surfaces appear original and somehow avoided getting mucked with too badly despite someone trying to dig the corrosion out of the coin with a jackhammer.

i inherited this coin from from my fathers collection. ill keep it forever and I doubt I will ever upgrade that slot. sentimentality is more important to me than having a choice coin. its a recurring issue within the collection. a substantial part of my large cent set was acquired by/with my father. we did coins together for a lot of years. Dad liked high grade problem coins. I prefer choice coins.

while there are a fair number of nice 1796 draped bust cents you mostly dont see them change hands. most of the ones that you do see are S-119s from the nichols hoard.

here are some price points for reference:

PCGS - vg8 - $750, f12 - $1,350, vf30 - $5,000, au50 - $17,500
penny prices vg8 - $900, f12 - $1,350, vf30 - $6,000, au50 $15,000

i didnt see any recent sale data for AU details but in the last 2 years PCGS XF details 96 rev of 95 cents have sold for $5,040, $1,200, $1,440, $960, $990, $468.

here is the $5k coin
https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/l...cleaned-PCGS

here is the $1,440 coin
https://coins.ha.com/itm/large-cent...ption-071515

here is the $468 coin
https://coins.ha.com/itm/large-cent...ption-071515

here is a decent vf20 you can buy today
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2656102650...9SR7THrouCYQ

this coin is the embodiment of "its only worth what the buyer is willing to pay for it".

EF-40 details, environmental damage/scratched.

Thanks for posting. I was at XF Details. My EAC would have been VF30, but I did not do the net grade before I saw your comments.

Well, I wasn't too far off Tom @ 35/10, at least, maybe I do get lucky sometimes :P

Still, the fact that it's a family heirloom means I wouldn't care about the appearance, I still try to keep the few coins I got from my dad.

I am happy also my estimate was close to Tom Reynold's.

Like I said, I do like the coin, and If I had come across it when I was actively buying early copper, I would probably have considered buying it, BUT at the right price.