I didn't offer an opinion on this one because it's way out of my league from a series grading perspective, but I thought it looked darn near flawless. Congrats on the addition to your collection, NS.
First thoughts when I initially saw the post: "I'm old and a wee bit suspicious. I really want to believe but is there some sort of catch here?" Then, I know you know what you're doing, so BZ!
There aren't that many dies out there for these: do you know from which this was struck? Again, good god that's a pretty coin!
Thanks for your kind comments, @BiederCoins - not sure how many obverse dies were used, but apparently there are 4 known reverse dies. If anyone has further variety or die pair information, please post it.
I received the coin and created a video in youtube shorts to show the surfaces a little better. Kindly let me know if you have further thoughts.
The music is a little aggressive - Vivaldi's Winter - Allegro non Molto. Thought it was appropriate as this was minted in 1916 in the midst of the trench warfare devastating the European Continent. If you don't care for the music, please press mute while viewing the video and expand the YT shorts window if you wish to view it full screen.
T7l-IXtI6Uw
IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website:https://fairfaxcoins.com
I did see the hazing you mention on the obverse in the video. I was surprised because I did not see it looking at that side of the coin, rotating it under the light.
Both sides have full luster throughout the fields and raised devices.
The reverse does have light toning in several spots in the right reverse field, but I can still see full luster under the light yellowish toning spots. To the right of D in UNITED in the reverse, there is a small dark carbon spot that is also visible on the original post's reverse picture. The video also shows more dark toning in that area of the reverse, but I can't see it rotating it under the light. Even though the video captures the luster well when the focus is clear, it seems to pick up toning and dark areas under certain lighting that I cannot see looking at it directly. Not sure why that is. Looking at the coin directly, it looks like a 96% white coin with good luster, 3% with light yellow toning spots in the reverse and 1% with a dark carbon spot.
Hope that is helpful.
IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website:https://fairfaxcoins.com
Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited. Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use
First Page
Previous Page
Replies: 37 / Views: 811
Posted 07/03/2026 1:10 pm
Beautiful
