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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
hi everyone. I purchased this one a few months ago! Been procrastinating getting it slabbed. Can I get a few opinions as to grade? Color looks great and original. Thanks!  
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
Sorry bout photo. How's this one? 
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
I'm such a newb. Here's a larger rev. Sorry for the 3 posts to do one job! 
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Moderator

United States
23520 Posts |
Tough call. This one is known for a poor strike, and the areas of primary interest aren't perfectly clear in the images.
These things go through the roof in Mint State, but aren't uncommon in circulated condition. I'm thinking AU55.
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
Thanks for the reply supedave. what details are necessary for ms60+? I bought it as uncirculated from a good rep seller on ebay.
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Moderator

United States
23520 Posts |
The places to start with Indian gold are the headband and eagle's shoulder. These areas aren't sufficiently clear in your images to make any precise determinations; I'm going based on what appears to be a little wear in those locations. Prior knowledge goes a long way with coins like this one. Knowing that it's a real rarity in Mint State, one would be a bit leery of a raw example offered on Ebay. Yes there are a few old-timers out there who still offer such coins raw, but when a coin's value quadruples between AU58 and Mint State, you can figure that a seller would either want the coin in a Mint State slab or offer it raw on the chance that buyers might consider it Mint State anyways. If I'm reading the images correctly, this is about a $500 coin in a PCGS slab.
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
That makes total sense! Especially, the part of likelihood of a ms 13-S unslabbed being sold as raw. I don't have any slabbed Indian half eagles to compare this to. I do have several ms quarter eagles slabbed. Does it make sense to compare the two different indians?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
817 Posts |
It looks pretty good. I think it made thge MS grade.
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
Thanks for the encouraging remark Larry! I purchased a macro ring for my nikon d60. I'm determined to shoot better images. This coin is better than the photos. I'll post new pics as soon as possible.
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Rest in Peace
United States
4849 Posts |
I know I go on this schmeal a million times, but to me it all depends on the luster. I can't tell how much is remaining from the pics. Does it cartwheel in hand? I don't see any discernable wear, but it's very difficult to tell. Really though, I've owned a dozen AU-55 TPG certified indians, and very few of them had luster while there was a large variation in remaining details. 58s tend to have some field luster, but not too much; where as MS examples have full cartwheel affects. This is because field luster imho is one of the first to wear on circulated indians due to the design style.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5106 Posts |
It looks at least as good as my AU-55 NGC-slabbed example. I don't think it can make the MS cut since I see some faint grey discoloration on the Indian's cheek which is likely due to light friction. The mintmark looks sharp which makes it more attractive than my NGC coin. Probably AU-58, but a real long shot for MS. By the way, welcome! 
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New Member
United States
16 Posts |
Johnny, I'm not familiar with the term cartwheel. Can you elaborate? I assume it means; does it luster under light as you turn it?
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Cartwheel is reflected light that rotates like spokes as you tip the coin back and forth. Polished coins reflect in areas, depending on how the coin was held when polished.
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Rest in Peace
United States
4849 Posts |
Quote: Johnny, I'm not familiar with the term cartwheel. Can you elaborate? I assume it means; does it luster under light as you turn it? Exactly. Luster will rotate around the coin as you tilt it in light. If all you see is hairlines in the field, it's definitely circulated.
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