IHC Experts: Grading Opinions On This 1877

this seller has a reputation for taking pictures that make coins look better than they actually are.

I think that given how much those pictures have probably been doctored, it's impossible to give an accurate grade.

Why would anyone pay $9,600.00 for a raw 1877 IHC...

Because it wouldn't grade what they're selling it for.

Oh well, I guess nobody wants to give it a go on the grading. Here's my take:

From here I can tell that's Great Southern Coins, and they're known for being... er... tricky with their photography. Let's have a look.

Okay, so right away, I can see there's a big scratch in the neck. Also, if you look at above the first feather, there appear to be some nicks and scratches. There may be another scratch above the A in America and another over the S in States. There are also some nicks in front of the neck. Oh, and a large scratch under the date.

That's just the obverse, and I think 62 might be fair. Also, notice it's a bit off center. On the reverse, there's a huge bit of rust on the bottom. There's a significant gash over the O and a nick in the shield. But for the rust, it might go 63, but the rust makes it a details, surface damaged coin. I'd net grade it 53 on a good day.

And all of the sudden, it doesn't look like such a good deal.

They're doing their job. There's a reason this key date is not certified. They're playing with the light such that the coin looks perfect when it's not. The amorous buyer tends to miss these details until it's too late and they have the coin in their hand.

Also, it looks to me like it may have been cleaned and retoned.

The good news is, GSC has a good return policy. But this is just the sort of thing that catches out the unwary collector.

I wondered that too--there could be alot of stuff going on. For everything GSC put on that page, there isn't a single description of the coin beyond the hard to grade pictures--and no disclosure of issues. Yet, people bid up to a (slabbed) MS64RB price? Some people must love living dangerously

That's a good idea, westcoin!

I featured Rick's (ahem, Mr. Snow to me) '56 FE as a killer deal on my site a couple of weeks ago.

My goodness there are some nice '77s there.

As an aside, I feel a little guilty that we have the same avatar picture... thingy. I wanted a picture of a "Rusty" copper and I figured 2 cents is about all my posts are worth, so it kinda fit. Come to see you have the same one. Oh well.