to CCF. If you post good quality photos front and back there are members here that can help you. The pros can tell you if it's worth getting professionally graded and how to do it.
Posted 06/02/2012 7:33 pm
Welcome to Coin Community, Beth. Nice of you to trust us with your very valid questions.
First. Your 1857 Charlotte Mint Dollar is a relatively scarce and valuable coin, and I believe the advice offered by the three who looked at it is basically all solid, and illustrative of the pitfalls of coin valuation.
It's all subjective. First, condition - relative wear, potential damage, previous cleaning - have a real impact on the value of the coin. Condition, first and foremost. Coin grading is a very subjective process - certain minimal standards for a given grade are pretty much universally accepted but series-specific knowledge is quite important. Especially in the case of your 1857-C, for which (in my opinion) $700 is a bare-minimum value. This is a coin whose value, if it hasn't seen circulation, reaches 5-figure numbers.
Not knowing the actual condition of the coin - if you've the ability to take clear images of the coin and post them here, it would be of great assistance - I can only offer the broadest of guidance.
As you've learned, the authentication and grading process could involve purchase of a "membership." There are 4 generally-accepted TPG's (Third-Party Graders) whose services are trustworthy as regards authentication and grading - PCGS, NGC, ANACS and ICG. Those are listed in the order of their relative return in the marketplace (popular perception of their quality has a bearing), but all may be trusted to correctly authenticate your coin. Its' rarity, to me, pretty much requires this process to maximize your return. This is a coin valuable-enough to require authentication to create confidence in potential buyers that it isn't a counterfeit.
PCGS and NGC require memberships to submit coins, although some affiliated dealers can broker a submission for you. ANACS and ICG do not, but trustworthy as they are, their slabs simply do not usually achieve the same value in the marketplace as the first two.
Now, having buried you under words (it's what I do best), here's what I'd recommend: Spend the money to submit your 1857-C to either PCGS or ANACS. This won't be cheap; the cost of grading goes up with estimated value. If you can share your general location, we can suggest trustworthy local dealers to contact for a PCGS submission. ANACS will cost you a bit of return but the submission is a far simpler and somewhat cheaper process which you can do from home.
We need to come up with a fair estimate of the condition of the coin. As I mentioned, it would really help if you could provide fairly clear images of the coin.
First. Your 1857 Charlotte Mint Dollar is a relatively scarce and valuable coin, and I believe the advice offered by the three who looked at it is basically all solid, and illustrative of the pitfalls of coin valuation.
It's all subjective. First, condition - relative wear, potential damage, previous cleaning - have a real impact on the value of the coin. Condition, first and foremost. Coin grading is a very subjective process - certain minimal standards for a given grade are pretty much universally accepted but series-specific knowledge is quite important. Especially in the case of your 1857-C, for which (in my opinion) $700 is a bare-minimum value. This is a coin whose value, if it hasn't seen circulation, reaches 5-figure numbers.
Not knowing the actual condition of the coin - if you've the ability to take clear images of the coin and post them here, it would be of great assistance - I can only offer the broadest of guidance.
As you've learned, the authentication and grading process could involve purchase of a "membership." There are 4 generally-accepted TPG's (Third-Party Graders) whose services are trustworthy as regards authentication and grading - PCGS, NGC, ANACS and ICG. Those are listed in the order of their relative return in the marketplace (popular perception of their quality has a bearing), but all may be trusted to correctly authenticate your coin. Its' rarity, to me, pretty much requires this process to maximize your return. This is a coin valuable-enough to require authentication to create confidence in potential buyers that it isn't a counterfeit.
PCGS and NGC require memberships to submit coins, although some affiliated dealers can broker a submission for you. ANACS and ICG do not, but trustworthy as they are, their slabs simply do not usually achieve the same value in the marketplace as the first two.
Now, having buried you under words (it's what I do best), here's what I'd recommend: Spend the money to submit your 1857-C to either PCGS or ANACS. This won't be cheap; the cost of grading goes up with estimated value. If you can share your general location, we can suggest trustworthy local dealers to contact for a PCGS submission. ANACS will cost you a bit of return but the submission is a far simpler and somewhat cheaper process which you can do from home.
We need to come up with a fair estimate of the condition of the coin. As I mentioned, it would really help if you could provide fairly clear images of the coin.
