I had a great opportunity to own a VG8+ (raw, my best guess on grade) 1893-S. I actually owned it for about 2 hours, but ended up returning it, as I had authenticity concerns.
My concern was that using my 8x loupe and flashlight, I couldn't see either the rabbit ears in the R, or the raised die mark running through the T. The date looked good, and the mint mark was of the right-slant variety, but for the life of me I couldn't see either of the die marks. The LIBERTY was not filled with crud or dirt that could have concealed the marks, so everything I know about the coin tells me I should have been able to see the marks.
So two questions;
1) - Is an 8x loupe strong enough to see the die marks? )I think it should be, as I can see the die marks in a couple of
ebay auctions)
2) - Did I burn myself by not buying it? Ie, would you in the know have bought it (price was very fair, if not close to awesome).
As it was a raw coin, I offered a compromise on the coin with the seller. He sends it to either PCGS or NCG at my expense, and if it came back as genuine, I'd take it, regardless of grade. He has had difficulty selling the coin, but was unwilling to even hear me about why I thought it had potential for being not genuine.
Thanks for your input!
Posted 04/30/2017 10:19 am
