New And Have Question 1831 25c B1?

Trying to interpret photos can be devilishly hard. From these two photos, though, the coin appears very dull and flat (to my eyes) relative to the amount of detail still present. It doesn't appear to have been tooled, however (where someone with a steady hand and a dremel "dresses up" certain details (hair, clasp, for example) to give the appearance of a lightly circulated coin. I'd not be surprised to learn this coin has been dipped repeatedly or over-dipped in the first place, thus removing the luster. (The flat appearance, however, could simply be the result of poor lighting, and in hand, the coin might appear much nicer.)

The flat appearance (lack of shadow around the devices) argues for a high placement of the light source, but there appears to be some shadow around the coin that doesn't seem to have been replicated on the devices.

The detail in the stars is a bit inconsistent, with some stars appearly worn or poorly struck and others appearing well struck. Since minting methods were cruder at the time this coin was made, inconsistent strikes are common.

So...the upshot of all my observations...I would want to see the coin in person before buying, or making sure that I had an ironclad opportunity to return it if I was unhappy with the coin. Finding really nice bust quarters seems very difficult these days...hard to let one slip past you if the price is right.

Others will have better observations, I suspect. :o)

I agree with the scan comment. Most toned coins are tough to get right with a scanner, and luster doesn't show much. I do see some luster in the devices though, and the detail is choice AU - in my opinion. I'll bet it looks better in hand.

I don't know if it's the photo or not, but the profiles of the two Lady Liberty's appear somewhat different...especially the nose. The quarter in Bonneyj's photo has a much sharper tip to the nose...at least to my eyes.

But I cannot find other differences in the obverse or reverse.

Bonneyj, it sure does not sound like you have very much faith in this seller. That's enough for me to pass on a raw coin, real fast.
If you are looking at Bust quarters, have you tried jjteaparty? They sell both raw and slabbed, and I have heard nothing but positive feedback about them.

Count the denticles between the arrow tip and the period of the "C" on the reverse of each coin. The image I posted has six. How many do you see on the forum image? I see around 10. I'm not expert enough to say it's a "variety." Given that, the differences pointed out about the profile of the face and the denticles either:

- Disqualify me to make a qualified opinion about it being a variety or fake or not
or
- simply tell me the two coins are different

I also think it's a scanner photo. It looks like a nice coin with nice detail. Does it have a return policy? If so, go for it if you like it. If it's not what you expected you can just return it.

So what have you decided to do?

I'm kinda still pulled apart, I keep going back and forth, the early quarter book by browning describes it to a tee ( obv. last 1 in date not under curl, lower left star most distant from bust, upper right slightly nearer cap, lower right near hair two points equally distant. Rev. 2 berries in olive branch, 25c in field midway between eagle and border 2 has a curled base the eagle has no tongue) but I'm stuck on the amount of original mint finish. I wanted to get the next spouse in May of a Bust Liberty and my budget will not allow for both. If I was positive this one would be accepted by a major grading company then I would get it. I emailed the owner again for more info. Once again thanks to everyone for their observations and views.