| Author |
 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,567 |
|
|
Valued Member
United States
80 Posts |
I'm thinking about looking a a couple of coins for sale by private owner. One is a 1895 $5.00 gold coin. I see there are 'with motto' and 'without motto' versions of the coin. How can I tell the difference by looking at them? The only picture I've found was on the PCGS site. The others are a 1911 S Indian $5.00 Gold coin and a 1913 $2.50 Indian coin. They're asking $300 for the $5 coins and $200 for the $2.50. Depending on the condition and if they are real, the price doesn't to bad. Also, is a magnet a sure fire way to tell if it is real? Are there any other tricks?  Edited by Forum Mom to move from Modern US coins to Classic |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
615 Posts |
weigh them. I am not sure a magnet would tell you that it was real. It would tell you it was fake. If they gold plated a nonferrous metal, then a magnet isn't going to help you.
That is close to the melt value right?
-SFWUSC
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
with motto will have "In GOD WE Trust" on the coin without motto will not have it
|
|
Valued Member
 United States
80 Posts |
Brian1315 that's what I thought but I id finally find a picture. However, the no motto version stopped in 1865, therefore the 1895 has to be 'with motto' coin.
Please feel free to check my numbers:
The Quarter ($2.50) Eagle weights 4.18 grams. At 3:52 PM today the spot is $865 an ounce. With 28.349 grams an ounce that equates to $127 melt
The Half eagle ($5.00) Eagle weighs 8.24 grams. that equates to $251 melt.
The seller says they are not graded, so even a conservative assumption as to condition, they would have to be above VF30 to EF40 to come even close to what he's asking. Everything I have gathered is that these are most likely over-priced. I still might go take a look at them. I knew I should have taken coin grading in High school.....
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
615 Posts |
I wasn't sure of the weight of the coins.
Thank for the info.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Australia
2830 Posts |
G'day, gold is weighed in the Troy system.
One ounce of gold equates to 31.1 grams.
Gold coins are not pure gold, so you have to adjust the weight of the coin, for the amount of other metal in it, to get the AGW, Actual Gold Weight. This is the number you multiply by the spot price, in order to find melt value.
Weight is a very good test to eliminate forgeries.
A pocket digital scale is a great tool, but it's not much use, unless you've done your research, and you know the weight you're looking for.
Peter in Oz
|
|
New Member
United States
16 Posts |
The 1895 5$ is a common date. For $300 it would have to have a lot of lustre (be shinny). No spots or scratches on the surfaces. That would be a Mint State 61. You could probably get an AU58 for $225.00 or even $200.00 that is certified (if you bid on e-bay).
The $5 1911-S is $265 for about an XF40 (Certified).
The $2.5 1913 is $200 for about an AU55 (certified).
I would make sure you look at the coins with 10x magnification and look for any scratches or dings on the surfaces (both sides). Also make sure they aren't cleaned (wierd color or little rough spots on surface). Also make sure the rims have no problems (full rims).
The prices would be what I would pay for. I've collected $2.5 and $5.0 gold for about five years now (1840 - 1928).
Hope this helps.
|
|
Rest in Peace
United States
4849 Posts |
You can get a certified AU-58 1895 $5 for $200? that is less than melt for the coin, even including the AGW calculation(it ends up at about $217 at todays prices). A dealer paid me $226 for a common VF-30 $5 gold piece when gold was just a little more than what it is now. I don't think you are going to find an AU-58 $5 gold for nearly that cheap, unless gold seriously plummets. If you have an ebay example, show me the link and I'll buy it. :-) |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
527 Posts |
The actual gold content of the coin is what you want to base the melt price on.
Either $5 coin is 0.24187 oz. pure gold, which equals $218.99 each, as of May 19th.
The $2.5 coin is 0.12094 oz. pure gold, which equals $109.50.
|
|
New Member
United States
16 Posts |
I just got an 1897-S $5 XF45 PCGS certified for $215.50 + $7.00 postage. I would say that is equivalent to an 1895 at AU58. The 1897-S has a mintage of 354,000 compared to 1895 with 1,345,855 mintage. $200 would be a challenge but doable if you are patient.
|
| |
Replies: 9 / Views: 1,567 |
|
Posted 05/14/2008 2:21 pm
