| Author |
 Replies: 8 / Views: 1,971 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
6381 Posts |
Here is a draped bust large cent I bought raw at auction and then sent to PCGS. Against all odds, PCGS assigned the same grade that the seller had determined. I'm having a hard time controlling reflections for some reason, but anyone care to take a shot at grading, based on these photos?   |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
   Very nice coin, Jaobler! Your pictures are good enough to show a coin that is Au-58 or better. I can't see any signs of actual wear, and the strike seems very strong, both obverse and reverse. With that, I'd guess that it grades MS-63. |
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
1267 Posts |
Wow wow wow!!  Another series I am just starting to learn, but from the pictures I would guess somewhere around au-58. The obverse is absolutely hammered, the central portion of the hair has details of an ms coin. That said, I think there might be some sign of wear in the lower curls and the ribbon behind her head. On the reverse I see some weakness in the lettering (the A in STATES really stands out), and the detail in the ribbon just below cent seems a little weak. I initially would have called her an ms coin, but for a coin that has such a hammered strike for these areas to be a little weak I am guessing she saw very light circulation. There. All that said, and I could be sooo wrong. This is a 200 year old coin, and the minting process at the time was archaic to say the least. All I really know for sure is that I would rather have this piece than many of the ms coins I have seen.  |
|
Valued Member
United States
245 Posts |
Joining the "Not knowing much about these" crowd, first off, that's an awesome looking 200 year old coin! Congratulations! Now, from what I see, the obverse is the better I would say. A little something hoky going on with the denticles between 10 oclock and 12, might just be from the holder. slight traces of wear with hardly a ding. Nearly uniform color, except for that glaring spot on her forehead, in "Liberty", and in front of her lips. May be lighting/holder? Broken die? ie missing a chunk of the bottom of the Y in "Liberty". "1803" large date? A little blurry and my eyes aint so good. For the reverse, definitely a large fraction. Signs of wear are more noticeable, with a few more dings. Centering dot still visible but worn? Overall I'd say AU55? How'd I do?  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
560 Posts |
Great coin! Congratulations on the purchase. I'm going to say AU58.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
I am going to say Au-55 mine was au-58 by PCGS and seems to have more hair detail than this one but not much more
|
|
Valued Member
United States
487 Posts |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
6381 Posts |
Thanks for the replies, folks! I lightened up my photo somewhat to show the details more clearly and maybe that gave it an apparent upgrade. It is well-struck with strong detail in most areas, but there is very little luster and the color in-hand is a uniform medium to dark brown. There is definite wear visible, especially on the high points of the wreath. Heritage cataloged it as AU-50 and PCGS agreed.  For you large cent variety specialists, PCGS called this a "small date, small fraction" coin. This description is not definitive since coins with Sheldon numbers from S-244 through 248 plus S-250 through 256 all have the "small date, small fraction" description. Based on my inspection of the coins in the Wes Rasmussen Heritage auction catalog from January 13, 2005 (a terrific reference!), I'm tentatively calling my coin S-254. |
|
Valued Member
United States
429 Posts |
This would be a tough coin to grade. The front looks to me to be a MS-63+ and at first glance the back did as well. It was not until I read what it was graded that I went back and looked at it again and noticed the leaves on the reverse. If you look close, the leaves are flat and do not have a lot of definition to them, this is the only reason I can see the lower grade they issued. But overall I would love to have this coin rather than my G4, if you are not happy with the outcome I would gladly trade straight across, LOL.
|
| |
Replies: 8 / Views: 1,971 |
|
Posted 05/25/2008 02:18 am
