I think this coin is DEFINITELY worth many times melt value.
I poked around on
ebay, and while very few of the low mintage 1870s years of this type have come up for sale, if you look here,
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?__i..._stpos=43085you will see that the three 1877s which sold recently got very active bidding. That date is much more common than yours, and you can see from NGC the RELATIVE effect on value, even if the absolute numbers may be off.
You've probably already seen there are two others for sale on
ebay at $385 and $459. While yours is worn, the eye appeal isn't that bad from the point of view of gouges, rim dings, etc.
I would be shocked if your coin didn't fetch at least $50. If it were mine, I'd put it on
ebay as a 30 day BIN at a price I don't really expect to get, but still in line with the two others you see for sale. If it doesn't sell after a couple of tries, I'd come back with an auction.
Edited by tdziemia
04/25/2018 4:40 pm