I presume you paid somewhere between $600 and $690 which is still a pretty good price for this scarce date in PCGS AU-55. The date on any coin is considered one of the worst places for damage in terms of the effect on market grade. Even if the weak 2nd 8 was caused by a filled die (rather than by post-mint damage) I would consider this coin less desirable than a similar coin with a normal date.
I checked several mint state 1881 coins in the Heritage auction archives and they all had a well-formed second 8 in the date. Your coin is apparently not typical in this respect. I would speculate that your dealer also saw the weak 8 as a defect and priced the coin accordingly.
I checked several mint state 1881 coins in the Heritage auction archives and they all had a well-formed second 8 in the date. Your coin is apparently not typical in this respect. I would speculate that your dealer also saw the weak 8 as a defect and priced the coin accordingly.




















