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 Replies: 11 / Views: 2,114 |
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New Member
United States
39 Posts |
So I have a one dollar gold 1855c that I posted on here a while back.  I've had three graders I trust look at it and claim that the back is worn. However, I just bought the Bowers book on one dollar gold and of the 1855c it says, "Invariably the planchets and the quality of striking are extremely poor, and the date and the word DOLLAR are almost always weak. In fact, the 8 is almost always missing on some specimens. Many pieces also show distinct clashmarks. Because of the poor planchets and equally poor quality of striking, grading is difficult." I found the following three graded coins from auctions that show exactly the same lack of details on the back: https://www.greatcollections.com/Co...ar-NGC-MS-61https://www.greatcollections.com/Co...ar-NGC-AU-58https://coins.ha.com/itm/gold-dolla...ption-071515There is a die clash visible on mine as well as all of these, so I'm relatively confident this will grade way higher than my graders claimed (one said F15, eg). but the thing I'm most curious about is the lettering on the obverse. For my coin and for all three of these, all of the letters look like they're sitting atop a smooshed/dilated version of the same letter. Is that possibly a consequence of the die clash, or is this some sort of variety? I haven't found any more details about this. In contrast, I found several coins that don't show the weak strike on the reverse, but the obverse details are mushy as heck. These don't have that feature. |
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
Quote:
all of the letters look like they're sitting atop a smooshed/dilated version of the same letter Sounds like die wear; I see it all the time on modern coins, though I hadn't heard of an example that old before. It must have been an extremely overworked die that made those. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2797 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
That is a really ugly MS-61 SeatedNut. Judging from the portrait and the missing part of DOLLAR, compared to the relatively sharper wreath, it looks like it wasn't struck with enough force to form the deeper center details.
"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq
02/11/2020 12:48 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
No way is this coin a F-15. The pictures aren't good but it is at least an XF-45 and has some claims to a higher grade. It isn't MS though as it does have some wear.
Basically on type II dollars you don't pay any attention to the details at the center of the reverse because they are often weak or missing just due to the strike.
When they decided the 13 mm type I dollar was just too small they increased the diameter to 15 mm with no increase in weight thus resulting in an even thinner planchet. The the new head design was small and in high relief that resulted in the central portion of the reverse not striking up, there just wasn't enough metal there. Thus the missing letter in DOLLAR and the two center digits of the date. On the type III they increased the size of the head but significantly lowered the relief with the result being much better striking of the reverse.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6383 Posts |
I would peg your coin as XF-45, maybe AU-50. As stated the center weakness is typical. The blunt obverse letters are also more or less normal. The 1855-C gold dollar is quite a valuable coin and should be professionally graded. I would use PCGS if it were mine. Congrats on owning this special piece!  |
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New Member
 United States
39 Posts |
Here's some better pics   Definitely plan to submit. Just trying to get an idea of the value for insurance purposes! This coin is my dad's. He's been collecting for over 60 years and has some great pieces that he got for much less than they're worth today. Eg, in the 60s he traded 5 1950d nickels for a Seated dollar, a 10 dollar Indian and a 20 dollar Liberty that is proof like at least if not a proof. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6383 Posts |
I estimate this coin would sell in the $6000 range. It's quite a prize!
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New Member
United States
39 Posts |
Following up on this since I just got it back from PCGS. Straight grade, AU50!
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
8938 Posts |
Wow! Amazing! I'd say a bit low, AU-53 IMO, but amazing regardless!
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Moderator
 United States
187940 Posts |
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Following up on this since I just got it back from PCGS. Straight grade, AU50! Very nice! |
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New Member
United States
18 Posts |
What a coin! Congratulations, I think I'm officially jealous.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 2,114 |
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Posted 02/11/2020 10:29 am
