1890-CC $20 Double Eagle MS-64

Hopefully someone with a little more experience will be able to give an exact figure, but my 2007 RedBook shows an MS63 at $32,500. I have found the RedBook to be optimistic, but if yours is authentic & a true MS64 it's probably worth quite a bit.

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear of your mother. This suspense is too much, we need pics ASAP.

Charles, welcome to the forum.. and I'm sorry to hear about your mom.

If you could post some pictures or let us know if it's in a plastic holder of some kind (with a company name on it, and which one) we could give you a better idea. It sounds like a beautiful coin collection if this is just one of them!

Look around a bit and see if there are any notes about the coins. Collectors sometimes keep notes or lists on things they purchase/sell.. where purchased, amount, grade, etc. It might give you a little insight into her hobby. (If indeed it was a hobby - sometimes people buy coins to invest, or they are received as gifts). In either case, there are lots of friendly folks here to help

The coin is in a cardboard holder with a film plastic stapled around it. There are handwritten notes on the cardboard. There is a note in a book Mom kept and under the entry for the 1890CC it says:

3/6/1985 Appraised, Coin Castle, Ames Ia
1890-CC Type III, MS-64, $4750

That is about all I can find. I know Mom bought a large number of her coins from this particular store, She felt the guy was honest. Unlike others I can't find where she bought it.

Charles

People write allot of things on 2x2 holders and allot of dealers grades can't be trusted so even if it says its a MS-64 it could still be a AU or lower coin (or it could be correct) but we can't know for sure without seeing a Obverse and Reverse picture of the coin and the price difference between AU and MS-64 is huge so you can see why dealers tried to inflate their grades for unsuspecting consumers that aren't very good at grading so even if they got talked down a little on the price they are still getting more than the coin is actually worth if it were graded correctly.

Edit: I see you posted pictures of the coin now (I had the page pulled up and had to run pick up my kid from school and came home and finished the reply) and from the pictures as good as I can tell I don't think the grade is accurate but its still a nice coin and the price difference I was referring to between grades here is an example, PCGS lists that specific coin in AU-55 as worth $2,750 and they list one grade higher MS-60 as worth $5,750. they list a MS-64 (what the 2x2 says this coin is) as being worth $55,000 so you can see why a dealer will inflate the grade of the coin so they can get more for it, even if they sold it for MS-62 price which has a listed value of $15,000 he made a killing on a coin that is actually worth $2,000.00. In my opinion your coin grades anywhere between AU-MS-61 can't be sure from the pictures but it is definately a coin worth getting graded by a reputable TPG

" TPG", where would I send it for a certification?

Hello Charles, and welcome.

The finest-known 1890-CC double eagle is a single specimen graded MS-64 by PCGS, which is probably the most reputable professional, third-party grading ( TPG) service. There are only a handful of coins graded MS-63 (one notch lower) and major auction house Heritage Auction Galleries has only sold one of those in the last 10 years, in 2005. The price then was over $30,000. A similar coin would almost certainly sell for more in 2008.

Your coin really needs to be in a top-quality, TPG grading service holder. The only companies I would recommend for this coin would be PCGS, NGC, or ANACS. As the last two posters mentioned, based on the photos (which are not definitive) your coin will likely grade lower than MS-64. Even if it is "just" an AU (about uncirculated, or not quite Mint State) coin it is valuable and should be graded. The sealed TPG holder will guarantee authenticity for a potential buyer and will provide a professional grade opinion. It will also protect the coin from accidental damage. God forbid you should drop this coin when you are examining it! Falling onto a hard floor could result in a nasty edge dent that would instantly lower the value by maybe $1000, or even more.

If you decide to have it graded our forum members can advise you on how to proceed. Good luck!

ANACS doesn't require you to have a membership to submit coins for authentication/grading and NGC and PCGS does. PCGS will get you the most money if you are wanting to sell because of their reputation but in my opinion any of the 3 mentioned would be a fine choice to send it to and all 3 are respected in the numismatic community where the biggest thing they would worry about with a coin of this magnitude would be authenticity and these 3 companies have a guarantee that the coin inside their slab is authentic which will make the buyer a little more lax with their money when they are buying