1923-S SLQ

Welcome to Coin Community, Mike. A 1923-S SLQ is one heck of a find with a metal detector.

You haven't done anything whatsoever to clean it, right? I worry about the marks on the reverse - they might be interpreted as "damage," resulting in a Net grade.

I'm no expert with this series, but it looks about F12-F15 from the photos. The last PCGS-slabbed F15 sold at Heritage brought over $600; in an ANACS slab that would be a little lower but still quite the payday for a day's detecting.

thanks super dave and okie colin!

i didn't clean or scrub this coin at all. I rinsed it with bottled water seconds after I dug it out of the ground. there was a clump of dirt still attached to the reverse, and I did wipe it off gently with my thumb, but all scratches on the coin were either already there or happened by the coin rubbing against earth as I loosened it from the ground. the ground that I found it in was dry and rocky. all in all, what you see in the pic is how it came out of the ground.

Hello Mike, and

The pre-1925 Standing Liberty quarters lost their dates easily from circulation wear because the dates were a "high point" of the design, unprotected by other design elements. The grading services take this into account for these coins. Your quarter is missing part of the date which for most coins would put it into the About Good range. However, I think this quarter might grade as high as VF-30 or so for detail. Except for the date, the details are quite strong.

As is the case for most metal detector finds, ANACS would probably slab this coin with an "environmental damage" note on the label. It would still be worth sending it for grading since the ANACS slab guarantees authenticity. As SuperDave noted, it is easily worth several hundred dollars, even with the defect.

It's a terrific find and you are one lucky guy. Congratulations!

thanks, weerdsteve, Jaobler and Amazon99!

Amazon99- yes, this is my best find yet. I have found a few others but none as valuable as this 23s SLQ. other coins that I have found over the years are: 1938-d walker, 1913-d type 2 buffalo, and an AU 1911-s Barber quarter.

thanks for all the replies. someone in the grading forum graded the details on this coin as VF30 with environmental damage. I wonder what I could sell this coin for? I probably wont sell, but it's fun to think about.

thanks again!

Mike

Awesome find and

thanks, Jaobler! I appreciate that. my coin has a darker appearance than this one. not super-dark, but a gray-silver color. should I leave it as is? if this one is cleaned and sold for $690 would my value go up or down if I cleaned it or left it alone? I know that generally cleaning is a cardinal sin, but do you think the color of my coin helps or hurts?

Thanks!

Mike

Don't clean it Mike! If you submit it to ANACS they will slab it even with environmental damage. I would submit it if it were mine. With the authenticity varified that will be a valuable coin.