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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,055 |
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Valued Member
 United States
326 Posts |
I'm thinking of starting a collection of Trade dollars with chop marks. I'm guessing that a chopped coin should come at a lower price?, drop a grade, call it "details".? Anyone have experience with these? |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11880 Posts |
Just like toning, there are coins with attractive, complimentary chops and downright ugly chops. Eye appeal is key imho. A nice set of attractively chopped Trade dollars seems very worth doing. I wouldn't do it to fill the collection with less expensive and unattractive examples. IN NECESSARIIS UNITAS - IN DUBIIS LIBERTAS - IN OMNIBUS CARITAS THE MAN IN THE ARENA, Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne Paris on April 23, 1910: " It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." My coin website: https://fairfaxcoins.com |
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Valued Member
 United States
326 Posts |
Well, I got a quick lesson and partly answered my own question when I looked at the CDN grey sheet for 1873 P trades. The ones with attractive certified chops are significantly more value than the un-chopped. Interesting.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2200 Posts |
Quote:
Well, I got a quick lesson and partly answered my own question when I looked at the CDN grey sheet for 1873 P trades. The ones with attractive certified chops are significantly more value than the un-chopped. Interesting. I'm going to guess that the reason for that is the chop marks add a bit of sociological history. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
That valuation differential surprises me.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3342 Posts |
This 1875-cc isn't too ugly for the belt buckle. The chops match the carved leather.  "Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq
12/02/2024 09:01 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1509 Posts |
An original Trade dollar with well placed nice chop marks demands a premium what what I have seen. I have started on a S mint Trade date set in the XF-AU range, and one of mine has really nice chopmarks, which I definitely paid a premium for. |
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Moderator
United States
187634 Posts |
I do not care for chop marks—my 7070 example is clean—but I do appreciate them.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4468 Posts |
On the 1873, 1875 and the 1878 CC you are going to pay a strong premium for the chop marks. The key date for the chop marks and the hardest coin to find in the entire Trade dollar series is the 1875 with chop marks. There are a lot of 1875 S with chop marks that are made up to appear as a 1875 with chops. If the chops are genuine, nearly all of the Trade dollars are genuine with chops. If you are going to collect the Trade dollar series with chops, it will be challenging and expensive. NGC and ANACS both detail Trade dollars with chop marks. Be aware that a lot of the NGC chops that have a details grade also have been cleaned that is not noted on the holder. PCGS and CAC will straight grade a Trade dollar with chops. A lot of nice Trade dollars in the old soap ANACS holders. In my collection of Trade dollars I have some with chops, but I like chops that do not show up on the other side. |
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Valued Member
United States
326 Posts |
Absolutely fascinating discussion here, and, after learning about the premiums for the CC's especially, I might have to adjust my goals. Maybe a combo of chops and non-chops.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3342 Posts |
I've observed that when a coin is chopped heavily on one side it dishes and the opposite side gets flattened. I like heavy chopping more as a historical curiosity than as a collectable coin. Reading accounts about Nevada in the 1870's, the Trade dollars were very unpopular in the place they were made. They were discounted by merchants, and some employees were paid with them. They were a successful way to export silver to China though. Getting a nice CC is a challenge, chopped or not. "Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq
12/02/2024 10:12 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4468 Posts |
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I might have to adjust my goals. Maybe a combo of chops and non-chops. If you are going to collect Trade dollars, you need to be aware of counterfeits. The CC dates are heavily counterfeited. If you are going to collect common dates with chops, you are going to be safe from most counterfeits. You still need to know the die marking for the type 1 and type 2 coins. If you are going to buy any CC dates, I would recommend you stick to coins in TPG holders from reputable dealers as these coins are expensive. |
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,055 |
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Posted 12/01/2024 12:42 pm
