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 Replies: 17 / Views: 1,262 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
671 Posts |
I made a post in the general forum about the price and availability of this series. Now I am interested in how you would grade this one. This one sold recently for an amount lower than others I see of this grade (granted, I don't see many). The strike looks strong and there appears to be some luster. 1) How would you grade it? 2) Do you think it has been cleaned? 3) How would you rate it as a type coin? In other words, if you were getting one of these, what would you look for first and foremost?      Edited by Adam590
03/05/2025 6:02 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
528 Posts |
Just a SWAG, I'll go AU58 straight grade.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3703 Posts |
1. MS-62. I grade it as such because you say it sold for less than expected. So my guess is that it is an ugly MS-62 or higher that did not reach premium quality money.
2. It certainly has been messed with and doctored in one way or another. It lacks the "original" appearance you want on draped bust eagles.
3. I am not a huge fan of this specific coin for the type because of #2 above. I would like complete frost for a mint state piece. This coin clearly has breaks in the field and is dressed in a brighter yellow color. These are common enough to wait for a nicer example.
Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: https://goccf.com/t/434955Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7057 Posts |
Expensive coin.. probably over graded. Unless cheap I would probably pass. My perception lately is that PCGS tends to overgrade.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10922 Posts |
Looks like an AU+ piece that's likely an AU55 or 58. It's likely in a MS62 holder as noted by jacrispies. I could see it grading anywhere from AU58 to MS63 at PCGS.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
58626 Posts |
I'll guess AU for the grade.
Errers and Varietys.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
671 Posts |
@Jacrispies: thanks so much for your analysis here. What makes it look "doctored" or "messed with?" Do you mean cleaned or dipped? I am really curious so I know what to look for.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21639 Posts |
I will also go with
AU-58 straight grade.
Old cabinet tone, due to 10% copper in the alloy.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1770 Posts |
Jacrispies pretty much nailed my thoughts. @Adam590, the coin lacks original skin, it was most likely dipped. That color on gold usually signifies a dip. You want to see rich gold surfaces for it to be original. Here is a link to a 62 CAC that a dealer sold: https://www.peakrarities.com/produc...gs-ms-62-cac |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3703 Posts |
That is a PERFECT example @Ploopy. Original color, frosty surfaces, light bag marks are exactly what is looked for. Truly a premium example.
High dollar gold coins can be scary because they are notoriously doctored with laser technology and other undetectable methods that involve metal movement. So at any sign of unoriginality, it is safe to assume it was doctored in one way or another.
Dead fields and bright color are two things to point out from the photos. Any more analysis would need to be done in-hand.
Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: https://goccf.com/t/434955Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
671 Posts |
@Ploopy: Thanks for sharing that gorgeous example. It sold for 3x what this coin sold for. Yeah, I am worried about dipping...
@Jacrispies: Thanks so much for this--this laser technology is scary. Do you have any favorite sources where I can read more about it? I am starting to search for it on the internet. This is truly scary for when I will try and acquire one of these.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3703 Posts |
There isn't any documentation that I know of. If someone published "Thorough Guide of Coin Doctoring" they would be banished from the hobby. You would need to go to a major show and talk with some high end dealers that could speak from long time experience.
And additional opportunity for knowing dealers is getting good deals that are not publicly available. Give dealers your want list and they will contact you. If I were buying five figure coins, this would be my strategy.
Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: https://goccf.com/t/434955Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3059 Posts |
If you are a member of local or regional coin clubs, you could also speak with some of the longer-time members of those clubs. If you let them know a few of the coins you are looking for, they may have ideas and contacts to help you.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6054 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
671 Posts |
Not quite 48 hours, but I won't be able to post tomorrow. It is PCGS AU(58). The CACed MS(62) Ploopy shared sold for $60K. I think this one sold for $22,500, making it just over 1/3 the price. The market must agree that this is not one of the finest specimens of the date. It looks kind of pretty to me--but I have seen so few of these that I need more experience evaluating them in person. Thanks to EVERYONE for your contributions to this discussion. I learn so much here!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3703 Posts |
58 isn't too shabby. I am thinking the slight surface altering was not bad enough to detail, but it was net graded to AU-58. I don't see any obvious wear so that seems to be the case.
Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: https://goccf.com/t/434955Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. |
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Replies: 17 / Views: 1,262 |
Posted 03/05/2025 6:04 pm
