1809 Large Cent On Layaway

Very nice coin, I would say that details on the bust are EF-40.

Congratulations on your purchase. Hopefully it will prove to be defect-free once you have a chance to examine it. It's very hard to find nice examples of the classic large cent and when you do, "very expensive" could be an understatement!

I think it makes EF-40 for detail. The perimeter details seem weak (see STATES) and the rim crumbling on the reverse is a potential problem. If these features are due to die erosion and the surfaces are smooth, then this coin could slab at PCGS or NGC. As Bherring says, be sure to check it very carefully. For this coin type, if you pay a "no problem" price you want to be certain it really is a "no problem" coin. I still don't have this type in my collection and if and when I spring for it I will probably only consider certified examples.

That's why I bought it, and I did not pay a 'non-problem' price ($1480). I'll take more pics when I get it. I wasn't sure if it was porous but it does look better than most of them.

I am not interested in slabbing it for awhile; it is for my type set. However, if I find a more common date in high AU with more eye appeal and it turns out to be a mostly problem free coin, I would consider slabbing and selling it in order to get a better one (this would be at least five years down the road, no doubt).

I just looked at an ANACS Net EF-40 (Corroded, Cleaned) at Heritage. I couldn't tell either condition from the typically-excellent Heritage pics, but the detail on that coin was substantially the same as the one you've pictured here.

That coin went for north of $2000. Enough said?

Here it is.

I took it to the dealer, and he said to return it. He suggested I get a common date in XF-45 for the same price because the strike was horrible and the obverse has some surface issues (seem to be minor though, and as far as I know these tend to come pretty cruddy anyway). I told him there's no way I could get a certified XF-45 classic head for $1500 because they're always way over $2000.

It's a bit darker than the ebay photos, but doesn't appear to have any obvious issues aside from the rim crumbling.

For that price, what do you guys think I should do? Do I have a chance at a better coin for a similar price?

Yeah, looks like some roughness, but it's minor and the coin fairly smooth. It's definitely not obviously corroded like the ones that I see as 'corroded' in slabs, but I've certainly seen what you've seen where a coin looks nice but its slabbed as 'corroded, cleaned' + X number of problems.

The coin looks nicer in the photos and I will try to take better ones midday tomorrow, my photos are bad but the coin definitely does not look as nice as the ones the seller gave.

Sometimes certain dates are hard to find in a "problem free" coin. We acquired a 1809 Bust half with a smudge on it but the detail is super and its original ie uncleaned. We're certifying it and selling it (oops sorry if that busted the rules about minimum posts) and it's a solid AU.

When it comes to late 18/early 19 century coins you find a lot that look like this. We don't deal often with bust halves but jumped on that one when the condition was checked. Not being 'collectors' per se we don't shop for dates or particular issues.

You have to decide whether, like the previous poster said, its a 'must have' coin. Surely you could have done better on price, but that's considering your ability to find another of this date at an affordable price in acceptable condition. My only concern would be resale value but if you're in it for the sheer fun of collecting, well this is part of it lol.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Bruce

This one is listed at $1950 and looks XF but is graded by ANACS at VF35. They might take less though and this was a solid strike.

http://www.southgatecoins.com/Coins...F-35-Plain-4