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 Replies: 26 / Views: 2,153 |
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Valued Member
United States
99 Posts |
If you were grading this quarter, what grade would you give it? See below:   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4589 Posts |
first I want to say welcome to the forum, I hope you enjoy your stay.. And great job with the pics you certainly can out do me on the photos. Nice  I think it is very very nice condition however I do see heavy scratches that I believe are from some cleaning, also the dark around the devices and stars, letters, numerals with the clear fields and a little coppery color around the top of the face in the field, makes me think of cleaning.. I see what appears to be a die crack (between I and the star on left). The head of liberty looks appealing with the frosty white look vs the silver grey field. I say its VF-30 to EF-40 leaning towards the VF.. Its an altogether attractive piece but with heavy scratches. Also one last note when I enlarge the pic I see slight yellow ,blue and green colors, Pretty but doesn't look natural looks like it was chemically done. Edited by scoutjim99
08/22/2006 12:59 am
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Valued Member
 United States
99 Posts |
Thanks for the grade. The coin was found by me with a metal dettector in an old civil war era park by Brunswick Maine. It was 8" down and received no cleaning, other than a rinse with water, no rubbing was done. The coin probably picked up the toning from the minerals in the ground or I think it's also possible that the coin was in mint state when lost in 1915 (or thereabouts). It is by far the best Barber that I've ever dug, as far as condition. I'm sending it in grading along with the NJ penny, do you think that it is worth getting slabbed?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3234 Posts |
I'd lean towards the XF-AU+ grades. The coin appears to have very little wear (by these photos). I'm not sure if it would slab or if it would be worth it, but it's a very nice find and it's getting very tough to find these coins looking this nice for sale.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2365 Posts |
Although Scoutjim can see scratches under his scope...this is a very nice coin, especially for a "dug" coin. The details are extremely strong, Liberty, ribbon, motto, etc. I would grade this an AU because of the details however, I do not believe that it would be worth your while to have it slabbed. I would just keep it protected in the air tite.
Welcome to the forum!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4589 Posts |
I would agree for a dug coin that is very nice, the onl reason I did not give it a xf/ au is it looks like the ribbon is slightly worn and a little bit of rub across the breast and feathers..
Edited by scoutjim99
08/22/2006 11:09 am
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
I would call it a Net AU50, but unless there's something deceptively wrong with the pics, the coin has been mechanically cleaned. Nothing natural would create parallel scratches across the devices, especially when the obverse and reverse are scratched in different directions. I'd run it past a reputable dealer before wasting the money on slabbing. An uncleaned AU50 of that date/mint is worth $75-ish.
None of that takes away from the fact that it's a very attractive coin, and a great find having been dug.
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Valued Member
United States
99 Posts |
Nope, no cleaning whatsoever, other than being washed off with fresh water and wiped gently with a paper towel. I learned a long time ago to be careful and DO NOT CLEAN a coin. Remember, this coin had been in the ground a LONG time in a sandy loam. The constant freezing and thawing of the ground would produce some scrubbing action most likely over time.
Edited by snook
08/22/2006 2:54 pm
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Valued Member
United States
99 Posts |
If anyone is wondering, the pics were taken by me with a Canon EOS Rebel XT Digital (8 mega pixels). Great camera and detail. Also used the built in flash, it amplifies the details, perhaps too much.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
577 Posts |
WOW what a great find. You can move this topic to the coin grading section, and you will most likely receive many more opinions.
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Valued Member
United States
397 Posts |
Cleaned coin, would come back from grader in a bodybag.... WHEN it was cleaned, I do not know, but it WAS cleaned... MM  |
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Valued Member
United States
99 Posts |
It might have been cleaned in 1915, but not after that. I swear, as God is my witness, that that coin has not been cleaned other than doused with fresh water and dried off with a soft paper towel. It came out of the ground from 8" down, into a pouch in my wallet, under the faucet when I got back to the hotel room and then gently wiped dry. It's been in a clear plastic holder since 1997 in my safe and that's the end of that story. Think what you want, but that's the truth and I don't lie about this kind of stuff.
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Valued Member
United States
99 Posts |
Ok, This has been bugging me, so I pulled the coin out of the plastic case and took some more pictures. The plastic case has some scuffing on the surface and I thought that some of the scratches may have been in the plastic case. I took some more pics, see if you can notice a difference. Compare these pics with the ones in the first post. As you can see, quite a few scratches and the die break that scoutjim thought he saw are not there, the flaws were in the plastic. See here:   Edited by snook
08/22/2006 5:17 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
986 Posts |
I think that there was some cleaning, possibly not by you but maybe by somebody else. It's a really nice coin, I'd grade it an Au-50ish.
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Valued Member
United States
99 Posts |
I appreciate all the feedback. We'll see what the graders have to say, but I know for a fact that the coin has not been cleaned. I pulled it up from the same depth and area that I was finding V-nickels and Indian cents at. They were in good shape too, that park was a great place for finding old coins in great condition. |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
quote:
Originally posted by snook
I appreciate all the feedback. We'll see what the graders have to say, but I know for a fact that the coin has not been cleaned. I pulled it up from the same depth and area that I was finding V-nickels and Indian cents at. They were in good shape too, that park was a great place for finding old coins in great condition.
With all due respect, have you been watching it since 1915? I believe that you haven't brushed it, but the parallel cleaning marks are just as obvious on the obverse in each picture, and they didn't change. If anything, it's more obvious outside the case than inside. Look at 9:00 and 3:00 in the fields, running from northwest to southeast. Nothing else makes marks like that on a coin. |
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Replies: 26 / Views: 2,153 |
Posted 08/22/2006 07:27 am
