Trade Dollar Question

That hole might have something to do with nobody bidding on it...


(There were over 9.5 million 1877S Trade dollars minted. I think most folks think they can get one without a hole for a reasonable price so are not going to bid on this one).

and

I know of this seller and believe he would not sell a fake. This coin will hammer for considerably more than $79, likely as much as it's worth without the hole.

What makes you say this Dave? Are the "hole" collectors out there increasing in numbers? I always thought a holed coin, in most cases, is worth about 10% of it's non-holed value, but maybe I'm out of touch.

@johnny54321: Ernie is a high-volume, long-term ebay seller with a strong following. This is his "lower-grade" identity; you could also know him as EBW Collectibles if I recall right, the name under which he sells his nice stuff.


He is widely known as a respectable seller who can spot a bad one, and reveals problems his coins might have. I've known him to get a grade enthusiastic before, but more than one grade and you're gonna get what you see in the pic.

This is the nicest Trade dollar you're going to get for anything near the price. The seller has a large loyal following. He'll do OK.

My wild guess as to final sales price...$96.50 with little to no action until close to the end time. We'll see.

Unusual hole location, no?

BTW, I think I paid about $72 for my Trade dollar 6-9 months ago. It's also an 1877-S, grades about VG-F, no chops, not cleaned and great eye appeal for the grade. I don't believe chop marks are a 100% guarantee a TD hit Chinese soil.

If it doesn't sell, contact the seller directly after the expiration if you're still interested.

Love the Trade dollars ... would you fill this hole or leave it as is ?

Oh, absolutely leave it as-is. The hole is likely contemporary, nearly as old as the coin itself. There's a story there, and given the international circulation of Trade dollars, it could be an exotic story indeed. We'll never know.

So now we have 2 Trade dollars listed in this thread with holes at the same places, but certainly not where I'd expect. Any ideas why the holes are where they are and what the use may have been after the fact?