Your Grade Vs. Segs On A 1817 Large Cent

It looks like a late die state with some of the stars points starting to merge with the rim so it probably is very weakly struck. Is there any luster on it?

Hi,

Thanks for your responses! I'm a bit surprised about the cleaning comment as I don't see it, but I came to the forum to hear from experts and so thank you for the response. As far as luster - yes - there is luster but I don't know how to quantify that - some luster?

Looks like a good case study for MS vs. Weak Strike. These photos IMO make the coin look circulated. There is extensive die wear (the extended outer star points are obvious) but the high points look worn to about the EF-45 level. The greyish, blotchy color is inconsistent with an original MS coin as well.

Maybe it really is a weakly-struck, late-die-state, cleaned and retoned, mint state example. SEGS tends to over-grade coins compared to the top TPGs and they are also less likely to pick up on defects like cleaning. This coin likely will be valued much lower than an example graded MS-62 BN by PCGS or NGC.

You are right that the Classic series is notorious for softer copper alloy that wore quickly and was subject to corrosion. The matron head cents were made from better coining alloy and held up much better. The dates from 1816-1820 in particular are fairly available in no-problem brown mint state condition, with good strikes.

Sweet coin! I want one that nice!