1877 IHC On Ebay

Looks real to me. I compared it to the 1865 in the RedBook.

It does appear to be cleaned. Many IHCs have altered color to cover up a cleaning. The color on this doesn't look right, it should be a nice chocolate brown, or show signs of mint red, which it doesn't. It has a little orange color to it too. The obverse appears correct. Notice the last "7" is a little lower than the other digits. However, if somebody was going to fake such a coin, they probably would have used a real 1877 obverse to make the die. The reverse appears to be a later die stage due to the many clashes. There is a clash above the "O" in "ONE" which should appear on all 1877 IHCs. There are additional clashes to the left of the right wreath, those are suspicious to me because according to Richard Snow, those marks do not appear on any 1877 IHC, although additional clashes are present in later die states. There is the one that looks like a triangle about half way up and another a little further up across from the "E." Rick Snow has an example that was graded by ANACS which he determined to be fake and has very similar clashes on it, except it did not have a clash above the "O." This alone would make me not bid on this. I can't say for certain it's fake as the clashes don't 100% match the example I've looked at, but they are very similar.

No I just gave it an overall look compared to another Indian of the same reverse stage (1865-1909)probably not helpful though
I dont see an 1877 in the RedBook to compare it with.

i am not sure Dave. The N is usually weak

Well the N on the reverse in ONE is weak, which is what I often use as a telltale sign of authenticity. The seller is top-rated seller with 100% positive feedback, so I'd trust the seller. I would simply and politely ask him a question about whether he'd extend the return policy for allowing it to be certified and if it comes back fake or uncertified if he'd take the coin back. Why a piece that nice is not already certified is really surprising to me and does raise some doubts. This is a $3000+ coin if authentic so it is absurd to not have it certified.

I cracked open Snow's book to 1877, and the full shot of the die pair #1 reverse shows the clashes around the right wreath.
The reverse appears to be Rev A, die state B. The obverse should be #4, although I can't spot all the markers.
Regarding color, with David Zerbato--to my eyes somebody tried to make an RB coin out of this, but the splotchy red colors, lack of visible cartwheel, suggest it's dipped and perhaps re-toned over time. Certified is the only way to go on this key.

For one this high of a grade , it would have to be slabbed , but that could just be me.

Well it has the weak "n" and the big "7" the two diagnostics I'm aware of. This date is of great interest to me, I actually almost bought a nice G4 example last week; it went for a mere $10 more than my max bid ( ebay). But even that one was slabbed. I wouldn't take the chance of buying this coin uncertified from ebay.

Not a fan of the color on this particular coin but quite frankly I don't bother looking at high grade examples because they are out of my price range. If it were, again I would require a slabbed example (then take it out).

Yes I'm one of those whom dislikes slabbed coins but see's the necessity in these cases