1908 $2.50 Gold Indian Opinions

Bigpoppas

I know the pictures aren’t great, but was hoping any of you could give me your opinion on this piece .
I bought this about 4 years ago from a small time dealer in a local antiques mall .
I had bought several different things from him over the years, so I generally trusted him to not want to lose a good customer in a small venue like that.

I honestly was not that knowledgeable about grading, cleaned coins, counterfeits etc, but I liked the coin and went ahead and purchased it .

I know it’s hard to tell from my pics, but if you could give me your gut feeling on the condition , authenticity and approx value of the piece it would be much appreciated .
It’s just been sitting in a safe deposit box for the past years and I was never aware back then that a $2.50 Indian was a more common counterfeited coin .

Thanks , BP

bolivarshagnasty

Work on getting better images, and maybe someone can help.

cheezhed

Weigh it.

Bigpoppas

My iPhone can only do so much unfortunately and to weigh it and try better pics it definitely would have to be removed from the flip .
Plus I can’t find my scale since we moved

I know the guy wouldn’t rob me intentionally , but he wasn’t exactly the biggest dealer either and he could have been duped .

I’ll try and get better pics .
Thanks for the help and advice

Bigpoppas

These pics may be worse . Lol 🥴

Hemispherical

Try a magnet.

jwitten

These are my main focus. My gut feeling is it is real. With those pictures, I am not confident like I normally am though. I am thinking real because the 1908 did not have sharp details on the eagle's wing/shoulder, and this one does not either. Most counterfeit 1908s actually do have sharper details there, to match what the other dates generally look like. I would say AU condition, possibly cleaned. Almost impossible to tell without better pics though. I would value it $230-$260 depending on if it is cleaned, etc.

Bigpoppas

Thanks very much JW !
I highly trust your opinion .
I believe it is real too , but I have no clue what to look for when it comes to cleaning.
I really didn’t need the coin, but had just won at the casino and had money burning a hole in my pocket

Sadly the way the counterfeit market is now I just don’t have the knowledge to be buying most coins ..
I’ve always loved any of the US Issues with Native Americans on them . It just looked purdy to me on that particular day and I liked giving that small time guy a sale . Not one of my brightest purchases 😔

My pics will always suck until I get something with a macro lens .
Fortunately I don’t sell too many small items like coins .

Thanks again for your opinion JW 👍✌️

BlindedByEgo

Taking it out of the cardboard 2X2 would not make it any more non-returnable, anyway. Better to drop it into a more appropriate flip. Weight would be nice to have, but even the counterfeits are often pretty close. My opinion, based on the current photos, is that it looks very much like a $2.50 Indian gold coin, XF to AU.

jwitten

If you have another flip to put it in, take it out for a couple pics. An iphone should take good enough pictures if you are patient. Hold the camera back a bit, zoom in on the coin, touch the coin on the screen with your finger to focus, and snap a few. Move the light around a bit to try different light angles, etc.

Bigpoppas

Sounds good .. I have some non pvc flips around here somewhere and I’ll do that tomorrow .
The 2x2 looks pretty sh*tty anyway 🥴

Thanks guys .

If you saw some of the stuff I bought from that dealer you would mock me for months . Lol

Just trying to find my way in a marketplace that requires tons of knowledge .

asheland

Just a guess, but it looks real and XF in grade...

PerryHall

It's impossible to offer a rational opinion on a coin with pics like the ones you posted. Every date in this series has been heavily counterfeited.

BillJones

The one clear obverse picture says "genuine and perhaps an AU." The reverse photos are too out of focus to say anything worthwhile.

This date comes with the wing feather detail missing at the eagle's shoulder.

logger7

I'm not very optimistic with grade on that puppy; JWitten is right IMO.

Akbeez

iPhones take decent clear shots as long as you are not too close! Back off and get clear/more distant shots. If they are clear and high resolution, then they can be blown up to show details.

These little Indians are some of my favorites! Good luck.