1878 8TF MS63 - What Do You Think?

Aotearoa

There's a good chance I could pick this up for a bit under $200. No chance to see in hand. Not my series. What do you think?
The pics are from the seller. There's also a slab scan but I don't think it's as good. Thanks.

rawmorgan

I love the series, so lets look and see if there are any red flags.

In situations like this where the coin is not in your hand assume it's fake until proven otherwise.

The coin is being offered for "under $200." That's a significant discount. Is this person someone who is a dealer trying to win you into future purchases. Auction trends in coinfacts have the range at $200 - $290 in April.

Checking the cert# will tell you that the coin was TruViewed. Check the high res image, and the image being used in coinfacts as a "graded" example of a MS-63, against what you see in your photos. You wont see much, but pay close attention to the position of the date, stars, and neck point against the denticles. Look for those types of easy to spot references. Check the reverse as well.

Do you know the seller? Have you bought from them before? Do you know anyone who has bought from them?

Does the seller offer a return if not satisfied? If not I would walk away, a '78 8 tail feather in MS 63 is fairly plentiful.

IMO the coin looks good, but you don't know me from Adam. And I've only spent 2 minutes on this. The '78 date is a great one if you want to get into Vams.

Hope it goes well in the end

MFeld

The coin doesn’t look particularly nice - see Liberty’s cheek. However, if you can buy it for $200 or less, like it OK and are confident that the seller is legitimate and will deliver it to you, go for it.

Aotearoa

@rawmorgan Thanks for the good input! A bit more background: Both the seller and I are in New Zealand. This is where people tend to pay way too much for common date Morgans and to lack appreciation for rarer varieties/higher grades. I have purchased from this seller before. He's a straight up guy and has a business reputation to protect.

As shown in a previous thread, I have purchased three key-date Morgans from the same seller in the past. In every case, there was no interest during the auction (via our local version of eBay) and I was able to buy the coins at very reasonable prices outside of the auction forum. I'm anticipating that the same could happen with this coin (his auction starting price is a bit over $200). I don't actually collect Morgans but, I like them and if the price is right I would jump.

Thanks again.

Aotearoa

@MFeld said:
The coin doesn’t look particularly nice - see Liberty’s cheek. However, if you can buy it for $200 or less, like it OK and are confident that the seller is legitimate and will deliver it to you, go for it.

Thanks, Mark. We'll see how things work out. The auction concludes on Tuesday.

clarkbar04

It has trueviews, so enter the cert number in the pcgs database and you can look at a HUGE photo of it and decide if you like it.

Edit to say, it looks like the european trueviews so not quite as helpful.

Aotearoa

@clarkbar04 said:
It has trueviews, so enter the cert number in the pcgs database and you can look at a HUGE photo of it and decide if you like it.

Edit to say, it looks like the european trueviews so not quite as helpful.

Hong Kong, I believe. Yeah, the slab scan isn't nearly as nice as the TV.

ike126

It doesnt look to shabby i like it

ricko

Looks like a nice Morgan... under the conditions you describe, probably a good buy at around $200... Cheers, RickO

asheland

Looks like a nice example for a decent price.

RogerB

The obverse has a lot of small Kiwi nibbles and scratches. Even turned upside down so I could see it the way you Southern Hemisphere guys see it, the obverse was still "rough." I'd call the grade MS-62 or a very low end MS-63. Possibly worth the "less than $200" US; much better if you can pay $200 NZ.

coindeuce

It is a meh example of VAM 12, one of the most common die varieties of 8TF.

Aotearoa

Done for $177.

cheezhed

Nice pickup