Need opinions on 2 $2-1/2 Gold Coins

willy

Has the first one been dipped and cleaned? Both reputable Dealers.
Sorry I do not have a better picture of the one.

jmlanzaf

Can't tell anything from that first photo

Sunshine Rare Coins

I like the second coin better.

earlyAurum

I don’t recognize the first coin and image is not helpful but it’s not CAC which is an important consideration especially for early gold. The second coin is very nice and it is CAC but the price is rich. I believe that one has sold a couple of times at auction over the past year.

TPRC

Of course, for a coin like this, in-hand inspection is a must. However, in answer to your question, it sure looks like it to me. I also like the second one better. I also think for a coin like this, it may very well be worth the extra money involved to get a CACed piece, and yes, I know the premium is steep, but so too, is the return.

BillJones

I can't tell anything about the first coin because the photo is too small. The second coin is okay.

When you get into coins like this, what's been done to them becomes less important if the it's "market acceptable." They are good coins regardless. The question is how much of a premium or discount you pay for originality.

Pedzola

I am pretty sure this is the trueview for the first coin.

I was going to bid on the 2nd coin (58 cac) in the Legend auction but quickly blew past my budget and is now priced even higher. > 50% price diff between these 2 coins currently. Same grade with/without sticker.

I would like to find a draped bust $2.5 still but I think I'm priced out at this point.

skier07

Here’s a slightly better picture of the first coin. The coin doesn’t look “original” to me.

BillJones

I don't care for the first coin. The True View, which often seems to place the coin in its best light, looks dull on the reverse and 75% dull on the obverse. That does not not add up to an AU-58 for me.

I happen to have that date in my type set. This piece is in an Old Green Label PCGS AU-50 holder. It's never been to CAC because I have owned it for over 20 years. Obviously I agree with the grade and still do. It's been my observation that a lot of 1804 quarter eagles have adjustment marks.

BillJones

@earlyAurum said:
I don’t recognize the first coin and image is not helpful but it’s not CAC which is an important consideration especially for early gold. The second coin is very nice and it is CAC but the price is rich. I believe that one has sold a couple of times at auction over the past year.

At the risk of opening another can of worms, how much of premium should you pay for CAC?

I have been out of the early U.S. gold market for a long time because I completed my type set years ago. Of late I have been working the Proof sets from 1936 to 1942. At the Winter FUN show, it seemed that the CAC approved coins in this are were selling for a 50% premium.

I passed on all these coins and bought the coins that pleased me for less money. Most, but not all, of the CAC approved Proof coins I have seen were original, never dipped pieces. Some of those CAC coins had some very heavy haze on them from the celluloid sleaves the mint used to ship these coins in back in the day. The owners left them in those sleaves for many years, which accounts for the haze.

I don’t care for these coins when the haze knocks down a lot of Proof mirrors, but CAC does. That’s a difference of opinion. I do have some Proofs with the haze because it’s not thick enough to bother me. The ideal coin, for me has some haze, Proof mirrors and originality. Here is an example.

So, do you blindly by a Proof coin because CAC approved it? Or do you buy what you like? Does someone lead you collecting decisions, or do you think for yourself?

I'll let you decide.