"Eagle eye" photo sticker, are they worth getting?

BUFFNIXX

My sister gave me an 1886 type two Indian cent to dispose of for her. First I got it slabbed by pcgs and it came back as
ms64 red a brown. I looked into the pcgs price guide and was surprised to see it listed at $1595.00. Then I sent it to
Rick Snow in Arizona (Eagle Eye Rare Coins) for evaluation for an eagle eye sticker. To me it was no brainer that the coin
was choice for the grade and would get a eagle head stickie. Was that a good move?

dsessom

@BUFFNIXX said:
My sister gave me an 1886 type two Indian cent to dispose of for her. First I got it slabbed by pcgs and it came back as
ms64 red a brown. I looked into the pcgs price guide and was surprised to see it listed at $1595.00. Then I sent it to
Rick Snow in Arizona (Eagle Eye Rare Coins) for evaluation for an eagle eye sticker. To me it was no brainer that the coin
was choice for the grade and would get a eagle head stickie. Was that a good move?

It surely can't hurt! Rick is the man when it comes to copper coins. Where in the world did your sister get a coin like that? It was obviously cared for, for many generations to survive in that condition. Do you have any photos?

ricko

Would like to see a picture of the coin. Yes, the Eagle Eye sticker is well worth it. Rick Snow is an authority on these coins. Cheers, RickO

coinbuf

Great coin! As you are liquidating the coin both the Eagle Eye and CAC stickers will be of value in the current marketplace.

BuffaloIronTail

@coinbuf said:
Great coin! As you are liquidating the coin both the Eagle Eye and CAC stickers will be of value in the current marketplace.

Don't forget the RickO sticker.

BW = Blast Red.

Pete

coinbuf

Lol, while the RickO sticker is highly coveted here on the forum, it may not be that much help in the marketplace.

Elcontador

Would rather have an eagle eye, than a CAC sticker on a Flyer or IHC.

PerryHall

@Elcontador said:
Would rather have an eagle eye, than a CAC sticker on a Flyer or IHC.

Yup. Rick Snow is the foremost expert on these series. He literally "wrote the book" on these coins.

MFeld

@Elcontador said:
Would rather have an eagle eye, than a CAC sticker on a Flyer or IHC.

Have you checked prices realized for coins with Eagle Eye stickers compared to those with CAC stickers?

asheland

I sent mine for Eagle Eye. 👍

ironmanl63

@BUFFNIXX said:
My sister gave me an 1886 type two Indian cent to dispose of for her. First I got it slabbed by pcgs and it came back as
ms64 red a brown. I looked into the pcgs price guide and was surprised to see it listed at $1595.00. Then I sent it to
Rick Snow in Arizona (Eagle Eye Rare Coins) for evaluation for an eagle eye sticker. To me it was no brainer that the coin
was choice for the grade and would get a eagle head stickie. Was that a good move?

Ye I believe it was. Dealing with Rick has taught me a ton about the series. I send all my Indian Cents to him for Photo Sealing.

alaura22

Steve Alert....................
BTW, I'll take both stickers!

jesbroken

I bought several coins from Rick and all were eagle eye. Wish I still had a couple of them. Last year someone on the board was collecting PCGS with Eagle Eye Indians, can't find who, maybe someone else will remember.
Jim

asheland

@BUFFNIXX said:
My sister gave me an 1886 type two Indian cent to dispose of for her. First I got it slabbed by pcgs and it came back as
ms64 red a brown. I looked into the pcgs price guide and was surprised to see it listed at $1595.00. Then I sent it to
Rick Snow in Arizona (Eagle Eye Rare Coins) for evaluation for an eagle eye sticker. To me it was no brainer that the coin
was choice for the grade and would get a eagle head stickie. Was that a good move?

Did you get it back yet? Did it pass?

A friend of mine sent five, I believe to Rick Snow, and I believe three out of the five passed, and he opened the box in front of me, and we looked at the ones that did not pass, and Rick noted on the form why they did not pass, it was very enlightening to see that, and then study the coins…

One that failed even had a CAC sticker!

ironmanl63

One that failed even had a CAC sticker!

This has happened to me both ways. They have similar but different criteria.

Tramp

@jesbroken said:
I bought several coins from Rick and all were eagle eye. Wish I still had a couple of them. Last year someone on the board was collecting PCGS with Eagle Eye Indians, can't find who, maybe someone else will remember.
Jim

@jesbroken
Was it this guy Jim?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/comment/13338196#Comment_13338196

FlyingAl

@winesteven

alaura22

@winesteven

https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/half-cents/indian-cents-major-sets/indian-cents-basic-set-circulation-strikes-1859-1909-cac/alltimeset/266588> @jesbroken said:

I bought several coins from Rick and all were eagle eye. Wish I still had a couple of them. Last year someone on the board was collecting PCGS with Eagle Eye Indians, can't find who, maybe someone else will remember.
Jim

jesbroken

Yes, it was. Steven had both CAC and Eagle Eye stickers. He is a nice person and might be able to shed light on the value side of such a sticker combo.
Jim

winesteven

So here are my thoughts on several issues raised above:

1. Yes, it was a good move to try to get the Eagle Eye Photo Seal.
2. Everything else being equal, “the market” places higher dollar values on Flying Eagles and Indian Head Cents that have only CAC stickers than those coins with only Eagle Eye Photo Seals. I suspect the reason for this is education. Many more collectors have an understanding of CAC stickers, with far fewer having an understanding of Rick’s expertise and the Photo Seal. That difference affects demand, which translates into dollar value differences.
3. Despite #2 above, there are many collectors of Flying Eagle and Indian cents that if there was only one of those stickers on a coin, they’d much rather have their coin with a Photo Seal. And everything else being equal, they’d likely pay less for that coin than if it had only a CAC sticker. AND there are probably more collectors that would prefer the CAC sticker if their coin had only one sticker.
4. While Rick and John Albanese (of CAC) look at many of the same factors in determining if a coin merits their sticker, they place different weights from each other on those various factors. My sense is that Rick places a greater weight on Strike, Die State, and carbon spots (especially on coins graded 66 and higher) than does John, but John is more sensitive to color origination, etc.
5. In my opinion, a coin having both stickers is having the best of both worlds!

Steve

skier07

If I had a nice Indian cent I would send it to CAC. I’m not sure how much value an Eagle Eye sticker adds when selling to the general coin population. Specialists might feel differently but I’m a generalist aside from my niche. If the auction houses had an Eagle Eye search available I might feel differently.

winesteven

@skier07 said:
If I had a nice Indian cent I would send it to CAC. I’m not sure how much value an Eagle Eye sticker adds when selling to the general coin population. Specialists might feel differently but I’m a generalist aside from my niche. If the auction houses had an Eagle Eye search available I might feel differently.

I don’t disagree with anything you said, but why not also send it to Rick Snow for a Photo Seal? The cost is only $15 (and if your coin doesn’t merit the Photo Seal you get that back), plus round trip shipping. Not only do you get the sticker, but you also get a slab sized plasticized card with a photo of the obverse slab with the sticker on the front, and signed by Rick on the back. You also get three high quality photos of your coin that are downloadable (a slab obverse with the sticker, a large obverse photo, and a large reverse photo). All of this for just $15!

Jzyskowski1

This here thread is amazing to me.

   The longer I stick it out here on the forum, the more I realize how many different options there are. Not only that but how many familiar folks have posted here.  I’ve got some coppers but have not really researched them much.  Thanks for everyone posting and I want to confess that I had heard of Rick Snow but didn’t know anything about him.  
    As with so many other things I’m grateful to you guys and gals for sharing your knowledge.   

Thanks again Jzyskowski

Jzyskowski1

I hate how this dang thing changes my font and condenses my posts into that dang trailing junk. Sorry folks.
I was just trying to say thanks and I learned a lot about Rick Snow. Thanks

Lazybones

winesteven

Here are his three photos of one of my coins, along with my photo of his plasticized cards:

Steve

DCW

I'd rather have the authority on Indian Cents put his sticker on my slab than CAC, resale value notwithstanding.

ElmerFusterpuck

Definitely with the crowd here, the Photo Seal is worthwhile and Rick is the man for FE and Indian cents.

Now another question: who is the authority on PLC's - Parking Lot Cents? There could be a great untapped market for those 1988-D cents with extra holes in Lincoln's ear, or the very rare 1975 double stuck cent. Yes double stuck. It's two 1975 cents stuck together with a wad of ancient chewing gum. Worth a fortune if it can get certified!

skier07

@winesteven said:

@skier07 said:
If I had a nice Indian cent I would send it to CAC. I’m not sure how much value an Eagle Eye sticker adds when selling to the general coin population. Specialists might feel differently but I’m a generalist aside from my niche. If the auction houses had an Eagle Eye search available I might feel differently.

I don’t disagree with anything you said, but why not also send it to Rick Snow for a Photo Seal? The cost is only $15 (and if your coin doesn’t merit the Photo Seal you get that back), plus round trip shipping. Not only do you get the sticker, but you also get a slab sized plasticized card with a photo of the obverse slab with the sticker on the front, and signed by Rick on the back. You also get three high quality photos of your coin that are downloadable (a slab obverse with the sticker, a large obverse photo, and a large reverse photo). All of this for just $15!

I agree with everything you said. I don’t have any nice Indians but if I did I would probably send them to Rick. There’s no downside and potentially a fair amount of upside potential.

Ronyahski

@winesteven said:
So here are my thoughts on several issues raised above:

1. Yes, it was a good move to try to get the Eagle Eye Photo Seal.
2. Everything else being equal, “the market” places higher dollar values on Flying Eagles and Indian Head Cents that have only CAC stickers than those coins with only Eagle Eye Photo Seals. I suspect the reason for this is education. Many more collectors have an understanding of CAC stickers, with far fewer having an understanding of Rick’s expertise and the Photo Seal. That difference affects demand, which translates into dollar value differences.
3. Despite #2 above, there are many collectors of Flying Eagle and Indian cents that if there was only one of those stickers on a coin, they’d much rather have their coin with a Photo Seal. And everything else being equal, they’d likely pay less for that coin than if it had only a CAC sticker. AND there are probably more collectors that would prefer the CAC sticker if their coin had only one sticker.
4. While Rick and John Albanese (of CAC) look at many of the same factors in determining if a coin merits their sticker, they place different weights from each other on those various factors. My sense is that Rick places a greater weight on Strike, Die State, and carbon spots (especially on coins graded 66 and higher) than does John, but John is more sensitive to color origination, etc.
5. In my opinion, a coin having both stickers is having the best of both worlds!

Steve

Great post, great observations. I would only add to the comment that CAC is more "sensitive to color origination" because my observation is that they are not as comfortable with grading toned coins as Eagle Eye and others, and therefore shy away from them. There currently is a bit of a mismatch between how CAC views toned coins and what is currently transpiring in the coin market realm.

DisneyFan

@winesteven said:

why not also send it to Rick Snow for a Photo Seal? The cost is only $15 (and if your coin doesn’t merit the Photo Seal you get that back), plus round trip shipping. Not only do you get the sticker, but you also get a slab sized plasticized card with a photo of the obverse slab with the sticker on the front, and signed by Rick on the back. You also get three high quality photos of your coin that are downloadable (a slab obverse with the sticker, a large obverse photo, and a large reverse photo). All of this for just $15!

It must be a labor of love for Rick.

winesteven

@DisneyFan said:

@winesteven said:

why not also send it to Rick Snow for a Photo Seal? The cost is only $15 (and if your coin doesn’t merit the Photo Seal you get that back), plus round trip shipping. Not only do you get the sticker, but you also get a slab sized plasticized card with a photo of the obverse slab with the sticker on the front, and signed by Rick on the back. You also get three high quality photos of your coin that are downloadable (a slab obverse with the sticker, a large obverse photo, and a large reverse photo). All of this for just $15!

It must be a labor of love for Rick.

Back around 1994, Rick felt that many graded Flying Eagle and Indian cents were not “solid for the grade” (does that sound familiar from another firm that started around 2008?). So he created his Eagle Eye Photo Seal concept, to identify coins of these two copper types that in his opinion were indeed solid for the grade.

Steve

lermish

I just received back my first submission to Eagle Eye and could not be happier. 10 total days from me sending them to getting them back. The photos are, unsurprisingly, great and the laminated slab photo card included is a nice touch also. Excellent value for the money and I will absolutely submit any future purchases.

!

winesteven

Congratulations! Unfortunately, I think this is the best kept secret from collectors who have any "nice" Indian or Flying Eagle Cents. Yes, it's a tremendous value!

Steve