Early coppers grading

Blackhawk

After looking at many Liberty Cap and Draped Bust cents on Ebay auctions, and other coins at my local show, I have a question. What are the most important elements in assigning these coins a grade. Since some of the dies were bad, the strikes can be misleading, but how about the planchets? How influencial in the final grade is a smooth, damage free planchet. I've seen coins with nice detail on porous planchets. I've seen great detail on rough corroded planchets. Variety being the same, would you rather have a porous F or a smooth VG? I guess I'm confused...Any Help?

Bill

redhott

smooth vg rather than a porous f, any day, without hesitation

coinkat

A clean corrosion free planchet is a big plus. It may not be enough to elevate a grade, but it will elevate the value of the coin.

dan1ecu

I’d rather have the smooth planchet... one that’s got even color. They really are hard to find, and they have a great look to them!

abuell

1) color and surfaces
2) color and surfaces
3) color and surfaces

dorkkarl

surface quality.

beware draped-bust large cents. they are often overgraded to fool the unwary. d.b large-cents, even in mid-grades, tend to have nice hair detail, & the grades are often overstated.

K S

BillJones

Surface quality is #1.

Don't let anybody sell you a junky porous copper coin because they tell you, "That's how they are all. They were ALL struck on bad planchets." That's a lot bull. Although some dates and varieties have their problems, most early U.S. copper coins were struck on decent stock. It's just that there were few collectors to save them, and copper is the most reactive of the three classic coinage metals (copper, silver and gold). Therefore a smooth early copper coin is hard to find in today's market, and it's worth a preimum when you find it.