Is anything wrong with this seated dime?

ccex

I saw this 1873, no-arrows, proof Seated Dime on eBay. I have had great experiences with this seller, who posts decent images, and posts raw coins almost exclusively. He doesn't overgrade as outrageously as the typical eBay seller. Perhaps he would do better if he sold the same coins in reputable slabs.

Anyway, I'm just wondering if any of you see anything here to refute the seller's claim that this is a naturally toned proof dime. Pictures

Auction

F117ASR

Well, I'm no professional but I think it is naturally toned. I've noticed that many 19th century proofs tone this way. Also I would think that it is naturally toned because I do not think that anyone would risk destroying such a beautiful and expensive coin over a little toning craze.

airplanenut

<< <i>I do not think that anyone would risk destroying such a beautiful and expensive coin over a little toning craze. >>

You've got a lot to learn. This coin, though, does look ok, though for a piece of it's value, it should be in plastic.

buffnut

If it helps at all, I have purchased one coin from this seller and was very pleased with what I got. It is the 1913 PCGS MS66 buffalo nickel in my registry set. I bought it raw, and then sent it to PCGS. Randy was great as far as customer service is concerned, and has a good return policy. If you look at his feedback, he has several repeat customers. He always lists good looking coins no matter what you're looking for. BTW- He advertised the buff I bought as MS65- so I concur with your atatement that he doesn't overgrade his coins much. There have been some that were questionable though- you just have to know what you're looking for/at.

dorkkarl

this is a good seller, & i like the coin. i'd say go for it.

don't get all tied up in knots about the "grade", which is irrelevant to this kind of coin. i mean, if it came back pcgs proof-25, would you suddenly hate the coin???

ENJOY it. that's what coin collecting's all about.

K S

Coppernicus

AMEN K S. I like it, it's almost positively NT, and it'll probably get a good grade (if submitted). I agree though, that the grade doesn't matter if you love the coin. My favorite Lincoln wheat is my 10-S in 64RB - I wouldn't care if it had come back as a AU55.

Mike

rhedden

The dime looks naturally toned. However, many coins with this kind of toning were dipped years ago and then placed in an album. That coin has the look of a dipped/retoned piece. In addition, you cannot tell from the picture whether the coin has hairlines in the fields. Grading proofs from a photo is impossible for this reason. If you are going to bid, assume it is a PR63 with a generous amount of hairlines in the fields. If I had a nice proof Seated dime for sale, I'd never put it on ebay raw.

I will say that many of the Bust halves sold by this seller do look artificially toned, however. They have irridescent toning covering both sides. That is not normal on a circulated Bust coin. I haven't bid on any of his auctions because I suspect that the colorful toning is hiding lots of hairlines. I am not saying that the seller artificially tones coins, but he may have purchased a collection from someone who did, or he may have purchased a collection that was cleaned & retoned naturally.

boyhowdy

Hey Paul.
That is the best struck SL dime I've seen in a long time!

Steve

coinguy89

That is one beautiful looking coin, absolute great looking toning on that piece, wouldn't know if its real or not, but wow!

lordmarcovan

That is a fantastic-looking Seated dime.

I'd jump on it.

BigD5

I purchased one coin from this seller, over two years ago, and it was blatantly overgraded. Sold as an ms/64, and was a cleaned au. I will say that the return was problem free, and handled in a prompt manner.

This seller has been a topic on these boards before. He seems to have a mix of decent coins, and also some not so decent coins.

Take Bill Jones advice on this coin. I would imagine it has some hairlines.

With all that said, the subject coin looks very nice from the pic.

roadrunner

It would seem unlikely that this coin would grade as a 65. If so, why being sold on ebay raw where it will likely fetch inbetween 64 and 65 money? The secondary toning sort of implies a former cleaning decades ago. Therefore there are no doubt significant hairlines behind that wonderful Raymond toning. 63-64 would be the target grades. I just bought a seriously PQ 64+ first gen PCGS PF seated dime for around $625 on ebay. The odds of this coin beign worth more are quite slim imo.

roadrunner

magikbilly

Hi,
I also think that this Proof Seated Liberty 10c has been dipped long ago and retoned, perhaps in a WR album. The reverse color looks odd as well. I just purchased an original envelope toned PCGS Proof 64 Seated Liberty 10c, and it took a lot of searching before I found one (you can see it at the link below) with minimal hairlines and fully original color - most Pr 63/64 Seated 10c I saw are hairlined and/or dipped to an unattractive degree. As far as bidding, I would also assume this to grade Pr63 with a good deal of hairlines - especially from when it was dipped. As there is a return policy and you are comfortable with this dealer perhaps you will take a chance. I would skip on this coin as the retoning bothers me and there may very well be hairlines that keep it at Pr63 or so. I wonder why it was not slabbed?

Best,
Billy

PS - I just looked at some of his auctions - several similarly toned funny looking coins. That disturbs me.