I REALLY want a red two cent piece. Are most of the red ones "enhanced?"

TheLiberator

?

darktone

If you don't know how to pick out red original copper chances are you will get one that has been worked on. mike

TheLiberator

Well, talk to me...what do I look for? What do I look OUT for?

Thanks!

lordmarcovan

If you're buyin' a Red 2c piece, stick to one slabbed by a reputable service.

I like the proofs, and miss my old icon coin. First, a razorfaced individual talked me out of it, and then somebody drove off with it in a '66 T-bird.





I liked getting a near-Cameo coin without paying Cameo money. I also like some of the colors you see on the RB proofs.

As to raw red 2c pieces, I have one on my Holey Coin Vest, believe it or not. It's RB, really, but lots of red. An AU coin, holed of course. Sweet. I picked it up for a song. It might've been "enhanced" or "tweaked"- in fact, it almost certainly was. But that's the beauty of holey coins- you don't have to fret about stuff like that, since the coin is already "damaged". It looks great on my vest.

TheLiberator

Oh, I would NEVER buy a red example unslabbed. I just don't know enough. My question was about the slabbed ones: do "enhanced" ones make it into slabs these days?

lordmarcovan

Maybe sometimes, but I doubt the top-tier services miss much. I personally wouldn't worry much about it if it's in the right plastic, and I liked the look of the coin. Watch out for carbon spots, though.

Barry

In my cynical opinion, most pre-1900 copper, even if slabbed, has been worked on, if red.

RotatedRainbows

Your best bet would be to do what I did, buy one in an old PCGS rattler or NGC pre 90's holder. Your chances of getting an original one are much better as most problem coins would have changed in the 15+ years since it was slabbed.

MrSpud

I remember reading in Scott Travers book The Coin Collector's Survival Manual that most old copper that looks red has been doctored. It had an interview with a coin dealer who supposedly knew some of the major coin doctors and the dealer claimed that the Grading Companies are so used to the look of the doctored coins that they think the real ones are doctored. It said something like if a copper coin was cleaned with cyanide it looked unnaturally clean for many years then it willl age to a very natural looking copper color that looks like a newly minted copper coin.

291fifth

A top tier slab that is recent is unlikely to have an enhanced coin. Beware of earlier "red" slabs because the definition of "red" has been tightened. Make sure the coin is fully "red" because that is the only thing dealers will buy for "red" money today. Always buy like a dealer.

roadrunner

There are unenhanced ones out there to pick from. I recently purchased a couple of red 64's from a hoard of like 15 pieces that a dealer had purchased. They all looked the same, and definitely original. 2 centers are not that rare that you can't find them. I purchased a real dog of an NGC MS66 RD off of Teletrade about 2 years ago that took me over a year to dump without losing money.
It had a nasty, burnt out look. Have no idea how they made that a 66. I hated that coin and found out too soon why it sold so cheap in the first place!

roadrunner

CarlWohlforth

I like RB early copper Especially one with a thick patina that *must* have taken a long time to develop... Besides they are cheaper than pure Red. RB matte proof Lincolns can be awesome and when those tissue wrapped babies are purple I like them much better than red...

lordmarcovan

RB with nice colors is an appealing option, and less scary than full reds, because you never know when those are gonna turn on you. I live in a coastal area where there are a lot of paper mills spewing sulfuric fumes into the atmosphere, so I've had coins turn, even inside slabs. But usually only modern proofs. I guess the older ones have enough of a "skin" to withstand the air here, unless they were messed with at one time or I left them on the windowsill or somethin'.

CarlWohlforth

I'm telling ya LM, you have to stop "or I left them on the windowsill or somethin'". Leaving coins on the windowsill in GA is asking for melted slabs or toning or lightening strikes or somethin'

lordmarcovan

Or mosquito bites. I saw a skeeter yesterday that could've put a dent in a coin. It was the type my wife (a country girl) calls "Gallynippers". I was at a loss as to what a Gallynipper was, until I realized it was a quaint colloquialism for "Gallon Nipper"- a skeeter that could suck a gallon of blood. The thing I swatted in the car the other day was most definitely a Gallynipper.

CarlWohlforth

Wow! I would have said "holey moley" but am sure I would have been misunderstood I do understand mosquito bites. I vistited Alaska in the late summer when the tundra was melting.... Never could I have imagined mosquitos like that!

CarlWohlforth

I forgot to mention that I have been in GA in the summer, also Wisc., N.H. and other parts where you zip up your mummy sleeping bag when camping even though it is way, way too hot!...

CarlWohlforth

I forgot to say I was zipping up my sleeping bag in N.H., Minn, S.C., and others even when in a tent with mosquito netting zipped closed! Boy was I glad when I learned about mosquito repelant with Deet!

lordmarcovan

Yeah, I use a repellent with Deet when I go out detecting.

Does OK with the skeeters sometimes, but sometimes they say, "hey- this stuff is tasty- give us some more!" (The sand gnats are like that, anyway).

I've heard about them Alaska skeeters- they sound purty fierce.

Well, I guess this thread has been well and truly hijacked, now.

Sandhawk

Keep in mind that you can buy a nice higher grade Brown 2 center for a lot less money 1866 2C PCGS MS-65 BN

lordmarcovan

Sometimes the browns can have nice colors, too, particularly if they're proofs.

darktone

<< <i>Well, talk to me...what do I look for? What do I look OUT for? >>

unfortunately detecting messed with copper takes a long time to figure out and can't really be explained by words or pictures- most will never figure it out very good. mike

dorkkarl

it is safe to assume that any fully red 2-cent piece in a slab has been enhanced. but there are a precious few original coins.

remember, if a 2-cent was dipped in 1950, it's had plenty of time to retone back to an original-looking color.

K S