Need help with Bust Large Cent attribution...

windwhispersintrees

I don't have a Sheldon book...can someone please help me id these varieties?
I think this first one is Sheldon 232. It has evidence of a 'Y' under the 'T' in "LIBERTY".
The coin has lots of detail, but is corroded condition (lighter colored areas are surface pockmarks)
Approximate grade/value would be ?



I think this next one is Sheldon 239. It has the large elephant trunk die break in front of Liberty's nose. The reverse is missing a berry to the right of "CENT". The coin has decent detail, but seems like a weaker strike compared to the first coin and it's also corroded.
Approximate grade/value would be ?
Thank you for your help.

JadeRareCoin

windwhispersintrees, nice job on your attributions! I agree with both of your attributions. Regarding value, I would want to see both coins in hand, but I would guess $150 on the S-232 and $100 or so on the S-239.

Both coins are candidates for professional conservation. I am going to guess that these were nice coins a few decades ago, but were improperly stored. Just a guess, but they both seem to have the same type of environmental damage, yet they both have nice color and the underlying surfaces seem decent.

windwhispersintrees

J,
Thank you for the info.
Yes, they were indeed "improperly stored". They were buried outside in a field for about 200 years!
They originally had too much "toning" for my taste. Here's what they first looked like....


I sure do love old coins!

JadeRareCoin

That's cool!!! Did you find them? They cleaned up very well. Normally dug coins don't end up looking that nice. Sandy soil?

windwhispersintrees

Yes, I dug them....actually both in the same hole. I found them at a site located by doing lots of reading and looking at maps. And then once out in the woods, I had to do a bit of thinking...where was the house located? their water source relative to it? paths of travel? etc. The first coin from this site I found two years ago. The balance only came this year after many fruitless searches.

The soil is sandy and well-drained....which helps with preservation.
I've also found a 1795 Cent, a George II halfpenny, a 1785 CT copper and a 1788 VT copper at this site. They are all slightly less well-preserved.