Guess the Grade -- Seated Liberty Quarter [grade revealed]

MikeInFL

My latest NEWP for my business strike type set. Please guess the grade. This coin is also a neat variety -- bonus points for correct attribution.

**************see pictures in Stuart's post below**********************

Thank you to the kind soul who sold this to me. I know you valued the coin greatly, and I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to own it.

Enjoy...Mike

**********************PCGS AU 55*******************************

TorinoCobra71

Those shore r sum purty RED X's.....................

TorinoCobra71

DRUNNER

Just red "x"s here too . .

Drunner

Shamika

MSXRD

RYK

Sweet! Nice original album toning.

Numismanic

jcping

No grade

longtimecollector

BlindedByEgo

BB

MikeInFL

Tough crowd here today. PBase is having problems...Mike

Stuart

Mike: She appears XF-45 to AU-50-ish to me from a wear & luster perspective, however those scratches in the left obv field might cause it not to certify at the top tier TPGS.

Not sure about the variety, but the second "1" appears very close to the 4, and also a bit lower than the other numerals in the date.


Courtesy Photo Post for Mike

clw54

AU53

roadrunner

Would be a tougher to guess if your link wasn't labeled with the variety as well as grade.

I sold an old green tag AU55 one of these earlier in the year for $435. It was actually a 58 or 58+ with quite a bit of luster. We both agreed that it could easily get regraded as Mint State as it had no real rub. Just that nice old crusty surface. A very neat variety that is most interesting to me. I'd love to own a gem 65 this variety/date. In the 1970's the 1841-0 was very tough to find in full XF or better. I searched for the date at every show. When the New Olreans hoard hit in the early 1980's it changed everything. Even though this date is rarer than say a 1901-s quarter, it is now common in the seated quarter ranks, at least in high grade. But honest gems are still rare and very desireable.

A great N'Oleans coin for a type set.

roadrunner

LeeG

Nice one Mike!

NumisOxide

AU55 and I like it.

MikeInFL

<< <i>Would be a tougher to guess if your link wasn't labeled with the variety as well as grade. >>



Fixed...Mike

DennisH

Mike:

I like it! I don't think the scratches are out of line with XF45, but perhaps with AU50.

tjkillian

AU-58. Remember, it is a New Orleans issue and they were not struck the best.

Tom

Dismeguy

Mike, variety is doubled obverse die, obvious at the shield

Dismeguy

and i didn't peek at a link to get the answer....

Nice coin but the chatter in the left field is a bit distracting

partagas

I would grade it xf45. The scratches knock it down. All though it has very nice luster. One that would be best to grade in hand to get a true grade.

Coinosaurus

AU53 - maybe AU58 without the obverse marks. The doubled die variety, many of which were in the New Orleans hoard. The non-doubled die variety is definitely tougher to find. The coin appears frequently in Unc though true gems are rare. James Cohen, downtown N.O. dealer (and back in business after the flood) handled many of these on the secondary market.

ms70

50

MikeInFL

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

Many of you have nailed the variety. I should have known I can't get anything by you guys!

The only other thing I will add at this point is that the coin has a great deal more luster than the photos show.

Is there any other information on the New Orleans hoard? I've searched the web and can't find much info except that it was "before 1970" and consisted of lots of 1840-o and 1841-o seated liberty quarters, most of which were corroded and/or darkly toned.

Thanks in advance...Mike

roadrunner

Mike, I'm sure the Gobrecht Journal would have several articles on this hoard. I believe it was around 1983 when it broke on the market. I don't know when it was found. Your coin has that same gray crusty look of coins from that hoard. Prior to the hoard being found, the DDO was probably very, very rare. But what a great coin.
A very obvious DDO from over 150 years ago that sells for not much more than a type coin. Nice.

roadrunner

MikeInFL

Thanks Roadrunner. I've sent an e-mail to the LSCC...Mike

pursuitofliberty

not fond of the obv scrapes, hits, ? ... but overall it has a nice look Mike ... tough ... by the pictures I'm thinking either a 45 or a 50 ... seems like a liner coin in that range to me ... but could see it having a label as high as a 53 because I think it has decent luster

JadeRareCoin

Very nice NO quarter, dont remember the last time i saw one that wasnt from the Hoard. Im sure PCGS or NGC would over look the light hairlines and grade the coin as pieces in that condition are very uncommon.

Andrew

PS: AU 55 imo

MikeInFL

I've done some more research on this coin, and here's what I found concerning the New Orleans Hoard.

According to Heritage:

Along with the 1841-O, the 1840-O No Drapery was well represented in the New Orleans Hoard of 1982. As many coins from this hoard were heavily abraded and/or corroded. and often-seen softness of detail over the star centrils.

According to the Briggs LSQ book, where he rates the coin an R3 and the rest of the varieties of this date a R5+:

Existing populations [of the 1840-O] more than doubled by the "New Orleans" Hoard. More than 200 pieces of the double die obverse (1841 2-C) within this hoard. Most UNC's from this hoard are impared from moisture and being buried. Coins of all varieties are very difficult to find well struck up.

PCGS has graded a total of 51 pieces with MS 64 being the highest grade. NGC has graded 49 pieces in total, with 5 attributed as DDO, the highest of them all being a MS 66.

Have fun...Mike

291fifth

XF40, cleaned, excessive marks for the grade, net F15.

Coinosaurus

Some add'l notes on the New Orleans hoard--

It was uncovered in October 1982, during the construction of the Meridian hotel, on the site of a former bank. There were approximately 1000 coins in two wooden chests, representing French, American, and Spanish coinage. It was located about 12 feet beneath street level. The coins were immediately dispersed (alternately "seized", "stolen", "acquired", or whatever euphemism you like!) to about two hundred bystanders, this being in a downtown area during the day. There was never any inventory of the hoard and the construction company didn't worry about litigation as it was impossible to track the coins and they were more concerned about just getting the work done. I have not been able to determine the exact location of the Meridian, so I suspect it has changed names since the 1980s.

BlindedByEgo

Very nice giveaway of a very nice AU50 Seated Quarter. PM me and I'll send you my mailing address

MikeInFL

The coin is PCGS AU 55 in an OGH.

Here is my subjective analysis:

It is a nice crusty coin with a dull overall tone with luster hidden underneath it. As I said earlier there is lots of luster, and I think it gives this coin a bump in grade. The hits noted by many in the obverse field are the most noticable along with the hit on Liberty's hand. The coin is very well struck overall particularly for a O mint coin -- all stars show fully, liberty's head has lots of detail, and the eagle on the reverse is also well struck. There is a touch of lightness centrally on liberty and also on the eagle's right leg and the topmost arrow's feathers. Rub, hits, and luster are consistent with an AU grade. I do not believe the coin has been dipped and I believe it is just a well preserved specimen of the New Orleans Hoard.

I will continue to research this coin and let you all know what I figure out. Thanks for playing...Mike