1852 Large Cent

bhartman35

Hi, Everyone.

Another one of those coins I've been asked to look at. What do you think?

ziggy29

Decent coin, about VF-20 (commercial grading, not EAC), adequate but not spectacular for the grade. Looks fairly original which is a plus. Is that a PVC spot just to the right of the date?

bhartman35

To my knowledge, the first time that coin ever saw anything but a little paper envelope was the cardboard holder it's in now, so I don't think it's PVC. Could it just be ugly toning?

ziggy29

Could be. There seems to be a little verdigris in protected areas here and there, I think, but overall it's not all that bad -- especially since it looks original and has nice color. This is what I want a large cent in this grade to look like in terms of color.

MikeInFL

First off, it is an eye appealing coin with good surfaces in general and doesn't seem to be messed with. It also has a fairly good strike centrally on both sides and also good dentils. Some of the obverse stars are a bit weak as is typical on this date, but doesn't detract from the look as the coin is a nice circulated specimen.

The first problem I see is there's something going on around Liberty's ear on the obverse, and it doesn't look mint struck. Personally, I would be worried that it is grafitti or tooling, but it could also be a planchet defect or other as-mint error. The rest of the problems are minor in comparison. There are a few rim dents on both sides -- on the obverse from 12 to 2 o'clock and the reverse at 12 o'clock. There's also either a planchet defect or some corrosion around 2 o'clock on the reverse which is a bit distracting. The green verdegris on the reverse wreath doesn't bother me that much given the grade of the coin.

I would pass on this coin...Mike