Which 1849-D $5 would you rather have?

RYK

Coin A:



Coin B (for about twice the price of Coin A):

bidask

I would go with coin B for twice the price.

BlindedByEgo

How about (c) both of them?

I personally am more distracted by the hits on (b) than I am the overall rough look of (a). For me, (a).

Knowing your penchant for dirty gold, I would only hazard a guess as to your choice

BTW, has (b) been "helped" at all? The color doesn't look "right" for D gold

100proof1957

A !

Dirty Gold !

ddbird

B

Normally I would go for the circulated but A has so many nics it almost looks porous.

Besides, I know you can afford the better one...

100proof1957

Just to add

A is a VF 30

B is an XF45

commoncents05

Door #2

-Paul

PRTCOINS

Coin B------------Very really dirty gold just doesnt have eye appeal. JMO

mgoodm3

I bet that A would look better with less harsh lighting.

dizzyfoxx

Hands down, coin B

tradedollarnut

B seems like a bargain on a relative basis.

291fifth

Have the reverse fields of coin A been smoothed?

PerryHall

Coin A appears to be more original while coin B seems a little too clean. I think coin B is worth a premium over coin A due to its higher grade but not double what coin A costs. Coin A represents the better value but then again, I'm not extremely wealthy like some forum members.

TwoSides2aCoin

Eye appeal wins out everytime with me.


B

Georgems65

the second one

speety

B

dtkk49a

Neither. But if I had to pick one, I would choose A.

RYK

Both coins are original. In hand, "B" has a very warm reddish/orange/gold color, which is typical of Dahlonega $5's of that period struck from California gold.

When I first received coin B, I was somewhat preoccupied with the hit on Liberty's cheek. Over time, I have learned that all of these coins have marks, and on a relative basis, the cheek hit is not significant. Original color and surfaces are far more important than any individual mark.

I am always attracted to dirty XF coins like coin A, and if I have the funds (or trading power), I pick them up even as duplicates. It would be a dream to own a complete XF set with the look of Coin B, rather than a mixed grade set, and despite that it would cost less than an AU set, it would be much more difficult to assemble.

Surprisingly, no one noticed that the mintmark is in a slightly different position in the two coins, as they represent the two collectible varieties of this underrated date. In general, most southern gold enthusiasts have little interest in such varieties. If these were Morgans or bust halves, there would be more hullabaloo over it.

DeusExMachina

I'd take B all day.

I agree with 291fifth on the reverse fields for coin A, something looks a little funny. It could just be the pic but it looks like the dirt is not spread evenly. The hit on Liberty's face on coin B was one of the first things I noticed but it did not bother me in least. Old gold needs a little leeway especially stuff that circulated (which I prefer). B is a fantastic coin and would love to own it.

stman

RYK, question..... and this question gets debated argued with the Bust folks but now we're talkin' about southern gold. With Bust material most folks that have been at them for a while agree there are very few "original" coins out there. Sometimes we settle for original now. On this gold having had very low survival rates, being very small, and heavily circulated or most look like they have...... When you say coins in this series are "original" do you mean/think completely original, or original now?

I guess I'm asking because I see a lot posted (not just from you) and they all seem to be called original. Not saying they aren't, just really curious is all.

rah1959

IMHO...i would go with coin B....it would be easier to sell in the future due to the eye appeal than coin A....even at the current premium, I think....

Great photos of both....perhaps a harsh light angle hurt coin A?

RAH