Considering buying a $2.50 Indian gold piece?
gyocomgd
Posts: 2,582 ✭✭✭
We've been down this road before, but it's worth revisiting from time to time.
I've had this 1915 $2.50 Indian head gold coin around for quite a while now. I bought it raw on eBay three years ago when I was just starting out, and decided this was the seriesI wanted to collect.
Note the images; they're typical of what you see on eBay when these pieces are sold raw. It's a very nice coin, lustrous, no wear high on the eagle's shoulder, the Indian's cheek and cotton balls on his head dress, which are among the "high points" of the coin, the design being incuse.
When I submitted it along with 5 other pieces, it came back as having been cleaned. Two others came back cleaned as well, and I consider myself just plain lucky that two them holdered--one of them high enough that I didn't really get hurt too badly financially on the transactions. But it chased me away from wanting to collect them. Too dangerous.
Anyway, here's how to spot cleaning on these. The face-on views make the coin appear to be completely fine. But tilt the coin on it's side so you're viewing the surfaces along a flattish angle. Rotate the coin completely. You don't need a loupe, necessarily, or even a strong light source. Voila! Observe the horizontal swipes, all in the same direction! This is typical of a cleaned gold piece. It isn't what I'd call a harsh cleaning, though certainly it was abrasive. The metal is so soft that the cleaning is very evident.
Moral: Don't buy these pieces raw, unless you know what you're doing and can return the coin tot he seller if you spot the cleaning. Cleaning is only one hazard on this series. Counterfeiting was commonplace, too.
I've had this 1915 $2.50 Indian head gold coin around for quite a while now. I bought it raw on eBay three years ago when I was just starting out, and decided this was the seriesI wanted to collect.
Note the images; they're typical of what you see on eBay when these pieces are sold raw. It's a very nice coin, lustrous, no wear high on the eagle's shoulder, the Indian's cheek and cotton balls on his head dress, which are among the "high points" of the coin, the design being incuse.
When I submitted it along with 5 other pieces, it came back as having been cleaned. Two others came back cleaned as well, and I consider myself just plain lucky that two them holdered--one of them high enough that I didn't really get hurt too badly financially on the transactions. But it chased me away from wanting to collect them. Too dangerous.
Anyway, here's how to spot cleaning on these. The face-on views make the coin appear to be completely fine. But tilt the coin on it's side so you're viewing the surfaces along a flattish angle. Rotate the coin completely. You don't need a loupe, necessarily, or even a strong light source. Voila! Observe the horizontal swipes, all in the same direction! This is typical of a cleaned gold piece. It isn't what I'd call a harsh cleaning, though certainly it was abrasive. The metal is so soft that the cleaning is very evident.
Moral: Don't buy these pieces raw, unless you know what you're doing and can return the coin tot he seller if you spot the cleaning. Cleaning is only one hazard on this series. Counterfeiting was commonplace, too.
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Comments
42/92
you do regret not going to the kindergarten series (grading wise) first? Morgans?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
BTW, why not build this set from already slabbed quarter eagles? You can build a set in AU that will look really good. It's just hard to find examples that have not been dipped which is where the challenge comes from.
<< <i>Very informative thread. Thanks.
BTW, why not build this set from already slabbed quarter eagles? You can build a set in AU that will look really good. It's just hard to find examples that have not been dipped which is where the challenge comes from. >>
That's an option and a smart one, but I tend to want to find coins that are seriously undergraded. A slabbed AU gold piece will not go BU (at least hardly ever, lol), as wear is wear.
Oddly, however, an AU58 Indian head gold piece often has greater eye appeal than a BU example.
<< <i>Guy, why do you like to keep captive native americans? >>
He's been a good renter. He's free to leave any time he wants. But when he splits, I get to keep his security deposit of $200 or so.
For a large selection of U.S. Coins & Currency, visit The Reeded Edge's online webstore at the link below.
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Fred, Las Vegas, NV
Then after the reading about counterfeits and how many were cleaned etc... I was worried.
Finally sent it into PCGS for the first quarter special and it came back a AU55. I paid AU money for it so I was pretty happy in the end but I decided to stay away from raw incused gold from now on.
You wouldn't believe how long it took to get him to sit still for this.
thank you for the very enlightening thread!
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
Joe
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
Definately not a newbie-series to collect. Wish this thread was up before I bought mine, haha
-D
-Aristotle
Dum loquimur fugerit invida aetas. Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero.
-Horace