Half Cent Type Coin - Likey or No Likey

JoeLewis

What are your thoughts on this coin? All opinions appreciated.

*edited to add*
What do y'all think about the following:

1. strike
2. surfaces
3. coloring
4. grade
5. overall eye appeal

jessecarlk

likey the coin
no likey the holder

shorecoll

Likey the coin, may be recolored, or it may be the lighting. Still likey.

mdwoods

Nice half cent. Good type coin.

edix2001

What's not to like?

coinpictures

Looks like a David Lawrence image, which is almost, but not quite, entirely useless...

Decent strike. Probably much more lustrous. As long as there is a no-questions-asked return privilege, it's worth a try.

291fifth

It's a coin I would have to see in hand. Is that deep red area on the reverse actually a form of corrosion?

The prongs: ugly.

Barndog

I like it and expect the holder allows enough light to reach the coin so you can see color and luster (compared to the old NGC holders which hamper light transmission IMO)

MikeInFL

I'd like to see the coin in-hand, as the photos make the color look odd.

That said, this is a coin and a type that isn't difficult to find, so I would wait on a particularly nice example, and I'm not convinced this one is that.

Walkerguy21D

Nice detail, hope the luster and color looks better than the pic....looks like it could use some tender loving "Care" and a camel hair brush

BillJones

The coin is okay for sharpness, which is essentially Mint State, but I think the surfaces probably don’t have the flash or metal flow lines you would find on a true Mint State coin. My biggest concerns are with areas where spots have been lifted, and spots where the residue remains. Look at the letters “ED” in “UNITED”, “OF AM” in “OF AMERICA” and in the area of the 11th through 13th stars on the obverse. The redder spots on the reverse are of concern too.

I’m guessing this has been graded MS-61 or 62. Here’s my #2 half cent type coin. It’s in an NGC MS-62, brown holder. I bought it raw in the 1960s as a “VF.” It’s really a nice AU.


Here is an 1857, which is a better date. It's a raw coin which I grade AU-58.



And here my #1, which PCGS graded MS-64, R&B. I'll tell you that the dealer from whom I bought this piece had another graded MS-64, R&B and this coin blew it totally out of the water. Not all coins in the same grades are created equally.



Maybe camparing these three to the coin you are considering will help you decide.

Edited to add: This far from the world's most popular U.S. type coin. For that reason I would not go bonkers when it comes to paying for it.

thatoneguy

<< <i>What are your thoughts on this coin? All opinions appreciated.

*edited to add*
What do y'all think about the following:

1. strike
2. surfaces
3. coloring
4. grade
5. overall eye appeal


>>



1. strike-Decent
2. surfaces-Nice
3. coloring-Ok
4. grade-AU 50
5. overall eye appeal-Worth buying

BillJones

<< <i>4. grade-AU 50 >>



I will guarantee you that that coin is neither in an AU-50 holder, nor will you be able to buy it for AU-50 money. You just don’t see than kind of “meat” (detail) on an AU graded coin these days. If you are lucky it’s in an AU-58 holder, but that’s not likely.

I’m not saying the AU grade is wrong although AU-50 is a bit too low, but the grades just are not assigned that way these days.

JoeLewis

<< <i>

1. strike-Decent
2. surfaces-Nice
3. coloring-Ok
4. grade-AU 50
5. overall eye appeal-Worth buying >>



Just out of curiosity, where do you see wear on this coin?

Longacre

That's a net 53, and I would be delighted to place a sticker on that coin.

PS. Who took the bite marks out of the coin???

BillJones

<< <i>Just out of curiosity, where do you see wear on this coin? >>



You would need to have the coin in hand to check this, but if the mint luster is missing, it's strictly Mint State. Sometimes the grading services ignore this, but the EAC people don't. If it really has been graded AU-53, a few points may have been taken off for spot removal.

The thing about this type is that it's note very popular. It is for that reason that the Gimbels department store coin counter people (actually it was run The Coin and Currency Institute, Inc. the same people who marketed the Library of Coins abums) only graded the slabbed 1853 half cent I posted "VF" in the mid 1960s. The grading on these coins tends to be tight, and most of them don't show much wear.

JoeLewis

Wait a minute. The only way a coin can grade AU is if it has signs of wear, right?

NumisOxide

<< <i>It's a coin I would have to see in hand. Is that deep red area on the reverse actually a form of corrosion?

The prongs: ugly. >>


Same here.

dizzyfoxx

I thought coins were perfectly round, not slotted???

JoeLewis

There are two things that draw me to this coin: the fact that it has crisp, full dentils all the way around on both sides, and that almost all of the stars are complete through to the center. Most half cents I look at has neither of these two things.

I am, however, concerned about the coloration. What is going on here? Are those colors normal, or is there some form of surface damage going on?

coinpictures

It's in a 62 holder. Price is roughly 63 Greysheet.

BillJones

<< <i>Wait a minute. The only way a coin can grade AU is if it has signs of wear, right? >>



No, original mint luster and preservation of mint surfaces are the key. It's possible to turn a Mint State silver coin in to an AU coin by dipping too long or too many times. The detail might be there, but if the mint luster is gone or badly impaired, it's no longer really Mint State ... At least when a knowledgeable dealer is buying it. When they are selling it, that can be another story. It's even easier to downgrade a copper coin given the reactivity of the metal.

JoeLewis

<< <i>

<< <i>Wait a minute. The only way a coin can grade AU is if it has signs of wear, right? >>



No, original mint luster and preservation of mint surfaces are the key. It's possible to turn a Mint State silver coin in to an AU coin by dipping too long or too many times. The detail might be there, but if the mint luster is gone or badly impaired, it's no longer really Mint State ... At least when a knowledgeable dealer is buying it. When they are selling it, that can be another story. It's even easier to downgrade a copper coin given the reactivity of the metal. >>



I've never heard of this. In any grade description material I've read, a coin with no wear is at least MS60.

BillJones

<< <i>I've never heard of this. In any grade description material I've read, a coin with no wear is at least MS60. >>



A coin that has not mint luster is worn. It does not matter if all of the details are there or not. Once the original mint surface is gone, it's not Mint State any more.

coinpictures

<< <i>

<< <i>I've never heard of this. In any grade description material I've read, a coin with no wear is at least MS60. >>



A coin that has not mint luster is worn. It does not matter if all of the details are there or not. Once the original mint surface is gone, it's not Mint State any more. >>



Then by that definition, 75%+ of the coins out there in MS60-62 holders (and a fair number in 63 holders) are actually AU pieces. To what extent do you take it? RB and especially BN coins should not be considered mint state, nor should any toned coins, because the original mint surface is gone, or at least no longer in the state in which it left the mint...

BillJones

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>I've never heard of this. In any grade description material I've read, a coin with no wear is at least MS60. >>



A coin that has not mint luster is worn. It does not matter if all of the details are there or not. Once the original mint surface is gone, it's not Mint State any more. >>



Then by that definition, 75%+ of the coins out there in MS60-62 holders (and a fair number in 63 holders) are actually AU pieces. To what extent do you take it? RB and especially BN coins should not be considered mint state, nor should any toned coins, because the original mint surface is gone, or at least no longer in the state in which it left the mint... >>



When comes to MS-60 through 62 graded coins, the vast majority of them are really Choice AU. This is where the market grading concept comes in. It's not all bad or unfair, at least when it comes to older, rarer coins. In my opinion a really nice AU is worth as much or even more than an unattractive, technical grade MS-60 or 61 coin.

Billet7

I like it...I almost bought it. I think the pics are terrible and the surfaces likely look nicer in hand.

JoeLewis

<< <i>I like it...I almost bought it. I think the pics are terrible and the surfaces likely look nicer in hand. >>



If you don't mind me asking, what made you not buy it?

Billet7

I have maxed my budget for the month. Additionally, I feel I can find another one similar, with a little searching in a PCGS holder (so I won't have to cross it.)

stinkinlincoln

On this coin, and some others like it, Id go with BillJones. He knows he stuff it seems. The color would bother me, but the strike seems nice. Not out of the world nice, but nice nonetheless.


If its not a coin you HAVE to own, keep looking.