Guess the grade of this early Quarter - Grade Revealed First Post

doh

What do you think??



Here's the grade. All I know is if I bought this sight-unseen because it's a CAC coin I would not be happy with the appearance. I prefer my classic coins crusty and original looking....not scrubbed and scratched up. Even if this coin is a "rare variety" (explains the terrible strike I guess) it has no business being in a TPG holder let alone with a CAC sticker. My two cents.

mumu

AU Details, cleaned.

TomB

What do I think? Unatractive and overlit.

YaHa

XF40..

relicsncoins

VF something cleaned.

Boom

Very old, somewhat toned, possibly cleaned but sitting in a somewhat scratched up PCGS holder.

VF 30

NumisOxide

Xf-40, old cleaning,retoned

CoinJunkie

<< <i>Xf-40, old cleaning,retoned >>

quickwing

I'll go out on a limb and say it is genuine.

QuarterCollector

I say XF40-45 but cleaned.

Cam40

its uncirculated so technically its a 60 something

coinkat

very tough call from the images

Cam40

anyway, i`ll guess its probably a seventy two hundred dollar coin

1TwoBits

I could be somewhat biased, but I think it's a pretty nice piece. Mumu's blunt "AU details, cleaned" might be a fair assessment. This is another case where the coin look's different in hand than in the pictures. Sure, it was probably cleaned in the past, but it doesn't seem like it's been messed with in a long time. The coin now seems to have a nice old tone and retains some luster. There are some nicks, ticks, and scratches here and there.... upon magnification you can better see the small series of scratches in the field in front and behind Liberty's head (not really noticed when viewing without magnification). All of this really isn't so bad.

Most importantly, this coin is an 1806 B-4. It's an R-4, and the latest die stage as well. There are really nice die cracks and clashes in this latest stage. The census for the variety in Steve Tompkin's new book on early quarters lists his own coin as the finest - an AU53. This would certainly place the coin in the OP within the census for the variety. In grades above XF it is listed as very rare with no know examples in an uncirculated grade. The variety is also always weakly struck in the centers of both sides. The AU53, like the example in this OP, is in a PCGS holder and looks like it could have been dipped / cleaned at one time. That's the thing with coins from 1806, they have been around a long time. When making a decision, the thing to try and do is determine whether a coin was lightly cleaned long ago, or recently messed with. Then decide what you can live with.

doh

grade revealed, first post.

pheh

Interesting coin and post.

I like the coin also and I'm not entirely convinced the photograph puts the coin (or subsequent slabbing/stickering) in an entirely fair light. Market acceptance has been that lightly cleaned draped bust silver gets a pass, and with this image I'm having a hard time deciding how long ago this coin was rubbed up. But, I'm guessing it was quite some time ago given the green toning in the field behind Liberty's head. Sure looks like it sat in a cardboard board for long darn time.

Thanks for sharing it.

stinkinlincoln

Are the marks on Liberty adjustment marks?

If not, those are some bad scratches and I would think PCGS wouldnt slab that with a grade?

Also, why buy sight unseen because it has a sticker? If sight unseen is truly a smart way to buy, why not just rely on the graders opinion?

Not everyone has the same eyes or taste as Cac...


Sight unseen buying is NOT the way to build a nice collection of coins IMHO.

doh

<< <i>Sight unseen buying is NOT the way to build a nice collection of coins IMHO. >>


I agree 100%! However, I've heard more than a few people say that they'd buy a CAC coin sight-unseen because it's obviously correctly graded and blah blah blah.

1TwoBits

Pheh - You're pretty much hitting the nail on the head, there. As I mentioned, and you also point out, the picture is not at all flattering. A better picture would have helped.

Stinkinlincoln - The marks on Liberty are not adjustment marks, they are a couple of old scratches. It may be hard to imagine, but when looking at the coin in hand you don't really even see them. There is a bisecting die crack just left of the R in LIBERTY that you can't really see in the picture unless you know where to look, but it and another obverse crack are much easier to see than the old scratches when viewing the coin in hand. You need the right light and angle to see the old marks under the toning that seems undisturbed for some time.

Doh & all - I have the benefit of having this coin in hand, but can't provide better pic's for viewing. I think PCGS, having the coin in hand, graded the coin XF45 due to the very old original toning and look that is not represented in the pictures in the OP. It was not "passed through" because it's a better variety, but rather because it apparently had merit on it's own to the graders. I was a little surprised myself with the CAC sticker - especially when I was first viewing the website pic's. When I got the coin and could view it in person, I was a little more approving of the sticker.

I'm in agreement about not buying CAC or any coin sight unseen. Even looking at pictures, you never know. Be sure to know your dealer's return policy and make certain there is one if you are not working on approval or you're working with someone you have not yet done business with.

rainbowroosie

CAC should try to buy that to keep it from the light of day.