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Help grading this 1910 matte proof Lincoln head cent

BUFFNIXXBUFFNIXX Posts: 2,727 ✭✭✭✭✭

Here is a 1910 matte proof lincoln cent which is now for sale on flea bay for about $570. Though it has probably been cleaned and retoned it seems to be a really nice example. I would appreciate comments from any of the matte proof collectors here.

Collector of Buffalo Nickels and other 20th century United States Coinage
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"

Comments

  • ChrisH821ChrisH821 Posts: 6,732 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Ha, I am eyeballing that same one. I contacted the seller yesterday and he says it has probably been dipped and recolored, hence the "details" description. I was going to post here for opinions as well but you beat me to it!

    To me it looks pretty attractive, moreso than a lot of 'recent' sales linked on coinfacts.

    Collector, occasional seller

  • segojasegoja Posts: 6,141 ✭✭✭✭

    Sounds like an honest seller

    JMSCoins Website Link


    Ike Specialist

    Finest Toned Ike I've Ever Seen, been looking since 1986

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  • Wabbit2313Wabbit2313 Posts: 7,268 ✭✭✭✭✭

    You can buy a graded 63 or 64 for the same money, not worth it at $570, at least to me.

  • lkeigwinlkeigwin Posts: 16,893 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It's not in a TPG holder for a reason. But you know that. What we don't know is why. I don't see any evidence of improper cleaning and there's nothing wrong with an acetone dip and proper (natural) retoning. Recoloring is another matter.

    I would guess the reason it isn't in a problem-free holder is due to its color pattern...the change in toning from the rim inward. But I struggle to see anything egregious.

    If it were mine I'd probably submit it a few times and, if it always failed to grade, I'd leave it in the last holder if I wanted to sell it. If I intended to keep it, and maybe help it along so it might grade another day, I'd stick it in an old kraft envelope and sit it on the window sill for a couple of years.

    I'm a little surprised it is being sold raw. Generally, buyers like the comfort of knowing an MPL is authentic. The only reason to sell it raw, perhaps, is the hope that a buyer may think it will grade and be worth a lot more.

    I like it. I rarely buy a problem coin unless I believe the call was marginal and it stands a chance. I've been very lucky but, funny enough, not so with an '09 MPL judged QT twice. Guess where it lives today.
    Lance.

  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 34,811 ✭✭✭✭✭

    First I think that it is a Matte Proof, but as the seller has stated the color is suspect. My grade would be Matte Proof-64 details, not graded because of questionable color.

    I think that $570 is all the money and then some (a lot of some) for this piece. I have not been in the market for these pieces for a while, but it's my understanding that the prices have come down quite a bit. The fact that it is not in a leading grading service slab is a big negative, especially at that price. Even in the "high flying days" no problem examples were bringing just over $1,000, and the problem pieces were probably pegged at the asking price for this one.

    I'd take that $570 use it on a graded, certified piece that has no issues.

    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • logger7logger7 Posts: 9,044 ✭✭✭✭✭

    "Matte" proof, sounds a little pretentious. Definition: "of a color, paint, or surface dull and flat, without a shine.
    "matte black'". As others said be wary of higher priced items that are uncertified. Reminds me of Huck Finn. "The handbill announcing the duke's and dauphin's performance in a small town... about Edmund Kean the Elder and David Garrick the younger, of Drury Lane Theatre, London."

  • DRUNNERDRUNNER Posts: 3,898 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Simply superb Twain reference . . . . .

    Drunner

  • mannie graymannie gray Posts: 7,259 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It's been messed with.

  • DoubleEagle59DoubleEagle59 Posts: 8,377 ✭✭✭✭✭
    "Gold is money, and nothing else" (JP Morgan, 1912)

    "“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)

    "I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
  • FunwithMPLFunwithMPL Posts: 329 ✭✭✭

    I agree with Billjones why buy a coin that's been cleaned. Save a you money and buy an certified 1910 PF when you resell the coin you will be happy you did.

    Collector
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭

    If I were in the market for an MPL, I would look for a slabbed specimen.... this one is questionable (as stated above) and, in hand, may be even more questionable... Cheers, RickO

  • VanHalenVanHalen Posts: 4,330 ✭✭✭✭✭
  • davewesendavewesen Posts: 6,665 ✭✭✭✭✭

    there are a couple details graded on ebay in the $400-$450 range

    the reverse on the coin you are asking about sure looks cleaned pumpkin orange to me

  • keetskeets Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Guess where it lives today.

    in an old Kraft envelope, sitting on a window sill??

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