A NEWBIE's impulse BINs... Boom or bust?
coinpictures
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Browsing the bay a few days ago, I decided to feed my fetish for 19th-century coinage, especially copper. Wasn't looking for anything in particular, just whatever caught my eye.
Coins are en route, so assessments are based on the original auction pics (always a dangerous proposition
).
Pointers, mistakes, suggestions appreciated.
Coins are en route, so assessments are based on the original auction pics (always a dangerous proposition
). Pointers, mistakes, suggestions appreciated.
- 1840 Half Dime, no drapery. ANACS AU55. Greysheet puts AU50 at $130 and MS60 at $200. This one was $169, right smack in the middle. Lousy auction pics, and it didn't sell the first time around at the same price, but I think it has potential. The blue toning, while uneven, is probably quite vibrant (see my following pics of a Canadian 1913 5C with the same kind of toning, oddly enough also in an ANACS AU55 holder).
- 1854 Large Cent. $55. Blown-out auction pics, so hard to tell what the color is really like. Surfaces look good, as do the rims. Looks to be at least EF45, with a shot at AU50-55. Greysheet is $38 in EF40 and $100 in AU50.
- 1851 Large Cent. $60. This one absolutely jumped off the page at me. Same source as #2. Seems to have a lot of original lustre. At least AU50, with a shot at MS. There's some funkiness below "CENT" on the reverse that I can't quite make out though. Also, the circular "ghosting" surrounding the stars on the obverse: signs of cleaning/recoloring?
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Comments
The ANACS Seated half dime looks potentialy wonderful.
that's what I would predict. The large cents look funky and even the Canadian piece was once cleaned. All depends what you paid for them.
roadrunner
<< <i>I hesitate to say this but....the 1851 looks, to me, to have been messed with -- too much wear for this coin to have original red color. The 1854 is questionable, but less problematic. On the bright side, neither were that overpriced given their (possible) problems, so if you like them, more power to you!
Oh I admit it's all a gamble. Without knowing how dark the background really is, there's no way to gauge how overexposed the pictures are. My guess is that the woodgrain background is a darker color, and adjusting based on that am assuming that the coin looks closer to this:
... hence the coin is more of an RB than RD. Still the likelihood of cleaning, but definite AU+ detail at what amounts to EF45 money.
That's part of the crapshoot that is Ebay, which in a way makes it all the more fun. Sometimes, in order to potentially get a good deal, you have to take risks. Sometimes they pay off and sometimes you get burned.
(Note: I only do this with coins that have a return privilege... too dangerous otherwise).
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps