1834 Gold $2.50 opinions please

msassin · June 23, 2008 6:22AM

Hi there. Stopping over from the sportscard message boards.

I bought this coin at a local auction a couple years ago.
The auctioneer does not have the best a good reputation (counterfeit/trimmed cards, etc.)

Is there any easy way to tell from my scans if it is real or not? What would you expect it to grade?

GoldenEyeNumismatics · June 23, 2008 6:27AM

The coin is real, but it looks to be holed and plugged.

CoinRaritiesOnline · June 23, 2008 6:29AM

It is very hard to tell from a scan, of course, but here is my opinion:

Genuine. Uncirculated details, but it looks cleaned to the point where it would not be graded by either NGC or PCGS. I would submit it to ANACS. If they do not call it cleaned, you may want to submit it to either NGC or PCGS for a crossover into their holder.

Good luck, and I hope I am mistaken about the cleaning.

CoinRaritiesOnline · June 23, 2008 6:30AM

<< The coin is real, but it looks to be holed and plugged. >>

That could well be. I missed it at 12 o'clock. Very likely, in fact.

msassin · June 23, 2008 6:38AM

I wasn't able to blow it up any better, but I assume this is what you guys are looking at?

PerryHall · June 23, 2008 6:59AM

Looks polished. Probably an ex-jewelry piece which would explain the hole and plugging.

BECOKA · June 23, 2008 7:13AM

The quick option is to take it to a local dealer for an opinion on if it has any issues.

The reality is that most scanners do a poor job of showing a coin and it is difficult to say much with out seeing it in person.

All the comments so far are based on a scan that is small, mutes potential luster, makes a coin look cleaned etc...

CoinRaritiesOnline · June 23, 2008 7:19AM

<< The quick option is to take it to a local dealer for an opinion on if it has any issues.

The reality is that most scanners do a poor job of showing a coin and it is difficult to say much with out seeing it in person.

All the comments so far are based on a scan that is small, mutes potential luster, makes a coin look cleaned etc... >>

Bekoka: That is good advice.

I just received a PM from a dealer friend who said -- "Really Dave, based just on that image? I sure can't tell."

I will copy my reply to him here, just so I don't sound too certain of my opinion based on those scans:

"Well, that unnatural disturbance at 2 1/2 is right where a plugged hole would be, and an MS sharpness Classic quarter eagle would be a good suspect for being plugged, and the surfaces (based only on the scan, mind you!) seem to have the cleaned PL look that a repaired coin would have.
But -- to answer your question head on -- I absolutely cannot tell with 100% certainty that that is what happened to that coin just from a flatbed scanner scan. If I gave that impression in my response to the chatroom poster, then I better expand upon it (or even cut and paste this reply to you!)."

relicsncoins · June 23, 2008 7:30AM

I've oftened wondered with the realative inexpensivness of decent digital cameras these days, why you still see a fair amount of scans on here and other sites such as ebay.

JJ

MrEureka · June 23, 2008 7:33AM

If it's plugged through the "2 1/2", the reconstituted characters will probably not perfectly match the original ones. It's time to identify the variety and compare your coin to others of the same variety.

Aegis3 · June 24, 2008 8:03AM

<< If it's plugged through the "2 1/2", the reconstituted characters will probably not perfectly match the original ones. It's time to identify the variety and compare your coin to others of the same variety. >>

It's a small head variety (only one die pairing once you determine that.) As far as I can tell, it matches just fine. Fancy 8, 4 far from curl. Stars in the right positions. Eagle has a tongue, there is a berry. Arrowheads where they should be. So are the leaves.

MrEureka · June 24, 2008 8:05AM

It's a small head variety (only one die pairing once you determine that.) As far as I can tell, it matches just fine. Fancy 8, 4 far from curl. Stars in the right positions. Eagle has a tongue, there is a berry. Arrowheads where they should be. So are the leaves.

How about the 2 1/2?

CoinHusker · June 24, 2008 9:31AM

<< The coin is real, but it looks to be holed and plugged. >>

Considering you got it a couple years ago, and if you paid a good price, and you weren't thinking of submitting it for a grade or buy it for that purpose... who cares?!

Aegis3 · June 24, 2008 11:17AM

<< It's a small head variety (only one die pairing once you determine that.) As far as I can tell, it matches just fine. Fancy 8, 4 far from curl. Stars in the right positions. Eagle has a tongue, there is a berry. Arrowheads where they should be. So are the leaves.

How about the 2 1/2? >>

Oh yeah. Definitely repaired. AFAICT from a small upside-down photo, the "1" is two large to be original and also too close to the whole numeral "2".

pb2y · June 24, 2008 1:51PM

If you like her---its is a winner.

robkool · June 24, 2008 1:56PM

AU58 details... (Ex jewlery/cleaned).

1834 Gold $2.50 opinions please

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