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Is this 1886 nickel worth close to $34,500?
seateddime
Posts: 6,180 ✭✭✭
http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1114&Lot_No=1305
Maybe I am missing something here. I see it did not sell but is worth close to the reserve?
Maybe I am missing something here. I see it did not sell but is worth close to the reserve?
I seldom check PM's but do check emails often jason@seated.org
Buying top quality Seated Dimes in Gem BU and Proof.
Buying great coins - monster eye appeal only.
Buying top quality Seated Dimes in Gem BU and Proof.
Buying great coins - monster eye appeal only.
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What does that tell you?
<< <i>Nice "dip residue" spot on the obverse there. That one got graded right after taking a bath. >>
Primary reason it didn't sell - @ any price - it needs another conservation [ in a manner of speaking ].
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Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
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I imaged this a few years ago - a PCGS MS66 - and I still feel this is the finest for the date - quite an amazing coin really.
Harlan J. Berk, Ltd.
https://hjbltd.com/#!/department/us-coins
One, it is yet another example why I am not buying anything right now. This is another expensive, imo overgraded coin in a coffin that the seller thinks some fool will pay moon money to acquire. I see this sort of thing whenever I go to a show.
a) Slabbed Bust $s in AU screaming "I've been cleaned," at anyone who knows what he is looking at where the seller is asking $10-12K. b) Classic or Draped Bust Large Cents in 3 or 4 holders with active PVC, obviously blue-ribboned or severely overgraded. These are five figure coins, folks. No thank you.
The second reason is it shows the huge chasm you can find between two coins of the same date, in the same grade, in the same holder. The coin Mike imaged is beautiful. I'd guess the only reason it's not in a 7 holder is because it doesn't have booming luster. The first coin is an obviously dipped coin, which might be okay in a 5 holder, though personally, I don't like it, period.
The biggest gap I saw up close and personal between two coins in the same grade in the same holder took place at Long Beach. Both coins were 1814 Classic Large Cents in PC 4 BN holders. The nice one was owned by a collector who was kind enough to show it to me. It had an even color, no planchet problems, and only one tick mark in the obverse field. It's the nicest 4 of this date I've seen. The other one had splotchy turd-color toning and it looked like Miss Liberty had the bubonic plague on her face. I think the latter should have been either net graded or bagged for environmental damage. I don't think this was done because the second was a 'pedigreed' coin.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Jay
That's probably why it didn't sell.
For Heaven's sake, why spend many multiples for one more point on the insert, if you can find a nice one at the next lower grade? Sometimes we really have to look in the mirror and ask what it is that we are trying to achieve - a beautiful set, or an ego trip. (And of course, I include myself in that criticism; and have often asked myself that question when upgrading coins, or shelling out big bucks for pop top specimens with runaway prices ... )
The whole system is fraught with difficulty. Some months ago, I culled a number of beautiful duplicates out of my Barber quarter set. In choosing which ones to let go, I tried to balance eye appeal and technical quality, but I erred on the side of keeping the coins with the higher technical quality. Many of the coins I let go have since upgraded !! In the marketplace, they are now worth multiples of the coins I kept, which I considered to be equal or superior in every case. Unfortunately, the grading game drives the hobby. (Nonetheless, I warmly congratulate my good friend who bought the coins; and he was justly thrilled to get the upgrades.)
In addition, the 1886 nickel carries another risk: for well-struck specimens that are lacking die cracks, it is extremely difficult to distinguish genuine business strikes from proofs. Notice that the OP coin at Heritage has weak left corn and obverse die cracks, and is obviously a business strike; while the beautiful coin posted by Mike P. falls into the category of coins that I would be very careful to examine closely as possible proofs. (Of course I didn't see that coin in hand, and if Mike P. says it was MS, I defer to his exceptional eyes and experience.)
I remember buying an AT example of the 1886 nickel with virtually flawless surfaces in a PCI MS67 holder. I had the blatantly artificial toning removed via conservation, but was chagrined when the coin came back NGC PF66, and later PCGS PR66. Out of the holder, the edges were apparently square enough to imply a proof collar and rule out the MS designation. This same problem holds true for other nickel coinage of the era, such as the 1880 shield nickel, whose dies and die pairings have been studied extensively to gain an understanding of possible proof diagnostics. However, no such studies have been conducted (to my knowledge) for the 1886 nickel. So when you see a strong strike with full corn, and no die cracks on either side, keep this in mind.
Best,
Sunnywood
Sunnywood's Rainbow-Toned Morgans (Retired)
Sunnywood's Barber Quarters (Retired)
<< <i>It's weekly struck AND coffee stained. I like my my MS-64 better! >>
Heck, I like my AU 58 better !!
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Edit to add:
Excellent advice, Doug.
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Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
Now for your question. No I don't think it's worth $34,500. A year ago I'd think maybe 2 or 3 people would say yes and that's all it takes.
Proof or circ? Here's what SEGS says:
And since they saw it raw and noted MS-edge, i'll take their word for it, for now...
Not this coin, though. The coffee stain isn't as bad in hand, the rest of the coin, however, is uglier than the picture. It is a medium strike coin with weird looking luster, and obviously has been cleaned and played with. This coin needs to go back for regrade.