Well I am not of deep pockets, but I took a trip up to Atlantic City last night and did very well. A 1795 Flowing Hair Half has been on my radar for about 8 months and I'm tempted to pull the trigger. This would be a major purchase for me so I'd like to enlist the help of the pro's. Basically I've been looking for a 1795 Flowing Hair Half F-12-F-15. This one caught my eye because I believe it has a nice strike. I can deal with the scratch running diaginal under the chin, but my major concern is weather this coin has been cleaned or not. First impression is obviously no.. because it is slabbed, but the diaginal zings running from 11 to 5 on the obverse really throw me off. I have not seen an F-12 with this nice of a strike in a long time. Another issue I'm having is price. This is listed at 26 but I'm thinking around 2 is my comfort zone. Please give me your thoughts on this half.. 40% sure I'll pass on the Half and take my haul to the Baltimore Expo, but would love to hear opinions on this one. TYVM. Here is the link btw. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1795-P-EARL...90?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item4163ef9f3a
That is a nice looking coin for the grade. But with such a major purchase for your collection, you should probably wait for one that doesn't have such a pronounced scratch across the obverse. I'm actually a little surprised that PCGS didn't body bag it. Do yourself a favor and wait for a problem free coin. Congrats on your win, the Baltimore Expo is a great place to spend it. Among my favorites.
Thanks. LP (Justin) just informed me that the show starts tommorrow and not next weekend! Looking forward to it. Plan on attending tommorrow, possibly Saturday.
I think it's lovely. I was tempted when I saw it. It's a very pretty safe investment too. A lot safer than craps or blackjack. Lance.
Lance's words ring truth as far as an investment. Although it is a very nice piece, I would be too bugged by the mark on the obverse. It would be the first thing I looked at every time.
Too bad about the mark.. Darn. I was thinking Investment as well, but realistically this is like 10 carpayments for me, regardless if it is poker winnings or not. I'll go conservative and remain tempted.
Right, Log Potato. If it bothers you, well, you will never get past it. Very early U.S. coins get passes from the TPG's for problems that would body bag later coins. I try to give them a big picture look. Here's a '95 large cent with old obverse scratches. I forgave them because the color is sweet and the surfaces are much better than average for coins of its ilk. It's a tough coin and the price was fair. There's usually a trade-off. What are you okay with? Lance.
My guess is that PCGS considered those lines adjustment marks, and that is why it graded. Nice coin, but even if they are adjustment marks, they are pretty distracting.
I'd say since you aren't 100 percent sold on it take half your winnings to the expo and buy a coin you are completely satisfied with and put the other half towards car payments....you will have a nice coin that you will love and you wont feel guilty about neglecting your every day obligations......that's what I would do anyways.
I like the coin, I just do not like the price. Adjustment marks, as we'll as minor circulation marks are something to be expected in coins of that period. Not may were coined to start with, and the ones available for trade and commerce saw much action. One should keep this in mind when considering coins of this era. My advice is therefore: coin OK, but not at that price. 1795 half dollars can be found reasonably easy, so JCB, keep looking and you will find one that fits you taste and budget. Ikeigwin, is that 1794 half yours - beautiful coin and very scarce! I guess O-101? my own is only G4 or a tad better.
I am of the opinion that if you have car payments then you should not be buying any coins until that debt is settled. Even if you "invest" in coins; is the appreciation going to outweigh the intrest you are paying in the same period? If you owe someone money even a bank... at the same time you are "investing"; you are basically investing with someone else's money. Nice coin though, the scratch or adjustment mark does not really bother me that much but I do think the price is too much for that coin.
Jason: Congrats on the winnings. Pass on this one. Take the haul to the show and buy a nice Franklin toner. . TC
Congrats on doing well in Atlantic City! It is indeed difficult to find coins of that age with no scratches, and the price goes up astronomically with better detail and scratch-free. For that amount of money I'd probably keep looking for a better deal.
I would say yes, the coin has been harshly cleaned at some point. And Lance's comments explain why the coin is in the slab. But just because a coin is in a slab, does that mean that you as a collector should ignore the problems ? To me, that's the real issue. But it is an issue that presents collectors with a problem. That problem is this - it is not easy to find early US coinage that is problem free. The TPGs know this. And the TPGs also know, what I call, the psychology of coin collecting. You see, the very fact that we are collectors makes us "want" the coins. But as collectors we are also aware of the problem issues, and we strive, most of us, to avoid the problem issues. But when the coins are placed in regular slabs by the TPG that provides a convenient excuse for us to "look the other way" and ignore the problem issues the coins may have. In reality is it is nothing more than lying to ourselves so that we may fill another hole in our collections and pretend that there are no issues purely because the TPG slabbed it. In other words, if they can accept it, we can too. That's where it gets really weird. You see, the reason the TPG accepts it is because we accept it.
I agree with most everyone. Just because its in a slab does not mean its not been cleaned, and I think it has. Most of these have though, so no biggie. Regarding whether you should buy it, that is a personal call. How much good this money could do you in savings versus in a coin is your decision. I know you are a young man, in college, with a family, and I just know "life happens" and it nice to have fall back money. As much as I like to buy coins and stocks, I always make sure my credit cards are paid off and I have 5 figures in a money market before I spend any kind of money on coins or books. Chris
Coin was way out of my budget. Really glad I didn't jump the gun and posted on the forum first. Things got put on hold because I got called into work today. That really grounded me. An old chum of mine was already wanting to take a trip to some Casino's in Charlestown West Virginia. Not gonna happen. The great thing about work today is that my boss gave me a vintage 1960's official Department of State watch for free. The bad part was that I pretty much missed the Baltimore Expo. I'd like to go tommorrow but doubt it is going to happen. Just wanted to update you guys. Thanks again for the advice. I'll post anything I get under newest acquisitions, but plan on being frugile.
My advice: Don't go to Baltimore on Sunday. In the past most dealers have cleared out and the whole experience is greatly diminished.
