I would slab it. many don't like slabs, I'm half and half about slabs. it depends on the coin & value but if your going to sell it down the road it's the best way to get the best buck for it.
I agree.... it's probably a $30.00 coin. Here's what an AU example should look like, and it's only $38 BIN: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1892-Columb...96?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item43b49bff18
I agree with the 'over dip'. I was looking at a Sesquicentennial of American Independence yesterday that had the same look as this piece. It was wonderfully white and bright, but the luster was gone. No cartwheel effect. However, Bigtee, you are the judge. You are the collector and I'm glad you like it. Is this your first Columbian?
wonder what was paid for it? I do not have an example of this commem, yet it seems a number of my non coin collection friends all have this coin handed down from some relative. all i have read indicate that a huge number of these were available for a number of years
You're right about that, and the price reflects this. I got my AU example from my dealers junk bin, paid $7 for it (this was a few years ago).
My interpretation of the images is that the surfaces have been overdipped and now look somewhat dead. It also has the feel of a high end AU. Such a coin would not justify the costs of certification.
Thanks for the input guys. This was one of my first coins I bought when I started collecting coins. Just liked the look of it(still want the Oregon trail Comm- someday I hope) Got it on eBay for $30. Said Choice GEM BU. so how can you tell it's been dipped? I'm not good at knowing if a coin has been cleaned- major weakness in my collecting.
Shinny and white don't always equal luster. Take your coin by the edges and rotate it in the light. Do you see what we call a 'cartwheel effect'? That would be the light bouncing and dancing around the coin much like a cartwheel and is due to the light bouncing off the 'flow lines' which were produced my metal flow during the minting process. What happens when a coin is over dipped is that the dipping procedure takes away those flow lines and luster.........
I don't deal a whole lot with silver coins that are in great condition. Most are just junk silver coins that are circulated. Ill have to go to the coin shop and see how the cartwheel looks on a nice graded coin. Thanks for the input guys!
Most people do not consider dipping to be cleaning; therefore, most folks would accept a dipped coin even if they would reject a cleaned coin. In this case, the coin is 120 years old and is scurpulously clean of any toning or apparently any patina or skin at all. This simply should not be the case for a 90% silver coin of this age, which lends quite a bit of evidence that the coin was dipped.
Yes, definitely looks to have been dipped. In 1892 and 1893 the US Mint was minting like crazy and as a result there are plenty of these Columbus Half Dollars. I have one too, almost everyone has one or has owned one in the past, that's just a guess.
