No don't do that, I don't know large cents as well as colonials! They can be tough to attribute though, it took several of us on this one!
Don't tempt me. There is another box I inherited with about 70 colonials in it. I'm hooked on large cents so I haven't pulled them out of the safe in years.
Oh, I don't know about that. There are some pretty obvious problems, but there is a good amount of detail on this coin still. I'd call it VG details. It's probably worth somewhere around $300, I'd guess.
You're right 17 does look good with the SIN close together and the I low and almost centered under the diamond.