Went to LNE today and got 7 large cents. The 1801 does have a scratch on it and it a little dig on the D in united. The 1829, 1842 and 1843 I think are nice. For some reason the color of the 1829 did not come out in the pictures.The others were 1816(recolored and porous), 1820(cleaned) and 1842(small date -uniform corrosion) - just looking at them with the naked eye those coins look decent.
Actually it is closer to the conclusion of the initial set. I now have all(date wise) coronet cents except for 1822 and 1825. I will upgrade the 1816 and 1820 - maybe not details wise, but certainly the condition. All I need is the 1839(type of 1840 - still not sure of that one), for a braided hair date set. Then for the Draped busts I need 1796, 1799, 1804, 1805,1806, 1808. They had decent 1805-1808 down at the shop - but I did not like them as much as the 1801. I think I will then do some upgrading for different varieties. I can't imagine not continuing to not pursue large cents. Would someone check the attributes on the coins - you can see what I thought it was in the jpg name. It took me almost 3 hours with my books, heritage, and coinfacts to get what I think is the attributes on the coins.
Coopers are amazing because they were the peoples money. I saw a great 1794 cent the other day, slabbed in a decent grade (I forget the grade but the coin was complete). But it had some green corrosion. I think the coin would need a resortoration, or otherwise be lost to history. Would anyone put $2k into such a coin? Ruben
To each his own preference. Isn't that what coin collecting is all about? For me, I would not put two thousand dollars into a corroded piece. My preference would be a nice $10 Gold Indian, a $20 Gold St. Gaudens or a cc, Charlotte or Dahlonega Gold coin.
If (and that is a big IF) I ever get a 1793, 1799 or 1804 they will probably be problem coins, and yes some of them still run 1000's of dollars. The local coin shop I go to says 1793's and 1799's in any shape will sell quickly. So far I can not bring myself to buy a problem coin like this for several thousand dollars. It was hard enough to buy the 1801. So yes people will put that kind of money into problem coins, expecially when it comes to collecting all varieties. I can't say I will - yet.
At some point the damage to the coin is less of a factor than its historical importance and overall detail. This is a historic piece. I don't think people buy such a coin based on strict grading principles. If it was one of say only 7 coins of its age with complete detail, would you let the corruption prevent you from purchasing it as a museum grade specimen? No, you'd buy it and have it properly preserved. IMO at least. Ruben
Very nice group. As far as the "problem" coin comments... In old copper, particularly eighteenth and early nineteenth century, it becomes an issue of "how much of a problem you are willing to accept", because if everyone only collected corrosion and problem-free choice coins, there wouldn't be enough coins for everyone. Also understand that many of these coins had corrosion problems when they left the mint as the planchets were already rough to begin with. I personally see nothing wrong with the above group, provided they were graded/priced accordingly. Have fun...MIke
Those three wll be fun. The 99 and 04 will be costly. It is possible to get a 96 draped bust at a reasonable price (reasonable is a relative term), the problem will be finding one. At your typical mid sized to large show, other than at a copper specialists table, you will be lucky to find any 1796 draped bust cents. You will find more 1793, 99, and 04 cents than you will 96 draped bust cents. It is odd, the mintage of the 96 bust is three times that of the 96 caps, but you will find about one 96 bust for every ten to fifteen 96 caps. And you don't see a lot of 96 caps either. So hold out for the problem free coin for tens of thousands of dollars. I can't do that and I can't justify sinking a couple years income into a single coin. Depending on the variety a LOT more than $2K
Looks like the 1801 is a S-221, even though the area of the fraction, that should be the corrected 1/0 for this variety, is not visible in the pics. Howver, the other diagnostics point to S-221 in my opinion.
The 1829 looks like an N-2 to me. Unfortunately, I don't have a Grellman book handy to look at the later date large cents.
