I was browsing the eBay trade dollar listings, as I do of an evening, and spotted what looked like the 1877-S FS 801, a rare variety with doubling of the upper reverse letters and ribbon. I have a lower grade example, but this one was graded AU58 and unattributed. Still, I wasn't sure it was the DDR as the seller's photos weren't the greatest, and thought I might be fooled by the lighting. After ruminating a while, I decided to put in an offer, which was immediately accepted. The mail from the west to east coasts seemed to take forever, and yesterday the package arrived. Hooray. On examination with a loupe, alas, no DDR. I had been fooled by reflections and maybe my own optimism. Still, it was a well struck example, so I spent a few minutes with the loupe studying the well formed feathers on the reverse. On the obverse, the individual jewels in the tiara were visible, and all details sharp except just a little weakness of Liberty's hair. Looking at the date, I noticed something about the second 7, looked like a ding. Then I realized it was a repunched 7; I had "picked" the FS 301 thinking it was another variety! Not as scarce or desirable as the 801, but still pretty cool, not often seen, and on a higher grade example. I think I'll keep it. If you've had a similar experience, please post about it.
Cool coin and all that, would you mind taking a look at my 1909 S VDB Lincoln Cent and giving your opinion on it? https://www.cointalk.com/conversations/1909-s-vdb-lincoln-cent-need-second-opinion.230503/
Honestly that’s quite the lovely coin. Either way you picked a cherry, even if it wasn’t the one you reached for
Happened to me once. A decade ago I was just getting into Capped Bust Halves. Going on bad pictures, I bought what I thought was an 1836 O-116 50/00... a pretty tough variety. When the coin arrived, I knew I was wrong immediately. But upon further investigation I found that I had an O-108a 1836/1336 overdate. This was when they sold for big premiums, so I was able to flip it quickly for a nice profit, since I already had one in PCGS AU50.
Very nice coin; I like it. And yep, has happened to me and more than once. Great find, thanks for posting it.
I cherried this as being high grade with crappy pics for $20 along with another 3¢. While I was taking pics, I noticed a 180° reverse rotation and a bold clash in this rotation. That was exciting and super unexpected. This one I bought in a lot of cheap 1700’s large cents. I attributed it when I got it, and it turned out to be a TDS 1797 S-125, which is an R.5. That’s one of my favorite varieties because of the bold clashing in front of the neck and the fact that the whole coin was basically swollen. This one I initially bought on impulse because it kinda-sorta looked like NC-1. It was later obvious that it was S-121. In-hand, the edge was plain, making it S-121a. This coin is Breen Die State I, and S-121a is unknown in this die state, so it is the discovery coin. Lastly, this was bought in a random group of large cents. It does not match any known variety.
If it has ever happened to me I didn't notice. I don't inspect my purchases closely as long as they look like what I intended to purchase. Good catch.
I'll say this.... I've thought I've cherrypicked rare varieties dozens of times, and I've been wrong.
Now that I have Snow's latest FE and IHC books I could check them for varieties. I tried with Braided Hair Large Cents (1840-1857) but the PUP's are often so fine that I can't see them even if they're there. And many are so delicate that they are gone even on XF's.
@joej132 start your own post with good photos to get answers. It is considered rude to "hijack" someone else's post. And here is my spiel for newbies on posting photos. You should always post FULL IMAGE photos (after you upload your photo, two buttons appear: Thumbnail and Full Image, click Full Image and your photo appears full size on your post and is easily enlarged by clicking on it. Always show both the obverse and reverse, even if your question is just about one side. Members can often give more valuable information having both sides to evaluate. Crop out superfluous background so just the coin shows, and post photos with correct orientation so members don't have to turn their computer in some awkward fashion to view it properly. Add close ups of areas you have questions about and make your questions as definitive as possible so we know what you are asking for. And try to have the best lighting possible to show the most favorable photo of the coin. Hope this helps in the future. Good luck.
Hat's off to you early copper guys for sniffing out these varieties in heavily worn and otherwise challenged large cents. I'd probably go blind in the process.
I only got an error message when I clicked on the link provided. Turns out the coin was posted to a thread over on CU. The general consensus was that it was genuine.
