Wow. I've only seen a few and this is the nicest one . One thing I just learned is this is the work of Charles Barber and minted at the San Francisco mint . I would grade it if it was my own.
The obverse does have the look of a polished coin. If it was polished, cleaned, whizzed, etc., IMO it wouldn't be worth the cost of having it graded.
I agree with the above posts, with the exception of "only worth melt". You don't see too many of these out there. Ebay only has about 30 listed, and a lot of them have problems...
I was half expecting to see a Hawaii State or Park quarter and pleasantly surprised to see this. The shininess especially, but the flatness of the mustache and edge of the beard give it completely away as been having work done on it and it's not Mint State, although it probably was before heavy polishing to remove contact marks or scratches. At least AU before it was messed with, the high cheek beard and mustache shows wear first on this issue. it's unfortunate. still worth something to someone, but not what it could have been worth if it wasn't manipulated, if sent for grading they will catch it and bodybag it, grading it isn't going to help the value. so in this case I'd say, not worth the additional cost. Personally I'd say it still has a value though, Possibly it could have been a low to mid MS that was heavily scratched or dinged or both, the hair and lower beard suggest it was likely MS before someone messed with it, and now maybe it's low AU to a XF as far as detail, with an unnatural shine of course.... as far as what someone would pay for it, that's dependent on how many problem free coins come up for auction and how often it happens that they turn up for sale. it might drop it's value down to VG if there's enough examples that are problem free popping up in auctions realistically. $50 maybe $75, up to $100 tops I'd think depending on frequency they turn up for sale. worth more than melt for sure.... It's at least worth $20 without a doubt to someone.
As a crutch....first of all the coin is ruined to start...since this series has never been one that held any interest to me. So even at melt I personally wouldn't pay melt. I wouldn't want it..to begin with... True I just paid a good value on a damaged 1851/2 silver 3 cent pc. Even thought I normally would not buy any detailed coins. I did as I do collect the series and again there are only 8 specimens known! So even sounding hypocritical here no.... someone else can own it....and deal with its issues.
I agree with the polished surfaces. I think it is a genuine coin but these are often faked, and having it in a holder from one of the top 4 services could make it easier to sell when the time comes. I'd keep an eye out for specials with anacs or icg as they are fine at authentication.
The comps on eBay for recently sold similar "details" quarters with damage or cleaned appear to be between $70 and $140. That's not nothing and it's hard to judge from the pictures, so you never know what a hands on expert will determine. Congrats, I like it, nice coin. I have one that is holed in my collection that I picked up very cheaply just because I thought it was an interesting coin. I agree with ksparrow - to prove it's authentic I'd look for a special from ICG or ANACS and submit it - especially if you have some others to make the shipping more affordable.
It's still worth more than melt. But if it has been whizzed/polished/damaged as everyone says (I am not committing) then a $100 coin is now worth $20. In MS this is a $400 coin. I assume this is XF/AU details and either the coin was "cleaned" to try to raise the grade and get a higher price, or, it was polished back in the day when people didn't know that making the coin shiny and new would ruin it.
Well, I never cleaned the coin. I did lighten the pics to show details. The real color is a beautiful steel blue. I was thinking of getting it graded for my kids so they will have a nice coin when they get older. Thanks to everyone for their comments. I'll post the final pics after it's graded. Again, thanks.
No one suggested you cleaned it. The coin could have been cleaned 50 years before you got it. If it is damaged as people say there's no point in grading it. Just put it in a 2x2 coin flip.
It looks as if the cleaning wasn't done recently but a long time ago. It has retoned since then. Try posting photos without lightening the pics. Show us that steel blue. We might change our mind. If you have it graded and it's been cleaned it will probably receive a Details grade. It would be better if you placed it in a 2 x 2 flip.
If you're doing it for your kids then please send it in. Don't forget to post the results when you get it back. For their sake (and yours) I hope we're wrong and it comes back straight graded. Best of luck.
