Hello everyone. I recently remembered I had some old coins that I got from my dad. So i dug through my endless boxes of stuff and found them. I did some some research online, and realized some of these coins may be of some nice value. I have pictured the 2 i understand to have the best chance of being worth something in proper grade levels. I would like to get some estimated gradings on these please. I know its difficult with low res images like these, but your opinions would be appreciated. Also, I see a lot of professional grading services require to send them the coins through the mail. How do I know these are reputable outfits, and that my coins will be safe in their hands? Any other useful information for a beginner would be great. The rest of the coins i found were all flying eagle and indian head pennies for every year between 1857 - 1909 except for 1888. thank you.
If the large cent is genuine it's worth a handsome sum. But genuine is the operative word. The half cent looks to grade VF-35 details corroded, cleaned net F-12 and, if genuine worth maybe $95.
Thanks for the reply. Although i can't definitively say its genuine, I can say it has been in my family for at least 5 generations, and from the story my dad told me about it, it should be real. I am aware of the potential value if it is in fact genuine. That is why I am nervous about sending somewhere to get graded. I researched the grading information I could find, and I simply can't even guess it's grade. I see how detailed the process is, and appears to be something that takes a long time to accurately master. I just don't have the eye for it.
Super-hard to tell from the pics. The cent looks to be in the VF/EF range, and has some oxidation. Do not attempt to clean this coin; it needs professional help, and then could be worth significant (but not retirement) money. The half cent looks to be porous and cleaned, and 1804 half cents are relatively common. Great find. Nice keepsakes. Not worth a ton of cash, but nice nonetheless.
So there is some professional cleaning that can be done to increase the grade? Does it generally raise the value more than the cost of the actual service? If so, what would a cleaning run for something like this. ballpark.
The 1804 cent was considered rare at one time, but there are now about 1000 confirmed specimens, giving it an R2 rarity. Die state #3 is the rarest of the four (4) die states. Your coin appears to be a Die state #3...which would add to its value should it be authenticated. There were many cast and electrotype copies made of this coin around the Civil War timeframe so independent authentication is required. Many of the visual queues are accurate, but [C]ENT doesn't look quite right. The alignment to the C[E]NT at the top looks a bit off, but (more importantly) the bottom looks like there's a knob where the genuine 1804 is blunt. Another thing to check is if the 18[0]4 and the [O]F line up...they do on the original. This is clearly not one of the known restrikes and is too accurate to be an altered coin of another date. It's possible it could be a cast or electotype copy. Check to see if you can see what appears to be a seam running around the edge of the coin. If not, you could have the real thing. I would recommend taking it to a reputable dealer for confirmation or send it to either PCGS or NGC for grading. Both firms are trustworthy...however, be sure to send it registered mail. As to value, it's difficult to grade from these photos. I can't see much definition in the leaves on the Reverse, but that's not to say there isn't any. There also may be a verdigre issue, as well. If I had to guess, I would give it a net VF25. A PCGS graded VF25 should realize about $10,000. Your 1804 Half Cent appears to be a genuine Cohen-12 with EF40 details. It's pretty banged up and cleaned. I would give it a net VF20 with a PCGS value of around $100. Please post a picture of your 1877 IHC...that could be worth quite a bit in nice condition. Thanks for sharing!
I think that due to the verdigris issue the 1804 cent isn't going to get higher than a VF-20, and there is some weakness on the reverse, especially around the central lettering. A price of $6,500 might be achieved once authenticated. However, I'm slightly concerned about the extra metal at the top of the obverse, which may point to the coin being a cast copy. Could you post photographs of the edge of the coin ? This would be very helpful for authentication purposes.
NGC, a reputable third-party grader/certifier, has another outfit called NCS. They are a coin conservation service, and would be your best bet to restore some value to these coins. I don't know the cost off-hand, but I perceive it to be in the $30-$50 range per coin. Here's a link: http://www.ncscoin.com/
As others have said, your 1804 Cent, if authentic, is a significant, scarce and valuable coin. I compared details on your coin with my own specimen, and all key details seems to match, at least as far as judging from the pictures is concerned. It seems to be die state III, with the break on the obverse just beginning to show, reverse perfect. A scarce die state. I am not too fond of the color, but that could be the lighting conditions, or surface imperfections. Check also the weight of the coin, if you can. It should be 10.89 grams, +/- 0.15 (approx.) As already mentioned, the 0 in the date must line up with the O of OF on the reverse. Here are pictures of mine you can compare with (it is the more common die state with obverse and reverse breaks).
Thanks everyone for the responses. I will scan a much higher resolution fo the large cent and post it shortly. I misspoke on which indian head cents are here. Here are the dates, let me know if you would like me to post any scans for a particular year: 1857 flying eagle small cent 1858 LL flying eagle 1858 SL flying eagle 1859 Indian head 1865 Indian head 1866 Indian head 1874 Indian head 1879 - 1909 except for 1888 I look forward to hear some more opinions of the authenticity when I post the larger scan.
I checked the coin, and it the '0' of the date does line up with the 'O' in OF on the reverse. To the best I can tell. Here are some higher resolution scans. (Click picture to enlarge) http://www.statworx.com/coins/111.jpg http://www.statworx.com/coins/222.jpg So can this be cleaned up pretty well? I see a lot of the green oxidation. Please enlighten me on the affect a professional cleaning can do for this coin in terms of grading. Yes abe I will scan the 1857 FE and post it as well.
Sending the coin to NCS for professional restoration will not do anything to increase the coins grade. However, it might enhance the coin's eye appeal which in turn could help you to realize a higher selling price. But this coin is and always will be a problem coin with VF-35 details. That said, it is still a better than average looking 1804 Large Cent and, if certified genuine by a respected 3rd party grader, should sell for at least $5000. Btw, in addition to making sure this coin isn't a cast counterfeit we also need to consider the fact that it could be an altered date (ie 1801 altered to look like a 4). You really need to have it examined by a professional.
Your High-res pics are nice...it would be nice to see one of the Reverse. Trust me...I would really like to see your coin be genuine, but I have to agree with JeromeLS...the rounding of the rim (extra metal) is troublesome.
Very nice coins; that 1804 cent is a nice find. Good luck with whatever you decide to do with them! PS: 100th post...YAY!!!
Wow you guys certainly know your stuff. So based on what you all have said, it appears to be between a vf20 and vf25 maybe ef and die state 3. Based on that and some research I can see what the value range is. I fully intend to get the coins (of decent value, like this one) graded professionally. I have a few more I will post in new threads. Your identification and estimated grade of the coins is greatly appreciated. Thanks again
