Hello! I have a photo of a Mass 1 cent dated 1788. Not that I suspect that its not authentic, just wanted to hear if someone would give a second opinion of this coin? It has some issues obviously, like scratches, edge nicks and some green corrosive spots, but still a great type-coin from the colonial era for my humble collection if considered authentic. Any thought? Thanks in advance!
Looks Legit. What's the asking price ?? Have you narrowed down the type yet ? Even though it's damaged, it's valued at about $100 Non-dug . Dug , maybe $50 . IMHO
Thanks for your evaluation. Its up for auction at a local coin show in Norway with a starting price of equivalent of $120. Leaning towards non-dug..since it appeared in Norway.
@larssten Well, I'm not a Professional on Colonial coins but I've seen many having lived in Connecticut all my life . In my honest opinion , I would have to pass . Check Ebay for better specimens for the same price . IMHO
The OP's coin matches the Ryder 1-D die marriage, a pretty common variety. So, it's most likely genuine. But it is a damaged coin and is not worth the asking price of $120. Plus, I would look for a more eye-appealing coin.
It's hard to price American coins when you are buying them in a far-off foreign country, The supply of Mass. cents is probably not very large in Norway, and to get one from the states would have foreign exchange rates and shipping. This piece is very expensive at $125 in my opinion. These coins do come nicer, and you are bound to find a better one eventually, especially if you were to visit here. I bought this one raw many years ago for $100 and had it graded by NGC. They called it "EF-45." I think it's over graded. It looks like VF-25 to me. Nevertheless, you can look it from the perspective of what a no problem piece should appear. I didn't sell it when I upgraded the issue because I saw that I couldn't get much for it. Here is a high end example that is graded AU-58. Don't tell me that there only 13 grading points between these two coins. These pieces do come nice, but it takes a little digging. Beware of fakes. There have been some modern copies made that could be "aged" and sold for the real thing.
In the October Collectors Choice auction at Stacks they have several 19th century forgeries of this up for auction.
Yeah decided to skip it. Although the reason for the high price is probably access to these type of coins in Norway. Never seen it offered for sale before.
Crazy high price for a common variety Mass. Cent in that condition. I found this one at a coin show here in Germany for a small fraction of that price. Maybe I got lucky that day, but I recommend you look in coin shows (whenever they start again) or in Ebay.