OK I got a slabbed one a while back from AJ. Thought I would try my hand at a raw. I picked this one up at a local coin show relatively cheap. I've had it for a month or so and was nervous about posting it. Lets here it from the forum and hopefully it wasn't an expensive learning experience.
I pretty much have the same comments for you that I had for financeman. Your pictures are a little sharper than his, but I still cannot make it all out FWIW, the "S" looks to be position #3 and the VDB looks to be good. I would guess that it is more like authentic than not. However, with only what I can make out from those pics, I would only say 3/2 or so. That die chip deseertgem mentioned would go a long way to resolving this.
The differance between mine and his is I did not or have not bought mine. i was mainly trying to see if I had learned anything from all the books. I am not going to make a big purchase like that unless it is slabbed for a very long time. Fishaddict, I hope yours turns out good and it is not a costly mistake. Good luck
It looks good to me and I agree it looks to be in position 3. I don't really care for the crud around the date and mm but otherwise. Now, what do you define as relatively cheap
Should I try mineral oil bath and rinse with xylene? I've had good results with other lincolns but I'm kinda nervous about trying a key date.
If i could shout this through the computer, NOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Not yelling at you but I just dont want to see one of these awesome and desired for coins get ruined or devalued by cleaning them. Just my opinion though
Just wanted to let you know that the 2 items that I mentioned are actually a very safe way to "remove" some dirt and grime from lincolns. I would never clean a coin.
I know they are safer than an acid bath or something like that but anytime someone "dips" or "rinces" a nice coin in anything, it scares the mess out of me. Ultimately, it is your coin and I hope whatever you do turns out great for you. :thumb:
I am far from an expert...but nice find! I can't say I find anything screaming fake. I'd send it out and have it slabbed also. If/when it comes back authentic, I'd have to say you got it for a steal of a price.
It might be the camera settings, but the color looks off, like it could have been dipped in the past, making it a cleaned coin at the grading services - it still looks rather nice at a fair price if authentic, and from pics there is a good chance it is.
The photos do not lend to a very accurate examination so I cannot tell for sure. I can't see the slanted bar in the B of VDB, and the darker reddish area around the date concerns me - it could be corrosion or some residue from the date being "messed" with, but again it's much too difficult to give any kind of educated opinion from these photos. However, I would send it in for authentication, though if that is corrosion, it may come back net graded or "genuine" but at least it will be authenticated which is the most important thing in buying a raw key date. p.s. As I have stated on this board before, I have no problem with carefully soaking circulated copper in olive oil or acetone (then rinsing and completely patting dry) - it is my opinion that neither of these cause any damage or alterations to copper coins or it's original patina.
I've been looking for a VDB S for a long time. It looks real to me but pics make it difficult to tell. The N in United looks right and so does the period on the D on VDB. Also, the date looks right. As mentioned by others, the color looks off but I think that it is the lighting. If you purchased it for $500, I would say great buy. If real, I looks like an F12 to me.
