Hi everyone, I'm new to coin collecting, and was wondering if I could get some experienced opinions on a coin I've had hidden away, an unopened Cheerios dollar. I have looked at other threads about trying to discover if the coin is the rare pattern or not from only looking at the front. I actually bought a similar coin from ebay (not Cheerios) for comparison, and some images are below. I'm also new to the idea coin photography (not easy, haha), so hopefully they came out ok. From what the preview is showing me, the 1st is a picture of my cheerios dollar, the 3rd is the same picture zoomed in a bit, and the 2nd is the picture I took of the non cheerios dollar. From what I have read, opening the package myself to look for the tail feathers is the last thing I should do. Any opinions (from a well-trained eye) if it may look like the rare coin from the front? Any thoughts as to what I should do? Send it to pcgs sealed in the Cheerios package? That's where I am leaning, but it's a little bit of investment (registering, insurance, grading fees, etc...) Thanks in advance! Jon
I do believe that the tail feathers on the eagle (reverse) are the indicator for these coins....... check this thread out: http://www.cointalk.com/t112488/?highlight=cheerios
Welcome to the neighborhood, Jon! We had this same discussion not too long ago, and this page was posted with the obverse diagnostic. Chris http://www.smalldollars.com/dollar/page20c.html
To my untrained eye and the limitations on being able to rotate the coin in hand, it looks like the Cheerios Pattern. What do you mean "hidden away"? If you are really unsure and want to simply cash in then just put it up as is. It'll bring upwards of 5 grand and your worries would be over.
My thoughts exactly! If anyone knows how to tell (the Cheerio dollar)from the obverse alone please share the info. OP, send the coin in to PCGS, take a risk as IMO it's very difficult to tell the difference that's why it took a few years for someone to figure it all out. :thumb: It may turn out that you may not have the expensive Cheerio dollar but how else will you know for sure?? good luck!
Why send it to PCGS? NGC authenticated the very first one. Besides, it costs less to have NGC authenticate it. Chris
Jon: Welcome to the forum! I would suggest sending it to PCGS for variety certification/grading. I am pretty sure you have to send it to them still in the original wrapper, but call/email them first to determine what exactly you have to do. Good luck. TC
Awesome, thanks for the quick replies everyone! by "hidden away" I mean it was in storage, and I totally forgot about it until now. I agree I probably need a better picture to determine from the front. I'm not really expecting an answer from it, but maybe the pictures could help anyway. This whole situation is not really causing pain, suffering, or worry. It's actually really interesting. So I probably won't go down the road of just selling it on ebay as it is. I'll look into NGC as well, and maybe call both of them and see what they say (how to ship). I think I've heard if it's in the original packaging they at least can label it as a "Cheerios" dollar, even if it doesn't have the detailed feathers. Thanks again! I'll keep the thread posted, if anyone cares haha. Jon
Is that your photo, Jon? If it is, it looks like you may have a winner. Do not remove the coin from the Cheerios packaging! Otherwise, the grading service will not attribute it as such. Considering the potential value of this coin, it would be best to ship it via USPS Registered Mail. Chris
From the images provided, to me it is inconclusive. With such a valuable coin at stake, don't gamble.
All ready slabbed. I would thing that since he has a photo of the OBVious.....the the REVious is obscured by the cardboard.
It looks to me that his obverse enlargement of the marker is 99.9999999999% conclusive. According to Tom DeLorey, this marker is present on all of the 99 Reverses examined. Chris
The PRIMARY difference between PCGS and NGC is that if the coin is NOT the pattern, PCGS will simply slab it as another 2000-P Sac but NGC will at least show it came from a Cheerios submission. 2000-P Sac's that are the Pattern coin get labeled as "2000 P PATTERN $1" whereas non-pattern coins submitted in authentic General Mills packaging receive the "Cheerios Dollar" designation. Just like the Cheerios Cents.