Hello all. I picked up some of these over the past two years and have only rough grades for them. I'm only 15 and have a little trouble grading, so I would appreciate your advice. I will do these over a series of three posts as I have 5 coins that I need help with. Post 2: 1883 Proof Indian Head Cent This I feel is a 63 or 64, but I may be on the high or low end. 1875 Seated Quarter EF+? I don't really know. Also, is it possible for this to be prooflike? It doesn't show it in the pic but in person it definitely appears to be so.
My guess is they would both go AU - the IHC a strong AU and the quarter just making AU. And welcome to CT!
IHC are not my area, but I am pretty sure I am seeing rubs on both sides of the coin. I can believe it is a proof, but let the experts speak.
val, I would recommend that you only buy slabbed coins (and only the top 4 TPGs) until you learn how to grade and until you learn how to distinguish a Proof from a Business Strike. Part of your education should be to buy a grading book (the ANA Grading Standards is a good one) and READ IT and then go to coin shops and coin shows and look at as many slabbed coins as you can to hone your grading skills. A good way to do that is to cover the grade with your thumb and try to guess the grade. You will be surprised at how soon you will improve your grading skills (that is IF you know what to look for - and that comes from reading a grading book).
I can't say one way or the other without the coin in hand. If it is not a circulated Proof it is a very strong strike.
Well - from certain angles the IHC does look like a proof. The dentils look squared to me and along the rim. The only issue is as mentioned it almost looks like rub across some of the high points. Of course it could just be the pictures on some of it. Need a real IHC expert here.
The indian cent is no doubt 100% a proof. My guess it would go PR-62. Look very nice from here. Picture angles sometimes give a coin a bad look.
So is it possible for the quarter to be prooflike? Though the picture doesn't show it, it appears to have frosty design with mirror fields...
