i don't see these mentioned much. any opinions on this particular one? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...witem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_500wt_1078
Looks like an EXCELLENT purchase, Large Motto is the more common of the 1864. List for $84 in MS 60, $150 in MS 63 (Numismatic News Double Issue Jan 2011) Steve
i've been using this price guide recently: http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/fmv.shtml going by the pic, i would call this a red coin, grade ms+, so i used this price sheet: http://www.numismedia.com/cgi-bin/c...&nmcode=10910500&guide=prices&guide2=pricesms as stated earlier, i am concerned about authenticity.
I think it looks like a freshly polished coin... or possibly a counterfeit... either way it's not a nice coin that you want. My guess is freshly cleaned.
ok, we definitely have a split on opinions so far. on one side it is excellent/loved, on the other cleaned/counterfeit
Just getting caught up on my reading. That two cent piece does not appear to be a Chinese copy. The two counterfeit examples I have studied don't have the crisp denticles your coin has. Additonally the date digits are correct for an authentic coin. That said I am concerned about the surfaces. An original full red 1864 two cent piece would draw a good bit of interest, even on eBay. Without a respected dealer seller, better pics and/or an in-hand examination, I'm going with it being cleaned. After looking at it in-hand you may want to consider sending it back.
pennyguy, thanks for the considered reply. i may have an "out" on this auction if i so choose; if this is genuine, would it be a good example (i just wanted a nice 2-cent coin to fill a gap) and worth the $127 even cleaned? enlarging the pics, can you comment on possible damage at about 2 and 4-5 o'clock on the obverse? thanks.
The reason that it seems to be cleaned is the fact that in that grade, a piece should show even the tiniest bit of original luster. My guess is that it was discolored, so someone cleaned it to remove the discoloring and to make it look better to sell on eBay.
so, it should look like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...01446&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_3647wt_1063 when i look up value, i see three categories: br(own), br(brown/red), and rd(red). you don't think this could be in the red category?
I enlarged the sellers picture, the area you mention does show damage to the denticles and rim, that damage and the color of the surface don't match. I would expect to see a coin with that type of damage more of a brown (BN) color than full red (RD). Looked at the Great Southern Coins link you provided, please be aware that that seller is well known for manipulated images of the coins they sell. I mention this just to make sure you know that the coin in-hand will not match their pictures. Looked through the current offerings on eBay, this one popped out at me. Significantly more money, but it is a striking coin to my eye. http://cgi.ebay.com/1864-Two-Cent-2c-Gorgeous-Gem-/290528415250?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item43a4d7ce12 This one is nice as well, it is Brown, but seems priced fairly. http://cgi.ebay.com/1864-Large-Motto-Two-Cent-Piece-NGC-MS63-MS-63-BN-/310285361254?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item483e72e066 This one caught my eye, nice clean surfaces, a good representative of the two cent series. And with a 26 day listing you have time to return the one in your original post. Another plus is it costs less. http://cgi.ebay.com/1864-Two-Cent-Piece-RB-/170614990578?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item27b97226f2
pennyguy, thanks for the info and suggesting several alternatives. i've come across Great Southern Coins offerings many times, and browse their site when looking for examples. they seem to have excellent feedback (and lots of it). i'm aware photos can be enhanced, but don't see how one can tell without buying and comparing in-hand to the photos. i'm going to see if i can successfully back out of the other auction (a confused paypal issue with seller), and consider others. if you guys find any other possibiities, feel free to post them. thanks alot.
To the OP the auction you linked has pictures that make the coin look polished or cleaned(maybe whizzed). That orangish color is off - granted it could be the pictures, but I doubt it. Now to pennyguy - the first two auctions you linked to look like decent coins. Not sure the first would hit 66, but it is nice. Now that last auction I would skip - that coins has some pits or old corrosion removed from it. I have to un-recommend that one. Also don't limit yourself to ebay - check places like collectors corner. Do comparison shopping - here is a nice pcgs xf45 coin on northeast for $89. You can always crack it out.
