Hello everyone. As you can see, this is my first post here at coin talk. I am not really a coin collector, or a collector of any sort, and so my knowledge base is quite small. I recently became the owner of a coin that I thought may have some value. Being moderately adept at google-fu, I have come to the conclusion that I have a 1908 Saint Gaudens double eagle with no motto and no mint mark. What I am unable to do however is determine the condition of the coin or even if it's real or not. Furthermore, I am unsure what the value of the coin could be. I took some photo's hoping that the kind folks here at coin talk could help me out. What do you think of this piece, and what would your advice be to me considering that obtaining monetary value out of it is my primary goal rather than collecting. I would like to thank you all in advance for your time and energy for any help that you can give me. P.S. Taking pictures of this thing was a nightmare because it is so reflective.
Welcome to CT. It will be a little easier if you could get a different picture of the Obv as there is a bit too much light on the coin. Given the condition of the reverse I will estimate somewhere between AU58 and a MS63
Does it weigh 33.43 grams? Also, does it stick to a magnet? If the answers are yes and no then it most likely is real. As for value, check ebay to see what people are paying.
Welcome to CT. That is a beautiful coin that many of us wish we could have! The value of it is a minimum of $1800. I can't really estimate a grade because of the images, but it can only go up from there.
Aloha and welcome to the forum. I love these coins, they are the most beautiful US coins ever made. I can't really tell if it's real of fake, judging from the pictures. The first picture of the obverse looked fake but the second one is reassuring. Like stated above, if it's legit, it's worth close to $1,700 to $1,800. I have a 1924 in MS-64 certified by PCGS that I bought for $1,860.
So I guess that my big question now would be, is it worth it to get it graded/verified? Will that make it significantly easier to sell?
Yes, having the coin certified by a Third Party Grading Service will assure the buyer that they are buying an authentic coin for the money. There's not that many people out there that would risk $1,800+ on a coin that could turn out to be fake. I would recommend these Grading services if you are looking into getting your coin certified and graded. NGC: http://www.ngccoin.com/index.aspx PCGS: http://www.pcgs.com/
