I have a few coins to list on ebay, one of them being an 1841-O Seated Liberty Dime. I was looking at the completed listings to get a sense of what they were selling for in various conditions. I came across this listing with an absurd winning bid. Is there a reason that this coin sold for so much? Mine is in similar condition to this one and I was going to put a Buy-It-Now around $50, just to see if I could get someone reaching, but now I am reconsidering. http://www.ebay.com/itm/HARD-TO-FIND-1841-O-Seated-Liberty-Dime-NICE-DETAILS-/251223090787
That is somewhat odd. The winning bidder paid XF-AU money for a coin I would grade at VF details with those scratches. I know that mintage isn't the end-all determining factor of a coin's worth, but this was the 2nd highest mintage of all early seated dimes until 1853. So even if a lot were lost over the years I don't see it being near the value of some that had 5 or 6-digit mintage figures. Like anything else, something is worth only what someone is willing to pay for it. In this case there were probably 2 bidders that really really wanted the coin. There does appear to be some die cracks on the reverse which some people are big big fans of. But otherwise, I wouldn't pay more than the neighborhood of your price. But I am not exactly in the market for this specific coin...so others may pay more.
Did anyone happen to look at the reverse? It's a rather strong shattered die and if I remember correctly, is on Fortin's top 25 list. Chances are that this had much to do with the achieved price.
Yeah I mentioned the die cracks but I didn't know much more about it. Thanks for the clue! Here is the info: http://www.seateddimevarieties.com/preview/1841o_105page.htm
Yes - I saw the shattered die obverse and it looks like an 1841-O 105 R5 coin. Of course I am not sure what kind of premium it carries. I know he suggests a 200 to 400 percent premium. PS - Looks like someone beat me to the punch while I was looking it up.
