Large Cent Purchase - 1797 NC-5

Wow, thanks for the quick responses and education. I have never heard that before.

 

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Great purchase Marshall. Congrats!

 

nice rare find and Happy Birthday too. :yes:

 

Ooh that is such a beauty! Definitely an original piece!

That's your loss. Picking out a problem coin and attributing it as an R6 can often become very profitable.
And that's why we don't take your word any more than a grain of salt.

 

For real collectors I am glad there are those that will bypass the "well loved" coins and miss the possible diamond in the rough. One time I bought a Connecticut cent that a coin dealer in Maryland had "seeded" into the 25c junkbox, he told me that he put it in the box about 20 years before and nobody noticed it until I pulled it out. Sure it is a beater, but how many colonials do you buy for a quarter?

 

This is another of my misfit coins:

 

We are indeed a special breed
who love the copper that others conceed
as unfit for their aesthetically higher need
for perfection of vision and pocketbook seed.

 

Cool pickup and collection of "misfit" coins Marshall.

 

That coin has history! As a collecter of $20 large cents I can really appreaciate this one
side note: I am not implying that it is a $20 LC

 

So, Marshall, what's the estimated value of this piece? I understand a huge factor is the setting in which the coin is sold (be it an auction, private treaty, etc), but just a ballpark number, if you don't mind. I'd like to get an idea of the premiums R6 NC varieties command for compared to that of Overton (Bust half) varieties...

Because an R6 Bust half in a grade comparable to your large cent could sell for north of $2k, depending on how popular the variety is. There are a lot more variables, I know, but like I said, just trying to get a "guesstimate".

 

My nominal cost was $475. After all the add on charges (Buyer's premium, Texas Sales tax, shipping, etc.) it's actual cost was $620. I suspect without it's special circumstances (holes), it would have brought $1.5K - $2K.

I did a buy it now, but not at a reasonable price. I don't really want to sell it so it would take an unreasonable offer.

 

I can truly appreciate what you are doing with your $20 collection.

 

An NC cent is a valuable and coveted item for most serious copper collectors, and I think I would have bought this one too, holes and all, for the price Marshal paid. Sure this one has issues, but this a truly a rare coin. I have yet to add one to my collection - best I have are a couple of R5+.
For some reason, however, I would be more willing purchase a damaged NC if it was dated 1794 or 1796.

 

I suggest the 1796 NC-4 then. It is now R5+ (30-44 known) and available, for a price. It's about as common as NCs get.

 

I think this is awesome. I would much rather have one of two dozen in the world, even in that condition, than a pretty nice coin of which there's say 5,000 floating around.

I know little about coins compared to all of you, but I question the seeming consensus in this thread that "the better investment are nicer, more common problem free coins." Is there any data to back that up? I am not saying you are wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if coins as rare as this are actually the better investment.

I know the OPs post isn't even about investment, but that kind of jumped out at me. Anyway, nice coin I like it! (And I don't like many US coins much).

 

I think the best data would be price appreciation history. Looking even at ancients, common high grade Alexandrian Tets and Athenian Owls have appreciated at a much higher rate than stuff I collect in the 15 years I have been collecting ancients. Most any collector who has been collecting any length of time will tell you the same. A really nice owl used to be $300-500 15 years ago. Today for a really nice one you are starting at $2000. Any catalog comparison, like comparing a Triton I to a Triton XII, would show this.

I find it a function of many more people wish to buy a few "pretty" coins and call themselves a coin collector. Those who can appreciate the specialness of Marshall's coin are numismatists. I am not trying to compare myself to Marshall, but I consider parts of my collection more "numismatic" than typical, like my ugly Central Asian pieces, and Ostrogothic coins.

Basically, if someone studies and collects rarities available, and knows much more about the coin than what the TPG graded it at, and what its "value" is, then I consider them a numismatist. While I love my coin collecting brothers and sisters, I simply appreciate and understand more the pursuit of a numismatist. I have said it before, if I got back into US coins, early coppers and colonials is where I believe I would be. Its the closest to ancient collecting.

Having said that, I just a few moments ago set up some snipes for world coins simply because I found them "pretty". Lol, one cannot be "serious" all of the time.

 

I agree with all that, but I just wonder if in time the demand for the more obscure coins (say the one in the OP and the ancients you collect) will balloon in relation to demand for "pretty" Morgans. I suppose what I mean is the market for Morgans and the like is fairly well established and unlikely to change too much. But extremely rare coins or ones that just haven't been appreciated yet, like a large portion of the ancient market, at least have that chance to take off. I could be dead wrong and/or it may never happen, but it seems like there may be a decent chance.

Again I know nothing and am largely talking out of one of my ends.

 

I completely agree with you. It's a great coin! Some people don't understand that some pieces are so rare that owning any example is an accomplishment.

I have an example for you from my own collection. I have a small paper currency collection and my crowning jewel is a 1902 $10PB National Currency from my home town of Eugene, OR. It's a rag...plain and simple. It has several repairs, rips and other problems. For all intents and purposes...it's junk. But, it's one of only 6 known examples. It's the worst condition of the 6...but it's mine. It's not my most valuable piece of currency, but it's my favorite.

 

Congrats on your NEWP. Setting aside the holes for a moment, that coin has quite a nice planchet. Enjoy the coin in good health, Marshall!

 

I think the thing I like most about it is the strength of the diagnostics. Many times the lower grade examples of rarities are barely attributable leaving some question concerning the accuracy of the attribution. But his one has a bold outer berry at AT and none at C(A). This makes the reverse identification a slam dunk and NC-5 is that reverses only known pairing.