Hi guys, I just recently made my biggest purchase so far and picked up an 1877 Indian Head Cent for my book. I wanted to get your opinion on how you think it would grade. Now, I bought it under the assumption that it probably wouldn't grade without an issue (Details grade) due to the various rim dings. There's one on the obverse at 1 o'clock. There are also a couple on the reverse at 8 o'clock. I've never sent in any coins for grading yet, so I don't really have a feel for how many nicks/dings are considered too much damage. I've read that maybe since it is rare, they are more forgiving. But I've also read they are tougher on smaller coins such as these. What do you think?
It's got a lot of meat, but the color does not look original. Perhaps it is the lighting, but in both sets of images it looks off.
It looks VF 20, but IMO the color DOES look off, and the strike is weak in some places like the N in ONE and N in CENT. Just a question, how much does it weigh?
looks VF to me. Takes some cojones to buy this coin raw. Such a pricey coin and as such it is faked a lot. Yours looks legit to me but without a TPG most people would not know for sure about authenticity.
It weighs 2.98g, which seems right. A little lighter than mint weight due to circ. Yeah, it is a little lighter brown than most of the others in my book, maybe an old cleaning? It doesn't look recently cleaned to me. And the shallow N's are indeed a way to help prove authenticity. All 1877s have them except proofs.
....and here you see why with a coin like this you don't buy raw....you admittedly aren't sure yourself as to a grade or value so I doubt you can tell a sophisticated fake from a real one (no offense meant, I surely could not tell myself) and unless you get it graded you will always have to deal with this doubt. I say send it in and even if it does earn a details grade then you will at least have an authentic coin that you will know is real without any doubt......i can't cast any light on the fake or not debate as I do not have a great deal of knowledge in copper cents....I hope it turns out real though, fake coins bum me out. I guess one other thing to consider is the source of the coin...if it is someone that you know to be trustworthy, honest, and knowledgeable then I would feel better about it....if an ebayer or something like that then uh, maybe not.
I'm very confident that it's not fake. I've examined the date with my loupe. The 7s are identical, squared-off, 2nd 7 slightly lower. The loops in the 8 are shaped correctly. There is longacre doubling present in United, which is very common. It's probably an old cleaning. I couldn't tell from the color when I bought it. Nonetheless, I'm still happy with it as it looks great in my book and I got a pretty good deal on it. VF details is a win for me. I doubt I will slab it for a very long time as I'd rather look at it in a book. Thanks for all the comments so far! I appreciate them.
The color is the only issue I see. It will probably gain a bit more natural look over the years if you don't mess with it.
If it were mine I'd send it in for slabbing. If it goes into a DETAILS or Genuine holder then at least it's authenticated. But like others have said I would never have bought a raw 1877 IHC.
It looks like a legit f 15 details that's had an old cleaning my vote real it has too many subtle things that just look "right" to me only issue is the color is say it was "dipped" and has retoned somewhat
It does look like it has had the old dippitty doo. But yes authentic. I understand your liking the album better than the slabs. Was that the last one for the book?
Yeah, it seems pretty close to a VF details in hand. Maybe I'll just keep it in my pocket change for a couple years and let it retone, haha! No, but on a serious note, just being exposed to the air may make it more natural looking over time, yeah?
I think this would be a VF20 coin at a TPG. A little off center on the obverse, but other than that perfectly acceptable for 1877 to go into an album. I am sure enough time might change the color - just not sure. Heck - as it stands it looks like a great coin for the album. Nicer than the one in my album.
I'm going to second this grade, simply due to the fact that the upper rim on the obverse is rather weak.
