http://www.ebay.com/itm/1886-US-LIB...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 wish I was the dude who bought it.
If you like horribly mangled and damaged coins, then sure, it was a good deal. I think the winner might have a hard time reselling it, though. I personally would not have bought it, even at that price.
I understand mintages (and survivorship), but a coin that is corroded, dented to all heck, hairlined out the wazoo and generally aesthetically boinked isn't going to fetch much.
still, worth more than what the guy paid. you find these examples, where someone gets something for an extrwamly low price, then you get this:http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNSEARCHED-...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 you almost never see something (coin wise) sell for something close to the redbook price. at least my lcs pays a little less than redbook for coins.
Here is one in auction that was worn and sold for a little over $12. http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Cents-188...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 Another worn one for $16. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1886-Liberty-Nickel-/281145464317?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item41759355fd Thing is, there are so many damaged nickels, that collectors don't pay much for one unless it can grade problem free with a TPG. Oddly enough....the 1912-S has the lowest mintage, with 238,000. It's value is only $130 in problem free G4. The 1886, while valued at $216 in pf G4, has a mintage of 3.33 MILLION. How anyone could attach a price of $216 to a coin with over 3 million pieces minted is beyond me. It's not like they got melted down with silver coins. Believe me, after collecting world coins, a coin with a mintage over 3 million does not deserve to be called "scarce" or "key date". The 1893-S morgan dollar, with only 100,000 minted, can reign the title of "key date" or "scarce" as quite a few of these probably ended up in the melt pile by mistake.
The last eight auction records for the 1886 Liberty nickel in problem-free G4 range from $170 to $201 in PCGS or NGC holders with an average sales price of $182 and no real difference in value between those certified by PCGS and those certified by NGC. However, and this is a big however, there was also an NGC G4 details coin sold that was in a problem holder because of a mild scratch on the obverse. This coin was far nicer than the coin sold on ebay and it sold for only $62. Once certification, postage and insurance costs are taken into account, this coin did not make the owner much money even if it were purchased for $5.90 like the ebay coin.
