might have overpaid a bit for this one but I liked the die crumbling in the letters on the reverse. Looks like N-2 with maybe midstate die state? Just got Grellmans book so am not great at the attributing or die state stuff. Coin looks XF to me but if anyone who is better at the attributing die state stuff please chime in! Thanks Jerry http://www.ebay.com/itm/1849-1c-Bra...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Very cool coin, and very nice example of an unmolested early cent. Even toning with no major distracting marks. I think it's actually pretty hard to find coins of this quality in these grades. This is an N9 not an N2. The biggest indicator is the date position. You just bought grellman, here's how I use it. I look at the coin and try to figure out the first four numbers of the DRN, I find the last two numbers to be pretty useless and in fact I think the description for the last DRN number is backwards from how its actually used. So I would look at this and say it's 4844. I believe all the other 1849s with reverse die crumbling have DRNs around 1444, so this coin can't be an N1, N2, N3, or N5. If you look at the DRN list for 1849 there is no coin with 4844 but the N9 and N27 both have 4845 which is close enough and I would start with those two varieties. Once you look at the N9 you will confirm it's the variety, the bottom of the date is weak, and the crumbling is correct, looks around die state c or early d. I see some crumbling in the N in ONE but it's not as complete as it gets in later die states. Grellman lists this as R4 but there is not a large price premium for the variety in this grade. I would put it around a 30 with no deductions, maybe a 25, an above average coin for sure, and worth more than you paid to the right collector
