1910-C (Ottawa) Full-Sovereign. Got it for $350 which makes me wonder if it is real. The reverse looks real. I don't see anything obviously bogus about it, just the price being almost too good to be true. AU/UNC.
Certainly looks real to me, have you weighed it yet? Obverse would grade low for sure, but even with that said I think you just got a really good deal. It does happen once in awhile.
There's a scratch across the forehead that will probably keep it out of a holder. Doesn't look like a staple scratch. I would probably have to be delusional to think I could sneak by a grader though.
The prices are crazy on these in the higher grades. Like $5,000 in MS64. A cool grand in MS62....,, Surely more than 350 in AU/UNC. Heritage sold a raw, cleaned, XF for $500 last year.
that scratch on the forehead yikes. but who really looks on that side anyways right? the St. George. /dragon side rules. cool gold coin.
Sounds about right to me, AU50 or slightly better. I can't see any hairlines on it with a loupe, though I see what you're talking about in the photo of the obverse, has diagonal looking very light hairlines. Probably need to get out the stereo microscope to really have a good look at it. No question it's rare though. Kind of a cool page: http://www.goldsovereigns.co.uk/ottawamintcanada.html
You could still send it in for authentication and if it gets a solid grade versus a details grade then that would be a bonus.
I guess we'll find out. I just put it up on eBay. See the auction section in Coin Talk for the link. I'm not convinced it's cleaned either. At least not in the way most coins from the era were murderized when they were cleaned. The color is too close to normal. A few scratches, yes, but I don't think it meets the threshold of cleaned.
Best case scenario would probably be an AU58, and frankly that's a waste of grading fees if you ask me. I never send in a coin unless I think it's for-sure UNC, and then only if I think it's an MS62 or better. Anything less than that is disparagement of the coin in my opinion. If I think a coin is AU, don't really need a grading service to tell the world that; -easier and cheaper to let the coin itself say that instead.
They don't vanish, just change direction, confirming the harsh cleaning. I see them on the entire surface.
Putting in a reserve would imply I know what it's worth, and frankly, no one will ever pay more than what the seller thinks it is worth. If it's started at a dollar, then the bidders get to decide what it's worth, and sometimes what the bidder thinks it is worth is far more than what the seller thinks the coin is worth.
If you could see it in hand, you would appreciate how undetectable the hairlines are to the naked eye. Is it a gem? No. But then I never claimed it was.
If I had it in hand, I would quickly put it down. Hairlines are hairlines, especially in multiple directions. I can't see how these ones and in such quantity could be undetectable. I would mention them in a listing, if I was selling such a piece, hoping to get spot.
More hairlines. Doesn't keep the coin out of the finest known category at NGC however. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181461699191
