Do you have any high grade key dates with graffiti in your collection?

Or have you seen such a coin in someone's collection? Seeing this 89CC in a high grade but with so much graffiti made me curious if anyone actually buys and keeps these in their collection?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/354577075216?

 

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Not for that kind of money. Unholdered has me worried for that kind of 'jing'........almost makes ya wonder if it ships from Shanghai.

 

I do. Sort of. This is an ancient coin, and not necessarily a key date or anything, but it’s definitely a valuable and sought after coin: Julius Caesar 47-46BC AR denarius
Military Mint traveling with Caesar in North Africa. Diademed head of Venus right./ CAESAR. Aeneas walking left, carrying Anchises and Paladium. Crawford458/1, RSC12
Sort of like a sideways ‘A’ on the obverse, right in front of Venus’s face.

 

Not a single one. If I buy a high grade coin I don’t want to see graffiti on it.

 

Not high grade but southern gold is still desirable, at least to me.

 

If anyone considers XF "high grade".

 

I have a few problem coins in my collection but none are key dates. Too much money for a coin I would never be happy with. I feel the same about some key dated in low grades. The 1916-D Mercury dime comes to mind. In lower grades it's an ugly coin to me.

 

No, I always pass on any eye-catching graffiti that adds no purpose to the coin! Thanks for asking @goldrealmoney79

 

Is the "High Grade" traveling incognito?

 

Whoops, my Caesar is definitely NOT high grade lol.

 

This Hard Times token, Low #1, has some very light graffiti in the obverse field. Most of examples of this piece have problems of one sort or another. I bought this piece many years ago for $2,000. I knew at the time that this same piece had sold in a Stacks' auction for $3,000. Someone took a hit. I had seen pieces that were nowhere near as nice as this have asking prices of $3,300. So I grabbed on to it.

I now have a much better one, but I kept this one. There are three minor varieties of Low #1, and the two pieces I have a slightly different. Here is my up grade.



And here are the two obverses side by side. The hairstyle among other things is a little different.

 

One of my most recent acquisitions.

 

That’s a very nice love token. Great find!

 

Ides of March didn't do much for the old boy either.

 

Not a key date, but.....

 

AU details. It's not graffiti, but that's a 20 to $40,000 scratch there....

 

Not high grade--not a key date --although a key die marriage for the year. The story...


It barely makes Good and has graffiti dating from the year 1845. It cost me solid XF money (Plus my max bid was almost twice what I got it for). But it was the last (achievable by me) die marriage for my 1827 set. It's estimated that only about 35 or so examples exist in any grade--most of which are damaged. When I bought it back in 2009 I had been looking for an affordable O-144 for the previous 19 years.


The inscription in the upper right field reads "Cadet Robertson 1845. In the left (behind Liberty) Robertson is repeated.

A note: As gentlemen military cadets were expected to never be completely without funds. Thus it became a common practice to carry a pocket piece--often from one's birth year. A search of West Point archives comes up with Beverly Robertson--born June 1827, appointed to USMA1845, and graduated class of 1849. He went on to become a CSA general during the Civil War. One has to wonder if this was his coin.

Update from when I first posted about this coin. In 2019 I located a descendant of General Robertson living in Tennessee and asked about his ancestor. After a series of letters I gifted him with the coin and it rejoined the family.