What is your goal with it? What are your other coins stored in? I wouldn't, but that's because none of my cents are slabbed. Except one that was a gift.
I have 24 graded coins that were bought graded, so I haven't ever sent in anything for grading. I already have 7 grading cents so I'm still debating. I got it for fairly cheap so I left my self with an extra 30-40 bucks to grade it and bring the value up. Just a thought.
The only time I would consider slabbing a coin for myself was if I was building a registry set in a specific grade. And only with the thought that if I sold it or had it auctioned somewhere down the road, I would have an easier time selling. In that case you could use a album made specifically for slabs such as the Littleton certified coin album, otherwise, no.
Assuming the coin is not cleaned, and it is needed for a registry set, or your just simply in it at a great price then I wouldn't see any harm. The 1859's get pricy into AU.
IMO, your photo and lighting don't show the coin well enough for me to make that call at this time. $30-40 is not enough to get it graded at NGC/PCGS--it's more like $70 (grading + 2-way Shipping + Insurance). You can get a free trial at PCGScoinfacts.com and compare it to their graded images, then go to GreatCollections.com and look at what people paid for coins in that same grade from ANACS or NGC or PCGS. The rule of thumb I use is, if the average GC Winning Bid for that grade is a certain percentage (I'll keep that private) above what I paid + what it would cost to grade it, then it would be a GO for sending it in to be graded.
Personally, I don't think getting coins slabbed is a good use of funds unless the coin is in the higher mint state range. If it doesn't have a shot at least an MS63 grade, it's a total waste of money. I suppose there are exceptions to that, like an extremely rare coin that is heavily counterfeited, -but even then, unless there is some dramatic price differential between grades, it's pretty much a waste of time.
I agree with prince. If its not gonna have a shot at 63 or above, not worth slabbing. However....my general rule is if the coin is worth $400 or more, should be slabbed. Just my opinion. Nice Indian though, probably high AU.
Gold coins that are forgeries, sliders where au vs mint prices are great in difference, are worth grading in general. It's even better just to buy what someone else graded (as long as they're not factoring in grading fees, which some sellers do). I don't know what an au coin of that type brings, but it doesn't look like it would be a clean grade anyways, at least from looking at those pics
I've always found fake gold coins to be some of the easier to identify counterfeits. A digital scale is about all you need for most of them, and the few that have the right weight still display many of the usual tell-tale signs that give them away. At least on foreign gold coins. On the US material, there are some more deceptive gold fakes, but even with US issues the color is often times off and if you're familiar with the real thing then the US gold fakes become a bit easier to identify as well. Maybe it's just a product of my own experience level, but copper coins with problems have always seemed much more difficult to authenticate.
I think you're right. I threw gold in there because I know next to nothing about gold coins and fakes, since I opt for silver coins. And I've heard there's a lot of fakes with US gold coins. Key dates like 1909 s vdb would be another I wouldn't buy raw
