I posted this in US Coins, but I think it should have been posted here. I have never bought an ungraded coin sight unseen, so I wanted to get a few other opinions before I do. I sent the seller an offer and he countered. I want to send him one more counter offer and I think it's close enough that he will take it. Is this coin a good purchase and do yall think that it would grade if it was submitted? What would you grade it and how much would you pay for it?
I would say it's a MS63BN or 64BN. I don't think you have enough red to call it RB Large Motto. Then that would put it's retail around $200 verses $1400. I'm more apt to under grade than over grade. It's the safest way to go.
The ding on the obverse rim, and the ding on the "S" and "O" on the reverse wouldn't cause a lower grade than MS? Or earn it a details grade?
Not on their own... you should concern yourself more with surface preservation, conditions, wear, etc. May I ask why you're looking to buy raw instead of already slabbed? The fact you ask about having it graded makes me wonder...
The only reason I am looking at this one is that I found it on ebay and it caught my eye. I think I can get it for about $50. Everything I have bough so far online has been slabbed. That's why I am asking about it, because I am uncertain. Basically my interest comes from, "hey, that coin looks cool!"
Ain't nothing wrong with that. Based on images this small, I'm unwilling to decide whether it's circulated (slightly) or not.
A very helpful member in the us coins forum posted this: "OBVERSE: What I hopped you would also see is that your coin is laminated. Looking on the obverse the lighter color is in streaks - generally a good sign of originally rather than cleaning. Look next to the "4." you should see some of the surface peeling up. Next, there are black spots all over the obverse. They look like pitting. The "We" is deformed. Again, possible pitting. REVERSE: Streaks in line with those on obverse. Looks die wear next to rim over "ICA." The most obvious indication of corrosion is at the bottom under the bow. Rough, uneven, surface with those tiny black "pits (?)."" This has me worried about the condition of the coin. If I picked it up for in the $50 range, would you consider that a decent buy?
It's a nice coin, but keep this in mind, the background on the coin is " White " so, as for the images you see, lighting is playing with some of the coins color too .. Just a good thing to remember when looking for coins on ebay ...............
Not a poor set of observations, although "pitting" and "originality" tend to be mutually exclusive. With both images onscreen at 200% size in the Gimp, I'm seeing enough photographic anomalies to make me question whether the images themselves are "original" areas only explainable by either in-camera jpeg processing failures or deliberate blurring of detail in post. Also, embedded crud in the tight areas, although not 100% declarative of cleaning. Have a look at the "blurry" areas especially near the rim, where detail isn't as crisp as adjacent places: I'm feeling a bit deceived, and despite the appealing crushed die, would probably pass on this one personally. If all my paranoia is wrong, $50 wouldn't be a terrible price.
