Saw this at an antique shop. I don’t collect large cents, but maybe you can tell what the date might be? This is the only pic i have. No idea whether price would be reasonable even if the date can be determined. Thanks in advance for any help you might provide.
Tagging @Jack D. Young for his expertise. Way too much for a dateless type coin. Some antique dealers have no clue or expertise in this area.
It ought to be identifiable to within a year or two, I think- maybe more precisely, by someone knowledgeable of Newcomb varieties. (I am not that person, and that person would probably want to see the reverse as well.) It's late 1830s, in any event. 1836-37, would be my guess.
I have one in my antique shop with the first three digits readable but the fourth is unreadable. It’s been there for two years with a price of $5.00. $30.00 is insane. I can buy large cents with all four digits for less.
Very smart move for asking before being sorry. Better luck with your next effort, thanks for sharing.
If you have a VERY bright light and an eye loupe (or a microscope) sometimes you can see a faint date better than the naked eye and room light. As for the value, it would have to be dated and in better condition to be worth $30. $3 max as a cull.
I’ve never tried it, but I wonder if vinegar would raise the date. Certainly works for coins with majority nickel composition…
You could probably figure it out within a two or three years if you used the John Reich for middle date large cents to attribute it. The reverse is often the more distinctive. Of course if that has similar problems, it gets much harder.
was thinking the same thing. I've never tried raising dates on copper, but it sure works well with 75% Cu and 25% Ni.
While I seldom use it for conservation, yes on a coin like the above a bit of vinegar might just make things a bit more visible... on the other hand for $30 you can probably do better still a very nice coin and not a "bad" price...
