United States: 1881 bronze proof Indian Head cent NGC PR65 RB. Cert. #1663649-015. Numista-2356, Krause-Mishler-90a. Mintage: 3,575. Ex-Don Rupp ("ajaan" on Collectors Universe), 17 July 2020. This proof Indian cent is in an older NGC holder that possibly predates the millennium. Though it has a Red-Brown (RB) designation on the label, it should be more properly described as a Brown (BN) coin. Perhaps it mellowed over time? Nevertheless, it has some very attractive colors, which were difficult to capture in photographs. I like BN coins when they are colorful. The BN value for this coin is still significantly higher than what I paid for it, so the fact that the coin might be overgraded slightly due to the RB-to-BN discrepancy does not bother me. It is a very eye-appealing proof. 043500
Speaking for myself, the Indian cent design is the most appealing thus far. And that one's a beauty! As for dropping to a brown designation, which I have noticed on a few of my own coppers, I'd have to see it in hand. Very close judging from an image.
That NGC grader must not have been wearing his By-Focal, that IHC is clearly a 66 or 67, in my opinion. Love it, thanks for sharing that beauty.
Hmm. You think? Maybe I should crack it out and resubmit? I’d be able to get professional photos that way. If I did that, I’m pretty sure it would downgrade from RB to BN. But if it picked up a grade point, that would be awesome! I’m just scared it might downgrade to 64 BN or something. So that’s a risky game. But as long as it held strong to at least 65 BN, I’d be fine.