I normally don't attach much importance to provenance. It just doesn't matter to me much who owned before me any given coin. However, This one may be an exception as it was part of the Norweb Collection sold by Bowers and Merena in the fall of 1988. A legendary collection by any accounts. They had two 1857-S quarters. One example in MS something, and this one. The MS something got all the attention, while this example not much at all. All the best for me as that allowed me to get it cheap. How would you grade it?
Xf45. The reverse being in better condition. Some wear on high points on the Obverse. Could be AU50 if I graded it.
Thank you. I am glad to hear my pics seem to be OK. I do them myself using a simple old Canon SX200 camera (about $220). No fancy set-up, just a window sill, some daylight, a wooden dowel to lift up the lower bottom of the coin to avoid dark spots. Also, you need a steady hand!
Great coin! I'd like to know more about how you eliminate dark spots. You said dowel, do you mean a very thin shim?
It was very hard to post a guess; kept drooling on the key board. I guess XF-45 based on the amount of wear. The fields are so smooth they almost appear smoothed, but a class group like Bowers and Merena would have noted it as such. (I think). James
Hi, this is what I mean: just bits of wood, cylindrical or square of various diameters chosen depending on the size of the coin and the angle you wish to attain. Very useful to be able to capture a more or less even amount on the light over the whole surface of the coin. When taking pictures, if you want head-on pictures one needs to ensure your camera angle is perpendicular to the surface of the coin. Very simple, really.
