Well, I acquired a really interesting coin today, but am wanting some assistance from the Experts on U.S. Gold out there! Essentially, I know it is MS-60, for sure, but wanting to know if anyone could tell from my (horrible) pics if it may possibly grade higher. I'd never seen one of these before, or actually ever heard of one, until today... and it was so cool, I wanted it. I took pics in and out of the Flip... my lighting really sucks for taking pictures of Gold. Any tips would be appreciated! Question - Grade? MS-6? Question - What would you have paid for this? (or what do you think a reasonable price would be?) - FYI - I paid the current MS-60 Grey Sheet price for it... I will post later how much that is if you don't have a Grey Sheet. 1903 - Jefferson Louisiana Purchase Gold $1 Mintage - 17,500 (true #, unknown - approx.)
It is kind of hard to tell with these pictures, but I agree that it looks like there are some marks across his face. I think an MS-60 price is fair.
So... has anyone else ever Seen or Had one of these??? Note that part of the issue I was having taking pictures is due to the size of the coin, I believe. It is only 15mm in Diameter (smaller than a Dime, which is 17.9mm.) That made it difficult to get good focus. I'll have to try again with different lighting, I believe.
Another Question - Would you have this coin Graded? I always have to weigh the cost... I'd have to RE-Sign up with NGC (or PCGS, which is pricier), then pay to get it graded. I suppose that if I have other coins to send in, then it may be worth the price... but not on its own??? What do you all think? If MS-60 Grey Sheet is $500 (which I paid), NGC Retail MS-60 is $645. If I happen to get a HIGHER grade, that Retail Prices goes to $670/$715 in MS-61 or MS-62, which would help the value. Opinions?
Looking at some sales on Heritage, a PCGS MS 64 sold for $576 earlier this year. HA quotes greysheet as $650 for MS 64 and $600 for MS 63. There are some sales for higher amounts, but a few MS 63/64 examples are currently available on eBay in the $600-$700 range. Your coin looks nice, but like others mentioned, the marks on the face and in the fields will limit the grade. I would be surprised at seeing a 63 grade, so I would say it’s not worth spending the grading fee. https://coins.ha.com/itm/commemorat...4-8727.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515
Thanks for the info! I believe you are probably correct about getting it graded. I really just think it is a Unique Coin that I am happy to own! Thanks for the advice!
I wouldn't be surprised to see it in an MS62 slab. I'd send it in. Gold is tough to photograph and tends to look worse than it does in hand.
I do agree with you on that one... I could NOT get a good Picture! I'm just not familiar with photographing Gold Coins... Others I take great pics of all the time! I think I'll need to see if there's others I can turn in to grade. Maybe I'll pic a few and see what other's think. That would be the only way that it'd be economical, I believe. Thanks!
If you have several coins, then it might be worth it, even to test your grading skills. By itself though the fees are somewhat high. Note that one usually can’t mix gold and silver on the same order form, so look into that before sending coins in. And I do like the coin and think you picked a cool one for a random purchase.