I'll third that. I have a fine/very fine 09-S, VDB cent, a fine 42/41 Mercury and a good 16-D Mercury. All purchased raw. There are still plenty of decent better dates out there that don't reside in plastic. I wouldn't be comfortable buying a better date off the web though unless it was certified.
Thank you all for your comments. I thought that the coin was way to clean too. Very well struck but with very odd toning. Why would someone make a fake that looks so well struck with a metal service that someone thought should be improved? The date and lettering look genuine to me. The toning is why I keep thinking something was done to this coin in the past. It will be graded! I'll keep you posted.
The placement of the S looks to be correct. For the low mintage 1908-S and 1909-S they may have only used 1 die each. Please correct me if this is wrong. So the S is supposed to be off center. As for real or not, I can't tell from the photo.
Thank you all for your comments. I thought the coin looked odd myself. The mm does look like it is to far to the right. Way would someone make a fake that looks this good overall and not pay attention to wear the mm is placed?? Well if it is a fake buyer beware aye? The toning is what befuddles me. It is going to get graded. I'll keep you posted.
Please post better pictures here once you get it in hand. That way you might be able to tap the experts to see if it is worth sending for grading. If it's an obvious fake at the at point then no use throwing good money after bad by sending in to be graded.
Thanks for the advice Razz but it was just submitted to NGC for grading. It seemed odd enough to share with everyone so i guess will see what the graders say about her. i had some other coins to submit so perhaps a little more good money after bad. I've tried to find all I could about Chinese and other fakes. None of the photo's I've come across are even close to the details on this coin. If it is a fake, holy cow. I'm no expert for sure but to my eye the two things that got my antenna up was the flawless fields and grey toning. Thanks again everyone for all you advice and comments.
Since the 1908-S and 1909-S are HIGHLY counterfeited, I may have waited until I got some expert opinions here or local coin shops before submitting for grading. Hope it works out for you.
Out of curiosity, did you submit them personally to NGC or did someone submit on your behalf? I'm just curious because I always get surprised when people submit on their own. I've been collecting for years and have only submitted two coins to NGC.
Yes i did submit them personally. I've had a few over the years that I wanted to get graded. It's been awhile but I had a few along with the 1908 S IH that I was curious about. If the IH comes back with a grade it will all have been worth it. If not, i knew better going in. Thanks for your comments.
You mentioned that you got the coin "online" if it was an eBay seller and it comes back fake you should be able to get your money back.
I mostly agree with this, but through the dark one can see that the coin has very little wear to it. If the photos are a fair account of the color, then I may have my doubts about it, but I otherwise agree with the others so far on page 1 that it's a great coin.
I was one of the suckers a number of years ago that bought a roll of cents with S mint IHC on the ends; both reverses looked MS. In hand one was an obvious electrotype counterfeit. The other was a nice MS but the color was off. I sent it in for grading and it came back unc details. I contacted the seller about the counterfeit and we settled for me getting a partial refund (the roll contained anther two 1908-S IHC and a couple semi key LCs). Sometimes I'm embarrassed to admit that I fell for the end roll scams. I guess we all do stupid things in life. Regarding the OP coin the color just seems off. I hope that it straight grades but it wouldn't shock me if it didn't.
The coin looks fine to me the s is where it is supposed to be , the lettering looks good. It may have been a metal detector find and was black. Looks as if someone cleaned it . I think the coin is genuine but that is just an opinion. The color I think is making some others second guess the authenticity. Send some larger pictures when you receive the coin , and may get different responses . Nice coin and WELCOME to Coin Talk !
i bought this from a reputable online auction house. If it is a fake I will certainly let them know but the listing did say it was not certified. If it turns out to have been cleaned or grades details I'll have to take my medicine.
Good morning, i got the 1908 S IH back from NGC and they said that it was not graded because of an altered surface. i think we all suspected something was amiss. I've asked the graders to let me know if they think it is environmental or if they think someone tried to doctor the coin. If I hear anymore i'll let you know. Enjoy your day. Andy
Too bad , it is a nice looking coin. Someone most likely had give the coin a thorough cleaning with some type of chemical possibly . I think that would qualify as an altered surface. Well at least they never said it was a fake . I would let the auction company know that you are not pleased , not that they give a crap anyway . They expect people to grade coins from pictures , and put in a disclaimer that they are not responsible. Some of the better auctions will let you know what they see , others just dump coins to unsuspecting buyers. Regardless not everyone has a 1908 s IH .Have a good one. !! Dillan