And those pictures the OP posted looked like scans, not photos. I often don't trust photos, but I never trust scans and wouldn't make a purchase decision based on them.
Hi Dillan, Thanks for your reply. i did hear back and they said that it is hard to know why the coin looks the way it does. They did not commit to a reason. i took your advice and just left a nice message for the auction house telling them about the condition of the coin. Not expecting much but you never know. When i examine the coin it almost looks like a light layer of rust or oxidation (copper doesn't rust, right?). Thanks again!
Thanks for the heads up Maxfli. I thought that the contrast of what i thought was a photo was off. i think you are right, it was a scan. i felt a bit of relief when some folks onsite at the auction were also bidding. Live and learn. Enjoy the rest of your day.
I agree with the concept of it not being graded. If it costs as much or more to get a penny graded, as the coin will be worth, then why do it? Unless it's for one's personal collection, it doesn't make sense. The return when sold, for the raw coin, versus a graded coin, would probably be higher, comparatively speaking.
I agree. It looks like it's been tooled from the neck up to the forehead in order to give it a sharper outline. That could be what the grading service meant by "altered surfaces". Aside from the outlining, I like the coin. It's got all the "bells and whistles" from the feathered headdress down to the diamonds and beads. But the profile does look tooled.
When I was kid in the 1960s, I tried to clean a copper coin with ammonia and ended up with this color on the OP piece. The coin has been played with even if it is genuine. Here is a Mint State example. I hope this deal works out for you, but even today, as a veteran coin buyer, I don’t buy coins like this raw any more, especially on the Internet. BTW, the 1908-S Indian Cent holds an important place in history. It was the U.S. cent to be produced at a branch mint. It took a change in the law a couple of years before to make that possible. That's the reason this coin is in my collection.
No, actually it’s an MS-65, RB. I bought it from Angel Dees. He is noted for stocking only high end coins for the grade.
That's a very nice RB. I've got a couple early RB Lincolns that look more red than many RD examples I see being auctioned.
The weakness in the strike on the top of the headdress is probably what kept it from getting a higher grade. This was what I wanted anyway. I wanted get a nice example of the first branch mint cent without paying a fortune for it.