Hi guys. I found these 2 coins in my father's collection. I looked them up and read that they are worth more than just the gold value but when I took them to a collector, he said that they may be fakes. He said that I'd need it sent somewhere to see if it was real and that would wind up costing more money. He offered to buy it for the gold value. Should I be getting more than that?
Be careful... if the collector doesn't think it's genuine, why is he willing to buy it as scrap gold? Yes, there are a lot of fakes out there. Some old, pretty bad ones made for jewelry and modern, high quality fakes too. Overall the $1 doesn't look bad but need a better sharper photograph to compare the details. Is it worth spending $30 to have ANACS authenticate it and sell it for $300 vs. scrap at $75?? For the $3, $150ish scrap, 700 or 900 as a coin... This is something you can start to do, compare, carefully, detail by detail against known good: https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1849-g-1-no-l/7501 https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1874-3/7998 Check the shape of the stars, the digit punches, the lay of the hair. I think the $3 has been polished - but that's also done to hide the fine details of a counterfeit.
I'm not an expert on these by any means, but the $1 gold doesn't make me suspicious. The $3 is a bit too fuzzy to say. Having said that, I'd be particularly nervous about authenticity on any raw $3 gold. If it were me, I'd take these to a show where there are a number of dealers present, and show them around. If nobody is confident that they're genuine, I'd be tempted to send them to ICG or ANACS for slabbing; neither is terribly expensive, and both are reliable for authentication. I see signs of both luster and cleaning on the dollar coin. I can't tell anything about the surfaces on the $3, but if it's genuine, it's worth multiple times its gold value. (Current gold value would be $221 or so; even a cleaned $3 gold would go for at least $600, possibly a good bit more.)
It can be dicey when dealing with raw gold, especially when it's new to you. But you're in the drivers seat! They didn't cost you anything (you inherited them) and your dad, if he was a real collector, probably knew what he was doing. Until proven wrong, assume they are real. (Anytime someone suggests they may be fake, & then offers to pay you "melt" value for it, you should consider them to be scammers.) @jeffB gave you excellent advise above. Try not to act under duress & you will arrive at the optimum solution/result!
Hard to tell from the photos but they look good to me. You need to have them verified by a reputable company.
@StacyK It appears you would like to receive a guarantee for your 2 coins from several strangers with differing unknown education/experiences, as you may already have received from one of your choosing. I believe without in-hand observation by a trained individual having coin type familiarity, the value of our input may not equal that of the individual you've chosen. I believe the following proposal to be superior to that otherwise received, and may with this publication be bettered by others. I can show thousands of nothing but positive feedback on multiple sales sites, and current reasonable offerings exceeding the value of your coins. I propose, upon receiving your coins Edited: I assume you are kidding or using sarcasm in the part I removed, but if perhaps misunderstood as a real solicitation, that would be a violation as it is outside of the B/S/T classified forum. JMHO
Get them authenticated. Go to a coin shop and have them look at them. Go to a coin show and ask a couple dealers to look at them for authenticity and ask what the possible value be. They are worth way more than gold value if real. Your coin friend is trying to rip you off by only offering gold value and should be ashamed in doing so. He knows better. The 3 dollar princess are cool coins and bring very good money.
The question was: "Should I be getting more than that?" We're "splitting legal hairs", and I offered a Pro Bono service which guarantees no net cost to the OP. I do this regularly for relatively impoverished/underfunded women in my locale who haven't a loan source to accomplish their goals of getting a fair price for assets they've "acquired", generally by death or divorce. In my area we have one shyster "dealer", and within ~80 miles RT, 2 Pawn shops.The many local banks will hardly acknowledge the "less fortunates" existence, much less loan money against "tangibles". I operate as a non-profit Pro Bono service for the indigent, including providing equipment/labor for pick-up/delivery of defunct small tractors, yard equipment, etc., and minimum wage normally unavailable on-call labor for repair in the only 100+ year-old remaining hardware store in town. I offered to "Bond" my service by posting funds directly to the OP, authenticate, establish value by a credible source, and return the coins to the OP at a minimally guaranteed sales price. As a "Devils Advocate", I'd be willing to debate before a jury how I'm Buying, Selling, or Trading, but merely answering a question to many similar that I've received in a rural area with only "land-line" internet service. I carry 4 different service "flip phones", and 1 "smart phone" which couldn't be connected to the singular rural land-line service. I believe, WE who may be more informed, often speak in generalities, having options and experience. WE are not supplying specifics as could have been gotten by purchasing a number of "magazines" through the mail in the past. The accumulated wealth of myself and many "less fortunate" females in my vicinity, was established by availabilities/services no longer available in many rural areas. It's possible that many more in this country will understand as 5G/6G is established in this country. Especially in urban areas where Huawei type current and future services/equipment isn't allowed. LOL I apologize for any offense, as I try to provide economical solutions for those asking of specific solutions by direct questions, not to create more problems for the uninformed masses!! JMHO
The 1 looks good. The 3 is often faked. Only deal with honest people and figure out what is going on with these coins. If real, the $1 might be $500. The $3 might be $1500.
I collect both of these series. Your dad may very well have been collecting since before it was common to see high value coins interred in TPG plastic. Having said the the three dollar gold is an often counterfeited coin. Do not sell them for gold value. Have them assessed by a reputable dealer. These need to be inspected by a knowledgeable dealer in hand. Then we can better guide you on what to do with them next. If genuine, they are worth more than gold value.
I would weigh the coins before doing anything. If the weight is correct, I would send them to PCGS. To me, it would be worth the fees to be sure of what you have. Even if the folks here could tell you if they are real, you need to know if they will straight grade. That's the only way you will be able to nail down the actual value. I would not think twice about sending them in.
Send them in for grading at one of the reputable companies like ANACS, ICG, NGC or PCGS. It won't cost you that much for them to determine if your coins are genuine. In either case, you'll get your grading cost back when you decide to let them go. If not genuine, you'll still get a little return, and if they're truly genuine, you'll get a great return!
For authentication/grading of the two coins, I'd recommend you view this link to ICG who from my experience should supply the best "bang for your buck" (~$50 total) : https://www.icgcoin.com/ JMHO