Hi! Just wondered if anyone would be willing to give a second opinion on the condition and grade of this 1800 Draped Bust Dollar - main variety AMERICAI. Thanks for any inputs!
Thanks, those are the two grades I am debating on too - slightly leaning towards VF20. Those are the only photos I have unfortunately.
It looks to be a decent example, albeit a few rim dings...which arent terribly bad. I would do some research, however, before purchase, ideally, in hand. The Draped Bust series is heavilly counterfeited.
Based on the ANA Guidelines, I see no reason not to give it at least a VF20, possibly higher. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- F12 Moderate to heavy even wear; entire design is clear and bold. Obv Some details show in hair ends, curls, and at left of ear. Date, all letters, and stars are visible. Eye and ear are clear. Bust is worn with a few drapery lines remaining. Rev Half the feathers are visible in the wings. Breast and head are smooth. Letters in legend are worn but clear Clouds and top of shield show considerable wear. [* motto incomplete but better than VG - added by me per expert opinion] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VF20 Light to moderate even wear; all major features are sharp. Obv >1/2 of hair details show (Yes) Forehead and bust are worn but bold (Yes) Parts of drapery are smooth (Yes) Letters and star centers are plainly visible (Yes, but only some star centers...?) Rev Head and breast are worn; some feathers are visible (Yes; more than "some") Some lines in shield are merged together (Yes) ~3/4 of wing details are clear (Yes; >75% IMHO) Motto is complete (Yes) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VF30 Light to moderate even wear; all major features are sharp. Obv 3/4 of hair details show (Maybe?) Hair at back of head is worn but has some bold features (Maybe?) Parts of drapery are worn smooth (Yes) Rev Wing edges are worn but 3/4 of central details are visible (Yes?) Clouds, head, and motto show wear (Yes? Too much though?) Horizontal shield lines are worn but separated (Almost, but not quite?) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- And not to insult anyone's intelligence here, just adding this for clarification for those who might need a little help as I did... when I first started looking into DBDs, I had to Google to find out exactly which features these terms referred to: Motto: E Pluribus Unum Legend: "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"
I am saying that the coin is bad, but the date is a lot sharper than Ms. Liberty, which concerns me. Certification is highly recommended these days.
Thanks for the very thorough analysis! U.S. Numismatics is fortunate to have the ANA Grading Standards! I am not sure how many other countries has the same.
I hope you forgot a "not" in there I get your point though and also see the wear deviation between the date and the portrait. I wanted to look at some other VF-graded 1800 dollars AMERICAI varieties to see if this was the same for other coins as well. Here are the 2 VF20-graded 1800 AMERICAI from Stacks Bowers, I think they have some of the same wear deviation as the one pictured above. Here is one: https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/l...ty-2-bb-die-state-i-americai-vf-20-ngc-cac-oh And especially this: https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/l...-rarity-2-bb-die-state-iv-americai-vf-20-pcgs
