Hi, Curious to hear thoughts on this 1859 indian head I picked up from folks who are much more experienced in grading/valuing coins. Would appreciate any feedback from the community before sharing what I paid for it.
You have about a $40-$50 coin there, Hydro. Thank God Hunting Rare didn't purchase this coin........ he'd be calling it a PF-50.
I planned on keeping it...it doesn’t look cleaned in person, although I’m no expert. The darker shades around the lettering and such in the picture looks like that might be the case, but it doesn’t actually look like that. I have to get some better pictures and post them. If it’s only 40-50 then I overpaid for it...was really looking for an 1859 and hadn’t been seeing them in that shape for anywhere near 40-50. I paid 73 specifically because it didn’t look cleaned to me...guess there’s always something to learn.
I would be surprised if it has not been cleaned.....Look at the obverse, especially around the feathers. And there are dark spots like that all over this coin.
If this coin has been harshly cleaned, it takes the value down from $60 to $10-$15. If anyone wants a damaged coin at all. They may need it as a hole filler.
I'm debating whether to return this coin or not. On one hand, I see a cleaned value of 10-15 dollars coming from folks here and on other sites, and on another hand I see coin dealers online selling this coin in very similar condition, graded as being cleaned, for $85+ dollars. Granted, they need to make some money and recoupe any grading fees, but $15 to $85+ is a big gap. I'm adding one more set of pictures with flatter lighting to double confirm what everyone is saying. Appreciate the feedback.
