OK, so I have a maximum price in mind for a decent looking 1869 IHC and all of a sudden @C-B-D throws a beauty up with the disclaimer that it has a suspicious color to it. Ok, Ok, so my standards aren't that high and I place a bid that's about what I really want to pay (so what if the color is off), but then along comes a slew of other bidders that are willing to pay about what the coin is really worth...$805, I think it was. And maybe that's low. My other go-to IHC seller has one that's pretty worn, but with a <Buy It Now> price that I'm not willing to pay for THAT one; he doesn't entertain offers either. That one had no interest for more than a month, but now has a bunch of watchers, so even if I just gave up, somebody might decide to buy it with his free stimulus money. But then along comes this one. No, it's not a beaut, but it is a heck of a lot better looking than most of the 1869 coins I've seen over the past six months or so. No way I would go real high on this one, so my sniper bid will probably not make it. Maybe, though, I need to take a realistic look at this one and up my snipe to something a little higher than it is. IHC guys, your opinions are requested. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1869-Indian-Head-Penny-AU/133626053962?autorefresh=true
FYI the buyer refused to pay for mine. His reply, “why would I pay $800 for a coin worth $80?” I didn’t even respond to the idiot. So I still have the coin.
Well, I would not want that one for my IHC collection. The coin looks like it has damage-the most obvious are the obverse dentils below the date and around to K4 and there are other areas on the obverse and reverse that seem to show damage. Plus, the color appears off and I can see no luster from the photos. The second question should be: Why is a semi-key IHC in claimed higher condition not in a slab? If I was in the market for a raw details 1869 coin and was willing to take a gamble on inauthenticity, then I wouldn't pay more than $100 for this coin. FWIW, there are quite a few nice 1869s out there and I see them fairly often but then I'm not looking at raw coins in eBay. Here's the one I bought at last January's FUN show. It is obviously over-graded but I bought it for $690 because it is problem-free, has good luster and the AU wear is not objectionable. Pretty much a classic "AU-63" but that is often where some very nice coins reside these days. I don't know what your collecting criteria are but it feels as though you are putting price ahead of quality despite stating that you were after a "decent looking" coin.
@C-B-D, apparently most folks know where and under what name you are doing business but I do not. Can you let me know? Either here or in a PM?
I would feel guilty if I were to buy an 1869 for the $690 you paid for the one shown in post #5. I have one that nice that I was given as a gift, a raw example that I had certified with the assistance of yet another well-known, well-regarded member here. It's a 1909 that came back from NGC as an MS64 RD. So, I have what I sent for the certification and return postage in it; that one's hardly worth what C-B-D's 1869 is worth although there's no price I would take for my 1909 given what it means to me. Given my health and age, I cannot leave my wife with an ever-growing collection of Walkers, Peace and Morgan Dollars, Mercs, Wheaties and Franklins. I have an incomplete GWQ set, too, that I have abandoned, given the expense it would take to finish it. That 1869 would be nice to all but complete my set of Indians (there's no 1877 in it either), but I'd like to do so without wondering about the circumstances down the road a piece. Oh, and BTW, I would love to get that one at ebay for $100, but I see it's already higher than that.
Well, @Publius2 that auction closed at over $200...far more than either of us thought the coin was worth. I am amazed, though, at the number of junk 1869 IHCs that are being offered at ridiculous prices. Perhaps I will abandon my search for one that suits me.
Don't give up. I saw a fairly decent one today at some auction or other in a middling grade (VF maybe?) and if I could remember where I saw it, I'd tell you. I understand your frustration even though we are looking at different parts of the market. I'm having difficulty finding a nice high grade 1891 IHC business strike (for what I consider to be a fair price). There just don't seem to be many of them out there. Ditto for 1870 and 1871. But the chase is part of the fun. Anyway, the one I posted here was the replacement for the low grade coin (AG-03 to G-04) duplicate in my set. I paid $15 to my LCS for it three years ago. It's actually a decent looking coin for the grade but I don't have a photo of it.
Thanks for the encouragement. I am, though, a bit befuddled by the amazing cost of these coins—especially those for the two decades after the civil war. @C-B-D was good enough to send me some decent ones for my three sets a couple of years back, some were really very nice for the prices I paid him.
The Mint Act of March 3, 1871 allowed the mint to redeem the nickel and bronze coinage. This non-legal tender coinage was a problem for banks and other commercial enterprises. So, for the next decade, the mint redeemed and melted more than 31 million copper-nickel and 55 million bronze cents and more cents were made from the melt. This went on until 1874 when the mint starting reissuing redeemed coins in addition to whatever they minted new which meant that there weren't very many new cents minted for a few years. This is a paraphrase of the text from the Whitman book on Flying Eagle and Indian Cents.
