Is the market for Indian Head cents going up or down?

I don't know. That's a beautiful MS63, well worth what you paid for. I've seen a number of 64's that wouldn't stand up to yours, at least as far as eye appeal.

 

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Thx

 

Be picky when it comes to buying Indian cents there are plenty of nice ones to buy so take your time. KSorbo's 1863 graded MS 63 is a very high end example at that grade. I can't zoom in close enough to determine why it's not graded higher but, I would buy it. I bought a nice 1909 proof Indian cent in proof 66 RB that I paid close to RED money for because it was a stunner. Any really nice Indian cent is worth paying a little extra for because you won't have buyers remorse. Don't settle on a coin based on price only. You will end up with a lot of junk if price is your only concern. I'm attaching a picture of my 1877 Indian cent in MS 63 BN. It took me some time to find one worth buying. It looks much nicer in hand.

 

Dear @medoraman,
Did you ever get your "Christopher"? I hope so. Here is one of mine.
Romanus, Christopher, and Constantine VII. Constantinople, 921-31.
Miliaresion. 2.57 gr. 25 mm. hr. 11. Sear 1754; DO 18; BNP 1-3; BM 41; R. 1894.

 

Yeah, I got one, then a few weeks later a group lot of miliaresion was sold with a Christopher in it, so I bought that too. I have the Stephen (or two) as well from that emperor.

For those confused, Christopher in Greek is Xpistofor.

 

If you want to know trends, Numismedia.com is a great resource. There is a free section for Collector FMV Prices, a subscription service for Dealer Market Prices, and a NumisMedia on CCE, which adds things like CAC prices.

Online Price Guides

  - Collector FMV Prices

  - Dealer Market Prices

  - NumisMedia on CCE

If you go to a price guide, it will give you trends. For example, a look at the 1877 Indian Cent in BN, MS60 showed an increase in value from 2019 to 2020, and this has maintained into 2021. You can review any US coin at various grades. It may be something collectors should look at before buying a higher-priced coin.

I have been planning to join the Dealer subscription or the NumisMedia on CCE but I keep putting it off, along with my membership in the Procrastinators' Club (I understand that if you actually join you are then immediately expelled for not being a procrastinator).

 

I'd have to sell both kidneys to afford that one!

 

You might as well throw in all your other organs as well.

 

I know one doesn't work too well anymore.

 

Exactly!

 

Ok toss in your heart and I'll add this one for good measure. 1909 Proof 66 RED.

 

My first reaction is, "That's got to be a reproduction. It can't possibly be REAL."

 

Oh it's the real deal.

 

Before trying to complete my FE & IHC collection I read several key books, joined the forum and the Fly-IN Club and bought all the back issues of their journal "Longacre's Ledger", which I then scanned to searchable pdfs and gave back to the club to post on their website for others to access. I decided to collect circulated coins, more affordable and part of the history of our country's commerce. Then I decided to forego collecting error coins, which wealthy collectors compete for. But I discovered there were deliberate mint design changes that weren't being collected because album designers didn't include holes for them. Here is what I believe is the complete set of FE and IHCs with supportive links.http://members.iphouse.com/frech001/Al's Flying Eagle and Indian Head Cent Complete Design Set.pdf

 

Here are the Eagle Eye photos of another one that I paid up for recently. It’s a PCGS 64RB with Photo Seal. It caught my eye because it has a lot of red remaining. I would rather have an RB that’s almost red than an RD that might become RB sometime down the road. As a type collector I wanted one that was vouched for by the subject matter expert, and was not disappointed.

 

Nice die cracks on the reverse.

 

Once again my eyes go straight to the die Crack through TATES to the rim.

 

Do die cracks affect value? Regardless I am happy that both of my type Indians have them.

 

They indicate a Die Stage in the life of a die and can help identify an individual die as opposed to the die hub from which many dies are produced.

Since I'm a specialist in a series where hub dies were only being experimented with and individual dies pair up to make varieties, it is something that can add value if it is a particularly rare die Stage.

I do not know the Indian market and suspect a different level of market acceptability when all the dies from a hub are virtually identical. I suspect that they are identified by hub like the VAMs, and individual die variations may not be considered collectable due to the sheer volume.

But this is speculation and advice from an Indian specialist is in order.

 

They can. Sometimes they can increase the value, sometimes they can help identify the variety which helps with value and sometimes they can hurt the value. As far as hurting the value I've seen this with Shield and Liberty head nickels. These types are somewhat hard to find without die cracks in mint state grade. Finding nice mint state nickels without die cracks is a plus. AU and under doesn't effect the prices much up or down.