Hi Welcome to Coin Talk. Seems you already know how to post real good photos of coins. Nice shots or scans! Boy! that coin is really full of detail - I have never seen one look so good in such a large picture. Seems nobody gets to see them like this in real life. It is VERY clean and 'blast-white' to use a term I've heard here a lot. Looks to have been fairly dirty in the past - dirt in and around the "great details". Maybe it was dipped or something in the past and has started to tone - maybe again. The nicks seem to make it circulated - but not for real long. The 1901S is a real valuable coin - low mintage and is probably a key date ( I may be all wet on that, tho' ). XF-40 to AU-50 Cleaned, value by the book - $500 to $700 ( not cleaned ). I am really curious to hear from the obvious experts here... Mike
Uhmm..sad to see one of these cleaned...if you look on the right side of the face around the nose do you see how it appears to be a different color maybe a little grunge, and the horizontal surface scratches show some tough cleaning
Definately cleaned. Put 'er in one of those old paper coin flips and maybe she'll tone a bit over time....
Thanks guys, and yes some idiot (who is the author of this in case you didn't guess) used a little baking soda and water before he knew what he had. It really wasn't scrubbed hard, just enough to get some dirt off the front. I know, I know, it was a very rookie mistake! Oh well, live and learn as they say, which is exactly why I joined here. There is with out a doubt a ton of knowledge here and I hope to learn from you all. So some questions if you don't mind... I have heard AU grade regarding this coin and from the grading descriptions I've read I believe this to be the case. Would you say this was correct? I have also heard "cleaned" which from what I've also read is a bad term as far as coins go as apposed to one taking proper hygienic care of oneself. My question is are there different degrees of cleaned? And if so does it make a big difference resale wise? I must tell you I have no plans to sell this but if I did, hmmm.... how shall I put this.... Is there something I could do to get more $$ out of this AU-Cleaned coin? Thanks again for all your help.
This was posted as I was writing my last reply. Rookie here, what is an "old paper coin flip"? And where would I get them? right now it's in a baggie... is that bad?
Shoot Moseng, I don't know if anyone sells 'em anymore. They were real big when I was a kid. I've still got part of my original collection residing in them. I've been slowly swapping them out into 2x2's. If anyone knows for sure (if these things are still available) I'm sure they'll chime in..... Putting it in the baggie ain't such a bad thing....as long as the baggie doesn't smell like a shower curtain.
A correct characterization of this pretty nice coin would be: AU Details (cleaned, damaged). The gouges on the major obverse focal point will hurt the value as much as the cleaning, I'd wager. You should be able to get small (2x2) manilla envelopes at a stationery store. Put it one of those, and then put it in a drawer, and forget about it for 2 or 3 years, and it will be better than it is now, in that it will be re-toned. Most knowledgeable collectors would rather have it re-toned than not, but they will also typically realize that it had been cleaned. Can't put that genie back into the bottle. The real question for you is: Did the cleaning process leave a ton of hairlines? Looks like it may have, particularly on the reverse. Let's hope not because for many, that would be a bigger problem than the otherwise light cleaning and surface digs.
Yes, the coin looks to be about XF-45 to AU-50. If you send it to NGC they will probably grade it either XF Details or AU Details. This was a $500-$600 coin until it was cleaned, now it's probably worth about $250-$300. And cleaned is cleaned, the only thing worse is whizzed. Cleaning a coin slightly can be an innocent act, while whizzing is always an attempt to deceive.
Eeeeekkkkk..........the old baking soda trick from the 50's. I'd say AU50 cleaned but overall a nice coin and date. In the 60's and 70's when I visited, as a dealer, many area state coin shops I often asked to use the bathroom. Upon exiting the BR I would slip into the conversation...."so, you got indigestion too???" I'd get a puzzled look until I explained that every coin dealer BR I ever visited had a bottle of JewelLuster and a box of baking soda sitting by the sink. Oh, the days when everyone wanted their coins shiney...even the dealers. :-((
