Would you have bought this?

This was the last needed of the series in AU or higher to date by mint mark. This and the 1932 s are the only two bought graded, for authentication purposes. As such, I have long believed that any coin is cleaned unless grading confirms otherwise, which I am perfectly fine with to a point. This particular example, in hand, has a satin appearance but only at the right angle in the right light. My thoughts are that it was cleaned long ago at a time when that was an acceptable practice. That aside, the eye appeal is strong and was purchased well under market comparative to a straight graded example. So my question is, would you have bought this?

 

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For the right price yes its certainly not the same as a details 1916 D merc but still a key date otherwise.

 

Absolutely / Great looking Coin !

 

Nope. I would have waited.

 

Yes, I would have for two reasons.... First off, that piece has eye appeal. Take it away from the label and that is a desirable coin. Secondly, our hobby goes through more fads than a teenage girl. Future generations of numismatists will look back on us and scoff at all the importance we placed on what the TPG label says about the coin. Cleaned or not, an attractive coin is still an attractive coin regardless of the pariah placed on it by a label.

 

It's a great collector coin. When buying "investor" coins (high grade key dates), I stick with problem-free examples.

 

Yes.

 

No. It is a very nice coin but I stick with the ones I found in change back in the 50's. That's just me.

 

Personally, I don't think you should second guess your purchase if you bought this coin because you liked it.
If validation is needed you will probably get 50/50 opinion.. as we all have different collecting paradigms.
I like the look of this coin but prefer adding only unaltered coins to my small collection.
J.T.

 

Is it altering, though?

 

I prefer non cleaned but if the price was right and it still had some luster I’d probably take it and upgrade later . Though cleaned coins are harder to sell . If it’s dull and lifeless I would stay away but I would also rather have a lower straight graded coin with nice eye appeal if I had my choice preferably

 

There is no correct answer to this. It all depends on your price point and preference.

A problem free AU is around $275-$300. I'd guess this is around $200-$225. For the minor price difference, I'd rather have a problem free example. If the $50-$100 is a big deal, I'd rather have a problem free lower grade example instead.

Personally, I'll always lean toward a lower grade problem free example. They hold their value better and generally are in more demand.

 

I would have passed on that coin. If you looked hard enough you would find a better coin that straight graded for about the same price I’m sure.

 

The cost of the purchase is stated as well under market comparative, and the purchase has with strong eye appeal.

 

I'd of bought it. maybe crack it out and give it a little fresh wear and resubmit and maybe it comes out of details, sure why not if the price was right.

 

I think it totally depends on what I paid for it. If I could get it in the $150 range and it looks nice in hand...I might grab it for my raw set. At least in the photos, it doesn't look to be scrubbed or otherwise ugly. I do wonder if the luster is highly muted from a dipping though.

 

If its getting cracked for an album (since you said its 1 of 2 bought graded) then yes and I prefer cheaper details coins for albums

 

If the price was right, I'd have bought it to fill the spot in my album. Details coins with good (enough) eye appeal are how I built my type set album (it was less expensive and plenty of fun).

Now if the cost was fairly close to a problem-free example (say within $50) and I wasn't planning on cracking it, then I would save up a little more and get the problem-free coin.

 

Depends on the price obviously, but a problem free AU-50 is $250. I think I'd wait.

 

Crack it out. Put it in a south facing window sill for 6-8 months (judicially flipping the coin over every week or so) and resubmit (if that floats your boat). Otherwise, congrats on picking up a 'so called' cleaned coin.........the Bain of true collectors the world over.........


[edit to add] I'd have pulled the trigger for the right price.