As I said in a previous thread, I had a small inheritance from my grandpa and I could think of no better thing to do than buy a few coins that I may never have been able to buy normally. My grandpa got me started in this hobby. At another lcs that I frequent today had an extensive assortment of early US coinage. I will be posting pics of four that I bought today. Here is the first one a 1802/1 draped bust dollar. I never thought that I would own one. Thoughts?
Nice coin,first off if it were me I wouldn't risk buying a coin like this raw.Appears to be a BB233 Wide Date,nothing screams fake to me but wait for more responses
I know the shop well. They have 40 plus years experience. All coins are guaranteed genuine or your money back.
Yes, here is what I think. The worse thing in the world is to have money burning a hole in your pocket. So you bought four RAW coins from an experienced dealer giving him a very nice Christmas present! The coin you show looks genuine but is badly damaged. Nevertheless, as you wrote, now you can afford to own it and the three other coins that I cannot wait to see. I hope for your sake they are not also raw. Slabs offer some protection and a good indication of what they should sell for. One other thing, when I came into a large inheritance it was fun to walk around a major show thinking I could buy 85% of any of the coins I saw for sale at the show and I went home with a full wallet and a satisfied grin as if I had bought them. Luckily, I don't need to spend my money to get nice coins in my hands each day to scratch that itch you got.
I do not mind raw coins. To me with slabbed coins, you always pay full retail price. With these coins I paid nowhere near pcgs prices. I respect the fact that you like to buy only slabbed coins. We all like different things in this hobby. My grandpa passed two years ago. I finally found something to always remember him by. To me this is better than my money losing value in a bank. It was a rather modest inheritance. Lower grades work for me. Thank you for your input
I think it looks fine- again, you've got the CircCam thing goin' on there. "Damaged"? Well, it's taken some hits, sure, but I wouldn't characterize that as badly damaged. Looks like normal circulation marks to me. A fair number of them, for sure, but they mostly fall within acceptable range, in my opinion. And, if you don't feel the need for slabs, that's OK, I reckon. It is indeed better to purchase material like this in slabs, but this piece looks authentic to me. I've only owned one Bust dollar ever, in 45 years of collecting, and it was an 1800 in similar grade to the one you have there. It didn't have as much grey toning or contrast, though, so I think yours is better looking, never mind the multiple small hits on it.
Neat coin for sure. Nothing negative to say about it at all. And in a few days it'll be 220 years old, which is sort of mind-bending.
I don't care for coins in slabs either. But if I were to get a high-end coin, I would get one that has been slabbed by a TPG. Nice coin you have here.
I'm pretty much in agreement with Lord M. I really like the patina, and it does not show any attempts at "improvement." It has too many marks to straight grade, but most of them are toned over anyway. A big plus for me is the lack of rim dents which are often a problem on these heavy silver dollars. And, you get to hold it in your hand and think about where it's been!
NorCal, posted: "I do not mind raw coins. To me with slabbed coins, you always pay full retail price. With these coins I paid nowhere near pcgs prices. I respect the fact that you like to buy only slabbed coins. We all like different things in this hobby. My grandpa passed two years ago. I finally found something to always remember him by. To me this is better than my money losing value in a bank. It was a rather modest inheritance. Lower grades work for me. Thank you for your input." Guess what? I don't like slabbed coins either!!! While working at the second authentication service in the US (INSAB) decades ago, I helped start the FIRST GRADING SERVICE at INSAB. When I was asked for my opinion concerning using a plastic slab for our product (ACCUGRADE was the first company to do slabs) I said absolutely NOT because I believed collectors liked to hold their coins. BIG MISTAKE! Eventually, you'll learn why slabbed coins cost more to purchase. There is a very good reason that dollar was priced below the guide.
I like it, is that a small cud at 1:00 on star 8? Can't have a proof restrike might as well start near bottom.
