Thinning down my collection a bit. Will let this 1818 Quarter go. No hairlines as far as I can see, but obviously dipped/cleaned. What do you guys think is a fair value?
Tough coin in nice grade. Too bad about the harsh cleaning. It's got a lot of "meat on the bone" - I would estimate XF details - and as such, Numismedia gives a base price of $1,410 in XF40. Now, how much to deduct from that baseline price for the cleaning is pretty much up to the person who's bidding. Due to the value, I'd say this is a good candidate for a TPG slab for authentication purposes, even though it will not straight-grade and will come back with a "details" grade. Trying to sell it raw might cause doubt in some people because with those surfaces, it sort of looks fake, even if it isn't. (I don't think it is- it just looks "off", if you know what I mean.) You'll want a specialist in early quarters to assess it (perhaps if it's a scarcer Browning variety, it could get an additional boost). They would also be more familiar with the diagnostics and more qualified to determine authenticity. I personally do not detect any red flags on the authenticity front, but I'm not a specialist in this series. I note that an 1818/5 (8 over 5) overdate exists, but don't see any sign of that in your (excellent, large) photos.
Thanks, LordM for your extensive reply. You got me thinking about 'real or not'. I am not really a Capped Quarter collector So to be reassured I have checked HA archives searching for one showing the breaks on the obverse just to be reassured. Not that counterfeiters cannot fake die breaks...but that makes it just more unlikely, I would think. This one looks to be it: Browning B-4. R-2. This one is also XF details/cleaned. (Picture from HA archives). This example sold for $747 in 2005. Here is another, same variety but more recent. Also XF details improperly cleaned. This one sold for $552. After detailed comparison, I am satisfied the coin is genuine. The question is - what is a fair value?
Ah, good job on the research. I too noticed the die breaks and assumed they were a hallmark of authenticity, but didn't mention anything about that since I didn't have firsthand knowledge of the varieties here. PS- the closing prices on those should give you some ballpark idea of how to value this one, I reckon.
I think I'll work with that. I should have started by checking the Heritage Archives. That is an invaluable tool.
BTW, I like that Jules Reiver pedigreed piece in the NCS holder more than I do yours, but I like yours a little more than the $552 example shown in the first two pix (which appear to be from two sales of the same coin ). Edit- aha- I think you just posted the first picture twice. So the Reiver coin went for $522, then? I like it better than the other two in this thread. On a gut check, I was kinda-sorta in a $600-something frame of mind on yours, so the HA prices seem to bear that out.
Yes, The darker one is the Reiver coin which sold in 2017 for $552. I also like it best. It looks quite nice in the picture.
The 2005 and 2017 Heritage photos are of the same exact coin, as Lord M noted, and it looks like the price went down in that period. Good research. Yours is still a very nice example despite the cleaning
