A co-worker of mine found an 1827 large cent in her yard with a metal detector last year. It wasn't scratched up like yours but it definitely showed signs of being in the ground that long. Not a bad find though!
Ruff, but yeah... for five bucks, I'd go there. Low grade and cull large cents seem like they'd be good cheap fun. Well, I actually know that firsthand, having collected holed examples by date, once upon a time. Back then (15-20 years ago), I found a fair number of $3-4 "beauties", but that seems a little bit harder nowadays. (Maybe still not impossible, though.)
A friend found a 1827 in a house he was taking down. He said he popped off a piece of baseboard and heard it fall. Luckily it ended up landing on the chimney base not in the cellar hole where all the debris was thrown. I ended up buying it from him I paid a lot more than $5 though
Looks like someone had a personal problem with that coin and took a knife to it. Too bad. Good on you for saving it.
