1873 - open or closed 3?

I think he inherited it, i'm not sure, but that's what i feel.

 

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It’s either real or a very clever fake job.

 

If it were modern gold, I wouldn’t hesitate even if raw. I want to know where it’s been lately. If it’s been tightly family held long term, that’s a valid excuse for it to be raw. Any way to tease out that inheritance angle?

 

Do you really think so? Given your experience in your geographic area, don't you think there are huge numbers left that haven't been indoctrinated into The Plastic Chase?

Sure, if you want to sell them to collectors, you'll get less friction with a slab. But I'm thinking there were a lot more double eagles than there are collectors today, even after all the melting...

 

By the pics supplied by @old Hoopster, my guess it looks closer to the closed 3 then the open 3 variety. Welcome to Coin Talk !! Make sure you have the real deal , and it is not a well made fake as was posted by member @V. Kurt Bellman. This coin is not overly common so who ever is selling this to you make sure that it is a legit deal , and the seller is the owner of the item . I suppose the seller could also be doing a deal for somebody , but not too many people allow a coin like that out of their possession, unless if they are very trusting friends. Good Luck with your potential purchase , and take the necessary safe guards to protect your money from a clever ripoff. Looking forward to seeing more deals that you come across. If I was buying that coin ,I would have it authenticated prior to handing over any cash to anybody. If it is too good to be true then there is a good chance that somethings fishy. Dillan

 

Looks like the open 3 var. to me...the closed is nearly touching without much of a gap...also, the closed 3 is extremely rare!

 

For something that trades near melt, there is no financial advantage of paying the TPG fees.

 

Stipulated, I am no fake spotter expert textpert. But the overall feel looking at the coin is that it is real. The dents and dings on the rim, and other wear to the cheek, hair and fields suggest it having a history of many poker tables in the Old West. The denticles look uniform. The condition is somewhere around AU53/55. And it doesn't look cleaned.

IMHO...isn't that what we try to learn and know? How to look at a coin and see evidence of authenticity? And to spot what's wonky? And to rely on CT gurus for insight?

Spark

 

I can't tell you all how much I appreciate your help. Here's the deal. Someone posted this on an online "virtual garage sale" website". I contacted him to tell him that I thought it may be worth quite a bit more and that he should take it to a coin shop. I live out in the desert as he does and he says he didn't want to hassle with that (it's a 4 hour trip). He just needs the money. The publication he has it in is a startup, so very few people have seen the ad. I decided since he didn't care and I warned him, that I would just buy it. But after some number crunching, i cannot. As much as it pains me to say. I would like to let you guys know where it is in case one of you wants it but i don't know how to do that without breaking the rules....now what?

 

Anytime money is involved someone is scamming.
If it's too good to be true, be skeptical.
1. the coin is fake
2. the picture is real and the ad is fake and it's a robbery set up
3. if the coin was a real closed 3, in very good condition there's no BS reason not to
get a better price.
4. Any story about inherited coins, and I don't know anything, and I can't be bothered blah blah blah is a lie.
Yes, the whole thing could be true, but then he's the dumbest guy on earth.
I don't like this arrangement, it smells like rotten paint.

 

It's not always too good to be true. But when big chunks of gold are in play, there's no way I'm going to meet a stranger in the middle of nowhere and trust that everything's on the up and up.

 

It's an 1873-S, for which the closed 3 is the more common (and less valuable) variety. And it's a bit beaten up, surely not mint state.

I don't see anything about this coin to raise any "dangling a rare date as bait" flags. It's a chunk of gold, being offered a bit under melt. A lot of times, that's a scam -- but not always.

 

I understand being a skeptic....but I have to have faith that there are still good folks out there who will offer a good deal because they are in financial hard times. Lord knows I've been there myself.

"Put a stereo in front of your yard with sign that says "free"
It will sit there for days
Put a sign on it for $50 and it will be stolen that night"

I'd rather live in my world than that one.

Thanks so much for your advice, it is truly appreciated.

 

And on the 8th day He created Smith and Wesson for that very reason.

 

There was a lady who tried to sell her husbands new Lincoln Continental Mark IV
for $1.00. She ran the ad several times and never got a call. Then she realized she had to add "Because he decided to run off with his secretary" to the ad to get calls. True story.

 

$1,200 is not too good to be a true. He could get a bit more for it, but not much. It would not straight grade.. appears to have some damage. Not bad for the price though.

 

With the understanding things may have changed over the last six years or so, in my experience raw $20s were fairly common (in context, of course).

 

Yes it is an S. Didn't see that until later. It's not in the OP.

 

Thus you are now justifying the seller's methods of selling ?
Ask question just don't assume. Anyways you don't know how real the answers are.

If you are unsure of the seller, at that price you are not too far off of the prices from Apmex and Provident, etc for double eagles though probably $150 higher.

 

Gold is a slightly different story. Even here, a lot is slabbed. True, a fair bit isn't, too. But more than any other metal, proportionally. "Out there" isn't @Monster's issue. "Out here" is, wherever "here" is. Only he knows the essential honesty of people near him. I grew up in a city where you could trust no one, and eventually got to where my mom grew up, where you could literally trust EVERYBODY.