These are fairly affordable rarities - they minted 36,910 in Philadelphia (San Francisco mintage was 1,155,000) and I've been looking for a straight graded upgrade - and found this online at a VCoins dealer in Westport, CT. It amuses me that they made these at the same time as the very similar Seated Liberty quarter with confusion as to which was which as a consequence. You could get a lot for that extra .05 back in 1875. Anyway, I like it, any opinions? Thoughts on grade? Seller's pictures and it is in an ANACS slab.
I like the coin although I can see where some folks might not like the degree of toning. Also makes estimation of luster difficult on top of trying to gauge luster from photos. Grade guess? AU-53 in my view.
It’s a 1875 Twenty Cent Piece. They were minted for 4 years as the public rejected them. Only the first two years were made for circulation. Yours is a Philadelphia issue in the first year. 38,500 was the total mintage and that’s the third highest. Carson City and San Francisco minted more.
Are these the best pictures you can get of the coin? I see some things that worry me, but better pictures may allay those concerns: 1. Obverse right field has a lot of parallel lines. First thought is cleaning... die polish might be possible, but that's a lot of heavy die polish. 2. Why is the obverse toning so heavy on the right side, but not on the left? Why are the fields to the left of Liberty so weirdly lifeless and pale, but the rest of the coin is thickly toned? 3. What are those random weird light patches in the otherwise thick toning on the right obverse? 4. A coin of that level of wear should show some luster. Again, different/better pictures might show what I'm looking for. That's an EF level of wear with literally no obverse luster and hidden reverse luster. 5. Reverse is quite dark, but that might be the lighting in the pics. 6. It occurs to me... you just say "ANACS slab." Be more specific... old little white? Yellow? Blue? New? Old? That will change my cost/benefit/risk/reward calculation quite a bit. I would not call this coin a "rarity" except in relative terms. Sure, the 75S is far more available... but the 75 from Philly is not a "rarity" by any means. All this to say... I don't like the pictures. Based on what I see, I'd say its an XF coin with maybe some problems. It certainly is not an AU coin, as some have guessed. The toning might be attractive, but the pictures don't show it as well as they might. If the price is right for an XF coin gamble, sure, go for it. You will either have an excellent, original, rainbow toned, stunning double dime.... or, you'll find out why this coin was never cracked and tried to cross to something where it would maximize it's profit potential.
Yes, these are the seller's pictures, I don't have it in hand yet, it is straight graded in an ANACS yellow holder and the dealer is reputable and well established. I like the toning and I think the grade is fair (I'll post it tomorrow, just want to see if there are any other guesses). I concede it is possible there's some issue that I don't perceive, perhaps it was dipped improperly at some point, I don't know, but I've seen a fair number of other coins of the same period with similar toning. I will do my best to take better pictures once I have received it, though my photography skills are not that great. I'm just a collector and admirer, alas, the only profit potential on these is if I win the lottery with a ticket I buy when I'm on my way home from a coin shop or show.
No comments on the coin but I grew up in Westport and got my start collecting at that dealer's shop. The location has changed and the original owner and his wife passed away years ago, but I have fond memories of going there on Saturday mornings - on my bike - in the late 60's & early 70's, plugging holes in my Mercury dime book. Sorry for hijacking your thread, I would be happy to own that coin, I have no 20c pieces in my collection.
to me it looks lower AU, but like Jason, the obv fields, esp on the right, look strange. It's a coin that merits a close exam, at various angles.
Low au I agree. 50-53. Agreed the surface looks a bit off in spots and is definitely secondary toning
The sharpness is well up there, like EF-45 or better as others have suggested. The trouble lies in the right obverse field.
I lived in Michigan for many years (married a girl from the Detroit suburbs) and moved back to CT to help out my folks now that I'm an empty nester, I'm very glad to find some good reputable local shops like Sam Sloat. I wish I'd grown up within a bike ride of there. Back in those days I collected comics mostly (that I still have, lol). Did you also deliver the Hartford Courant? I got a fair bit of silver from that, though it was some years after the move to clad coinage. In any case you all were pretty accurate here, it's graded AU53 which I think is fair on this coin. In any case it's a nice upgrade for me (see my current Details - corroded / rim filed resident of that slot) and I'll be pleased to have it in the binder.
Cool story. Sam Sloat never had much time or patience for us kids but Mrs. Sloat always took care of us. My buddy Mike and I would ask to see a few coins - Mike collected BU Washington quarters and I got XF Merc's. She had a little binder on the counter with the prices in it, I later realized it was the Coin World trends section. They were in a little strip mall on Main Street back then and next door was Bill's Smoke Shop, which had a great selection of comic books. Still have most of the coins and comic books. Never had a paper route but subbed for my neighbor a lot - The Bridgeport Post, LOL. Good times, thanks for indulging my trip down memory lane.
