1909 VDB Lincoln Penny

Hey all, what do you think of this? It's so red and shiny(both sides) that it's hard to take good pics and really capture the details and color. This coin sat in a coin collection tor at least 50 years, should I get this graded? Whattya all think? I hope the pics are okay. If not, I will try to add more. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

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I didn't see anything condition close to this in Redbook or pcgs.

 

Have you tried it this way? There's a lot of reflection/ are you using a "scope" or a cell phone?

 

Added a few more, it's so red and shiny...

 

Color is off, would receive a details grade IMO.

 

Try against a white background and cut down on the light.

 

What the heck does detail grade imo mean?

 

I tried all different ways, lights, and backgrounds. 3 more pics to show shine, deep red copper color, and more detail. It's near perfect I think.

 

Detail grade means there is something "off" about the coin (damage, harsh cleaning, etc.) that will keep it from getting a grade.

 

Sorry, no way to tell much of anything from those pictures...back off a little from the coin and it will focus better.

 

Ahhh. I see. It's just the camera. I cannot capture the true color because it's so darn shiny. I will try tomorrow in natural light. I have a brown 1909 vdb also. I will do them side by side. Maybe the contrast will help. Thank you.

 

A details coin will not straight grade for a number of reasons.

 

Yes. I get. that too. But do you guys think it's worth shot?

 

In a word, no.

 

Using a solid color (not a black or dark color) behind the coin will help your camera balance the colors more properly.

It looks like you are lighting it with a regular light bulb which will almost always make your camera go towards a warm yellow exposure.

Lighting it from a natural light (window) would help with the color balance quite a bit.

Lastly, shoot from a few inches farther back and then crop your image. It looks like you're shooting just a bit to close for a nice sharp focus with whatever type of camera you're using.

Actually...lastly... no, not at all worth getting graded. From what I can try to make out from your pics is that it's more like Red/Brown, may have been polished at one point, and is somewhere in the XF range or low AU... IMHO.

 

Looks like it may have been plated and some of the plating has worn off.

 

Dang it, thought it was a life changer. Thank you. But I will try different light tomorrow, just to learn.

 

I just used my Samsung galaxy.

 

Even if it's an older one it has an excellent camera!
Back up like I said, a few more inches, brace the camera on a pile of something like @SensibleSal66 showed you above...
Lastly, clean the glass over your camera! Many people completely neglect this

 

Appears to be an older cleaning, at least from the photos I looked at. Posting your photos FULL IMAGE would help.