this was a gift to me in the 70s, a 1911 half eagle in "an original case" - passed down to me from a relative who's husband acquired it i think back in 1911 or perhaps he inherited it too - that's what i was told and i never knew if an "original case" was believable because i've never seen or heard of anything like this. it is a bit pre-art deco looking, and the inside is green velour-like fabric. perhaps just like they have all sorts of albums to create sets or make gifts, perhaps this was a gift box sold in a stationary store back in the early 1900s. on the other hand, perhaps $5 gold was a big deal and people might either pay a premium or order them, or due to the nature of gold they were treated more carefully? i don't know, and i've never even showed anyone except all of you here. any thoughts on the case? the case isn't in great shape, and a much younger and stupider version of myself used tape to repair part of it. and the coin's pretty too, huh? -g
obviously a quarter eagle - my 1911 half-eagle is the same but not in a nest, and likely in a lesser grade.
The case, while kinda cool, is pretty much meaningless. It's an after-market item and has no connection of any kind to the US Mint. As for the coin, it looks to have been harshly cleaned which would result in most, if not all, of its numismatic value being lost.
Ditto. First, there were no case for coins from the US mint back then, so we know for sure that this was bought afterwards. Second, see how the fields are not reflective and have marks in one direction? That is you evidence for harsh cleaning. Its a pretty thing, but can never be slabbed and most collectors will prefer an uncleaned example. Chris
i wonder if the marks are from being in that case - it is cardboard. it doesn't get moved very much but over the decades it has been, i think that abrasion is possible. just because of my knowing where it's been always i'm fairly certain it wasn't cleaned, but the fields are certainly marked nonetheless.
fizzy, a coin being said to have been harshly cleaned can be the result of doing something as simple as somebody rubbing the coin with a soft cloth. It can be the result of almost anything really, there are a million ways to harshly clean a coin. And yes, the marks could have come from that case. That's why coin collectors quit using coin cabinets - it was because the velvet lining in the coin cabinets would scratch up the coins every time the drawers were opened and closed. But it doesn't matter how it happened, it only matters that it happened. Coins with marks like that on them are called harshly cleaned. Even if nobody ever tried to clean it.
