My collection (& budget) has me focusing on better date problem coins. I feel like I found a "too good to be true" deal last night on a dealer's website. 1857-S $1 Gold Type 3 AU58 Damaged $190 10,000 mintage (PCGS has graded less than 100, Iowest recorded auction price 2014 XF40 $470+fees) What do y'all think? Do you have no interest in problem coins, no matter the date? Was this a waste of money, or worth a gamble? Will the eye appeal and damage be so awful it justifies the price, or does a rim nic has me ending up with a $350-$400 coin?
Yea, we can't tell you anything without photos. Do you want this for type, and are you attracted because of the rarity? Most collectors who get into scarce gold are pretty well healed and are not interested in problem coins unless it's a filler that they are willing to dump when something better comes along. The 1857-S is a better date, but it's not a world beater. I completed the Types I and II gold dollar sets, but got discouraged by the cost of rarities in the Type III's, like the 1861-D. for that reason I did a "short set" of the 1880 to '89 dollars and called it a day.
I think you have to figure that if the dealer is letting a less common date go for essentially the normal value for low-grade common date, the damage is pretty severe.
We need pics to know how bad the damage is. Is it just a rim nick/scratch/gouge or a mount removed / soldered coin? I’d take quite a bit of interest in that date/MM combo...
Pleasently surprised about the damage. I was beginning to regret the purchase thinking it's be soldered on one side. $139 seatbelt ticket on the way to the post office really spoils the purchase because I'm broke but here it goes.
I am not sure of what you goals are. According to “Coin Facts,” the 1857-S gold dollar is scarce with 130 survivors. I know it’s fun to have something that few other collectors can have. Still the market for coins like this is limited. Gold dollar date and mint collectors are generally more wealthy, and they are drawn to quality, not problem coins. The sharpness grade is AU for this piece, but it probably was used for jewelry at some point. That makes the net grade, market value call tough. The price might seem attractive, given the rarity, but reselling this for more than melt, might be hard.
Next time, be sure to buckle up! You are more likely to make it home. Sorry, but the ticket is cheaper than injuries in an accident
Is it just me...or does the S look funny. I'm not an expert of these coins, but the top serrif on the S looks a lot thicker on this coin than PCGS photos of authentic coins on the PCGS website. I almost wonder if the S has been added. I just worry because the price seems too good to be true. Here is a known authentic example off the PCGS website.
My guess is that the coin is real - and it looks good for a details coin. As someone else said, it depends on your goals and attitude. It's fun to own something rare and if fits in a collection so much the better. Here's one of my only detail gold coins. It's an 1840D quarter eagle, AU details with scratches. It's a different level of demand and rarity than yours, but similar in some ways. I paid around 2K for it. Seems like a lot for a details coin. However, an AU coin full grade would at least 10 grand and they rarely appear even at that price. Probably 100 or so in existence. I'm totally happy with it because it was the only gold coin from 1840 that I didn't have an example of. In hand the scratches are not as apparent, it looks nice and has a lot of luster. It must have got stuck in a machine or something, who knows? FWIW the NGC registry gave me the points I would have gotten for a Fine or Very good coin. I've seen some of those, they're kind or boring - not much detail, etc. I also have a details (fine) grade 1870CC seated dollar. I had a type example of nearly all of the other Carson City coins and CC seated dollars are way too expensive in full grades - even low grades. This one has some rim filing but like the quarter eagle it looks nice in hand. It seems to make sense to me to go for decent looking details coins when full grade coins of the same issue are super rare and expensive. BTW, I notice that sometime the grading services list the number of details coins they have recorded. That might interesting to check on.
