what do you think its grade is, and the variety? also, whats with all the varieties?? and how the heck can you tell? thanks
Tough to be sure which with a coin in this condition, but if you take a closeup of the date I can take an educated guess. There are 45 varieties of 1848 large cents, IIRC. Unlike the earlier dates, these Braided Hair large cents are very difficult to attribute due to the minute differences between the varieties. They are attributed, generally, by the positoin of the date (which was punched by hand unlike the rest of the die) and die polish lines (which are likely not visible in a coin in this condition). That said, I'd net grade the coin Fine 12. Cool coin, regardless, and thanks for sharing...Mike
Alright thank you I'll wait for a few other replies to see what others say. I wouldnt be surprised, as N-28 is "very common" lol.
I can't be sure, but N-28 certainly seems to be a suspect. These are very very difficult to attribute even in mint state, much less this condition. If I had the coin in-hand I might be able to do a better job, but then again might not. Your best bet if you're interested in an authoritative answer is to contact Bob Grellman. He does attribution and grading for a nominal charge and he, literally, wrote the book on the series. Good luck, and sorry I couldn't be of more help...Mike p.s. sending the coin to be attributed may be a bit of a crapshoot, because unless it is a fairly rare variety, it is likely to cost more to ship and grade the coin than it is worth.
