The details look AU to me, but it appears to have been cleaned. The color is off and you can still see remains of verdigris.
Here is another coin I'm following and it appears to be too clean around the rim area. What do you think?
Personally... I'd stay away from both, but it really depends on what you're looking for. I used to own one 2 cent piece and that was one I bought on an impulse and later regretted cause I ended up not liking the looks of it. I didn't spend much, but that isn't the point. If you are asking opinions, that means that you probably aren't sure yourself if you like them or not... The first coin has nice detail, but the color is off. I think it is downright ugly (assuming the color is accurately shown in the pictures). That means that it probably has been cleaned at some point, and they did more damage than good which is almost always the case. The 2nd coin has a nice honest look to it in my opinion, but the rim damage on the top would make me pass. It is unfortunate, cause I really do like the patina and overall look otherwise. Again, it goes back to what you are buying it for. If you are looking for a type coin of a nice 2 cent piece, you would be better off passing on both and being patient. If you are looking to put together a set of them at a certain price and these meet your needs regardless of being problem coins, then they may be ok.
I have an 1864 to 1871 collection already. Most of mine are XF to AU. I'm just looking for better examples at a good price point. I definitely don't want ones that have been improperly cleaned or have problems that will result in lower grades. I would like to upgrade some of mine that are EF40 to AU so that is why I"m still looking. I am not super interested in either of these coins at this point, but I am interested in how they are sold on eBay. It looks to me that many of the sellers are over grading their coins, selling cleaned coins as no problem coins, etc. It's a mine field out there.
Yeah, I have never found a dealer who did not grade their raw coins to the most optimistic potential TPG grade.. not one.. never. They all do it and it is not unusual at all.. it more the norm in the dealer ecosystem. If you find any dealer who grades their inventory of raw coins conservatively,, they you've found a dealer to stay with. Especially if the price is reflected by the grade.
I have a dealer who is honest and if he buying he'll grade your coin conservatively and give you about 75 to 80% which is better than some others in my area. I sold one coin and then went to two other dealers asked them what they would give me if the coin was such and such a grade and both said they would offer less than I got for the coin. He gave me $42 for one coin and was selling it in his store for $50 and he may take less if he gets an offer. The problem is that eBay has a huge selection so you can find some good ones there and you just have to be very careful and look over everything with a fine tooth comb before you make a bid. I've made a couple of mistakes and bid on a coin and sometimes won and found out it was not good. In fact I just got one today that has quite a bit of corrosion. I should have looked closer before making a bid. I can probably sell it for close to what I paid for it, but I'll probably still ending up losing a few bucks. I know I need to be more patient and much more thorough in checking the details of the coin.
Yeah... 10-20 years ago ebay could be effectively mined for nice raw coins from collectors who where selling there old collections. It has become much more thin since those days, and is now overburdened with dealer junk or problem coins. that said, there are still a few opportunities in the raw selection if you have the eyesight and time to pass through them all consistently. It's getting harder each day... but still there if you fish long enough.
That is a good dealer - mine buys back slightly of grey sheet. I think it is fair, but this sounds much better. Mostly at grey sheet, but a few have been back Also you might want to just keep an eye out at Harlan J Berk. Their prices are usually fair (my opinion) and their grades are accurate. Every coin I bought from them graded at or above their grade - only 1 body bag, but I disagree with the TPG on that one. The two I remember most I thought they undergraded at VF, I bought, had them graded, and eventually sold at XF prices. That is who I just got my 1872 from - got an XF coin at a price cheaper than anywhere else I could find - they also basically sent it to CAC for me for free.
Thanks for the HJB tip. I checked out some of their collection and bookmarked the site. So you have a 72? I would love to find an XF of the 72 for a decent price. They are selling junk for 900 and above on eBay and I don't want junk just to fill a date in the collection. My goal is to have a solid AU collection and I"m satisfied with 64-71 and not willing to pay enormous prices for the 64 sm or the 72 and 73.
You can see my whole set on page 442 - http://www.cointalk.com/threads/lets-see-your-newest-acquisitions.158772/page-442. Well they have an AU coin on Northeast, but honestly I do not like it as much as my XF-45. I gave up on ebay - the ones I usually saw were over priced in my opinion. On heritage I have only seen two I would and did bid on. One went for moon money in my opinion. There is an NGC XF-40 coin for $970 on collectors corner. There are no pictures, but you could request them - at least that is what is says. I would certainly want to see pictures of the coin before I bought. Sometimes both PCGS and NGC let some slip through.
