Here's a coin you don't see every day. It is one of the prizes of my collection. Before I share the story of the coin, please guess the grade. I've included two photos of the coin. One shows the luster and the other shows the coin's original skin. Have fun...Mike
Well Mike...this is going to be fun!!!...I haven't had the chance to get to see or grade many $1 gold pieces....somore than likely I'll be wayyy off...but here is a try. I see what might be a weakstrike...but to be safe I'm calling it light wear...on the hair above the eye and on the leaves on the left side on the back...also a little dirt on the 1....but the luster is great...so I would say AU58....if this baby got MS I wouldn't doubt it...its a nice coin...and as I said...I'm not good at gold or $1 gold pieces Speedy
Goodness... I thought MS? No way, but just saw one in an NTC holder (yeah, I know NTC blah blah) which wasn't too far off this one @ MS65. I thought the cleaning (appears to be cleaned anyhow) and the scratches on the reverse, plus the rough edges on the reverse (at the top and at 5 o'clock) would have eliminated it from being MS, but that one had it too. So, with that, I'll throw in a guess of MS61, even though I don't think it should get it. Regardless, I love these coins and don't own one and would take a mid-AU or worse
I have to agree that I think the coin has seen circulation for I can think of no other way for there to be such a dirt buildup around the legends and date. And the lack of this dirt buildup in the prorected areas and recesses of the devices make me believe the coin has definitely been cleaned. But it has not been harshly cleaned. Whoever did it was quite good. It's possible this coin was conserved/cleaned by NCS. The group of light scratches next to the 1 and above the A in DOLLAR lead me to think that someone at some time tried to remove something from the surface of the coin. The L shaped scratch on the obverse behind Liberty's head, combined with those on the reverse could result in the coin being body bagged by the TPGs. But I will admit that I have seen some such coins slabbed while others were not. So in that regard it could go either way. As to the grade, I'd have to revert back to the old ANACS style and say AU Details - Scratched.
This coin has been graded by NGC as a MS 64. It is in a old-style fatboy holder, but is accurately graded, IMHO. No chance for a 65 on this coin. The scratches you see on the large 1 and to the right in the fields are cabinet friction / mishandeling. They are not evidence of circulation. Circulation on these coins typically show up on the oak leaves on the wreath, and on the bow at the bottom of the wreath. Inspection of these areas shows them devoid of wear. The spots/verdegris mentioned by some of you indicate that this coin has original surfaces, rather than the contrary. The uneven toned skin also indicates this fact. The scratch seen in the right obverse field is this coin's biggest problem, and it is much more noticable in the picture than in-hand. The half dozen or so dealers I showed the coin to (including a former grader) have all agreed with the grade and stated the surfaces are original. Take care...Mike
Never doubted for a minute that it was slabbed - but that doesn't change my opinion about the coin. This is one of those times that I strongly disagree with the grading service.
