I have a 1931 D cent. uncirculated condition red. I want to get it graded/appraised. Is there any coin shops in the chicago area that are well respected and could do this for me? if not in chicago, then where?
First, welcome to cointalk! I assure you that there are several dealers in the Chicago area who can appraise you coin. Clembo should be along shortly to give you specifics. If you can post a pic, there are lots of us who could give you a good start.
http://img361.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1002866eh7.jpg http://img79.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1002858qo9.jpg the pictures did not come out like i wanted them to. my camera isn't good. how do you guys do clear pictures? anyways this cent looks new, it has a red shine to it. i want to sell it, but i don't want to sell it for a low price because i've seen other coins with the same grade fetches big money. however i've noticed that the ones that are a lot of money have been professionally appraised and put in special packaging. thats why i am asking this question. i think this coin is of the highest grade.
I don't know what camera you have, but nearly all have a macro mode for close ups. They nearly always use the flower symbol for it. That will allow the camera to focus a lot closer. You just have to hold the camera STILL. Posting a pic of the front would also help. I is kind of hard to tell for sure from your pics, but I would GUESS it is original and likely unc. It that is so, you should be looking at at least $30. Two words of advice. DO NOT CLEAN IT OR WIPE IT WITH ANYTHING. It is best if you do not touch it at all with you fingers.
another question, whats the difference between something like this http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/42...007QQitemZ170258027388QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW and something like i have? what makes that coin worth so much? i apologize if i ask dumb questions, i'm not very knowledgeable on this subject.
What makes a coin valuable is the condition, or grade, of the coin. The one in that link for example is graded MS66 Red - that is a high grade, and the color matters too. If your coin were in a similar condition it would be worth roughly the same. But in lesser condition it would be worth much, much less.
If you look closely at that coin, you will see that there are virtually no nicks, scratches or other defects on it; the color is nearly pure red (those "spots" you see in the pic will be virtually unnoticeable in person); and the coin is nearly perfectly struck - every detail seen on coins of that date are visible on that coin. Just as a for instance, one little nick on that coin could take it from a $3000 coin to a $100 coin. I did not say that yours was not worth that much, although I doubt it. What I gave you was a low end price for what thought was at least what I was seeing. It might be less, but is likely more. However, I cannot tell much more with you pics.
