Outbid @ Heritage... Flying Eagle Cent went *way* higher than I thought it would

The coin is gorgeous innimages. I bet in hand it’s even more stunning. Why the price. I’ve always been willing to pay plenty for a great coin. And I’m not alone

 

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After re-reading his posts, he is apparently trying to say he doesn't find the piece to be even above average, so it's not worth a premium. He is certainly entitled to that opinion.

I don't know about y'all, but when I'm bidding on a coin, I hope and pray others don't see what I see. Doesn't work often, but occasionally I hit one.

 

You are treating this coin as a commodity instead of a collectible. That’s what’s missing.

 

Looks like an AU to me. Breast and tail feathers look off to me and I think they should be there 100%. JMO.

 

So you think PCGS and CAC both missed it? I'll go with their opinion. I would be good with 63 or 64 on this coin.

 

Go to the Great Collections auction archive and compare the 12 MS63 examples that have been sold. The prices ranged from $770 to $1376. One can easily see the appeal of the higher priced coin over the lowest.
https://www.greatcollections.com/Au...rds=&af_gd_min=1&af_gd_max=70&zoomgrade=63#63

 

Strike characteristics are all over the place for this series. Some people clearly mistake that for wear.

 

This makes me think of AU Bust Half dollars with nice luster and color. PCGS CAC coins can bring twice the price of something average. Pretty coins bring strong prices. Only time will tell if you can get your money back out of it.

 

I'd rather take my chances with the pretty coin and a strong price than the ugly coin that was a bargain price.

 

Now that's something I can definitely agree on.

 

I agree with your observation. Choice AU-58. Grading is subjective and suggestive. I right clicked on the photos and opened them in a new tab. Then I expanded them to get a better view. I noticed the coloration of the center of the coin obverse and reverse. On the obverse I noticed the flatness of the high detailed part of the breast feathers and their lack of luster in the protected areas. I'm sure some will say it is a striking characteristic but the contact marks on the entire coin indicate differently. The marks in the field above the date are indicative of slight circulation hits. The scratches and hits on the eagles right wing are more indications of slight circulation wear or issues. The marks in the field above the eagle also indicate slight circulation. These marks are not produced by other cents in a bag but by slight circulation. Now examine the edges of the coin. The marks I see on the edges are again indicative of circulation issues. Observing the coin further, the marks on the reverse below the N's are not mint produced but from circulation. I'm sure someone is going to say the marks are on the plastic but a careful observation of the plastic does not indicate scratches of this nature so they are definitely on the coin. Do a forensic analysis of the lettering of ONE CENT. Those contact marks and minor scratches are not on the plastic or made at the mint but rather from very slight circulation. I'm sure 99% of the readers will disagree but opinions are just that, Subjective. But study the coin and enlarge it on your computer. There are a host of other marks that indicate to me slight circulation. So I vote contrary to a majority of others and say choice AU-58 as this poster did. I believe it was way overbid.

 

My biggest problem with trying to grade from pictures is that all you're seeing is the coin from one perspective. Why can't the marks below the N be caused by contact from other cents after it was minted. It's not like each coin was manually placed on a soft surface after minting. I'm not an expert on FE cents but it sure looks MS to me and if I were bidding on this coin I'd feel comfortable with the TPG grade

 

A very good question. They are not the right shape or size to have been made by contact at the mint from other cents. Also notice the scratch near the T of CENT. It is light and starts in the field but goes on top of the T. Also notice the obverse and the contact marks above the date and the damage they did to the 1. I'm sure you noticed the deep contact mark in the right wing across from the R. Far too many contact marks on the coin to have been done at the mint from other coins and some too deep. High part of the breast feathers are too flat. There is a nice coin on eBay which is struck up nicely and uniform color and luster which this coin lacks. It would be nice to have this coin in hand under my microscope playing on my computer to point out all the flaws indicating slight circulation marks and wear obverse and reverse. TPG's are not perfect and neither am I but my opinion is choice AU-58. Think of it this way. TPG's are like a doctor who bills for 500 patients a day. How much time can they spend on analyzing a coin or a patient? Time is money. It is one reason why mistakes are made. I buy a coin for eye appeal, not the holder. Oh, and I just spent a half hour going back and forth from expanded images of this coin to make my analytical opinion. Don't know how this got a CAC sticker and the grade based on marks.

 

Folks will always argue the range of grades from AU58 to MS63 and I feel it's health to do so. We all learn from it as long as we take the time to try and understand what is being said. It makes us look harder at every detail of the coin. I see that as a good thing. Thanks Bob for pointing out many details of the coin.