"Scrappy but Sweet": love token on 1849-54 Type 1 gold dollar

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by lordmarcovan, Jun 29, 2017.

  1. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    "Scrappy but Sweet": love token on 1849-54 Type 1 gold dollar

    [​IMG]

    Larger picture (obverse)
    Larger picture (reverse)

    Larger picture (both sides)

    Host coin: ca. 1849-1854 USA Type 1 gold dollar.
    Obverse: original Liberty head design, unaltered.
    Reverse: Old English letter "I" between flourishes, within 6-sided ornamental border.

    Ex- "franca87", eBay, 06/29/2017.

    It's been a while since I had a gold dollar love token. They're out there; the gold dollar was fairly close behind the Seated Liberty dime in popularity as a host coin for love token carvings in the Victorian era.

    I prefer love tokens on dated host coins, and I generally like either pictorials or pieces with researchable backstories. This has none of that; the dated (reverse) side was planed off for the carving, and the single-initial carving gives no research clues to its former owner's identity. Furthermore, the obverse of the coin has some scuffs and scratches.

    All that being said, the quality of the carving was pretty good, and I purchased this coin for not much more than the "scrap" or "melt value" of the gold, so at that price, I was quite happy to add it to the "Creatively Damaged" collection I'll be putting on my "Holey Coin Hat".

    As of this writing (June 2017), the melt value of (an unholed) Type 1 gold dollar is $60.25. I paid $68.32 for this, after shipping. Is it a premium-quality love token? No. But it's the first gold dollar love token I've seen offered under $75 in quite some time. Right now most of them you see start around the $120+ price range. And if you're going to buy a "scrappy" gold coin, a love token has wider appeal than any other category of holed or damaged piece.

    She's scrappy, this one ... but sweet.

    Gold dollar (Wikipedia)
    Love token ("touch piece") (Wikipedia)
    Gold coin (bullion) values (coinflation.com)
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2017
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  3. Keepright

    Keepright Member

    I really like your knowledge.and experience that you have with coins and fossils.I was wonder if you could guide in the right direction.I seem stray of into coins.that I think might be worth something to me.and not to others.I'm not trying to make money.I just want to have my own style and collection.I always seem to find the weirdest coins.that means some to me.but others its trash or road kill.its more like the message I'm looking for when I look at the coin.people tell I'm crazy but show them and say oh that's from circulation.and I was wondering if could send you this coin so you could see what I see.and the pictures I take are regular pictures.no gimmicks.no photo shop.just plan pictures.thks pls help.
     
    lordmarcovan likes this.
  4. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

    @Keepright - sorry I had overlooked your reply. Feel free to message me with any questions, or better yet, post them in their own thread, if you want other opinions. You can always post something and tag me @lordmarcovan.

    (And don't be too impressed with my knowledge of fossils - though I enjoy hunting and finding them, my knowledge there is actually rather thin.)
     
    Last edited: Jul 3, 2017
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