It sold for $294. Seller had great feedback and just sold an unc 1870 where the buyer said the coin looked better in hand than the pictures. The color looks good, and from the spot by the date, I don't think its been cleaned. Im really second guessing myself on this one.
IMHO, it looks whizzed (especially on the obverse). Though, I'm not an expert at all on IHs in general so I'm not sure if that "scruffy" and grainy look is normal for 60s-70s IHs.
I don't think it has been whizzed. Again, the few spots on the obverse tell me that its original. Also the color is very consistent through the denticles, which is very difficult to do without being an obvious whizz job. Im still gonna kick my own butt for not bidding....he had a return policy.
True! That deep golden tone is extraordinary. Not to mention it's one of the semi-keys in the series. I'm sure you'll find another coin...after all, you now have $300 to spend on another stunner!
The reverse looks MS65+. I don't know what the spots do on the front, but I see no contact marks, dings or scratches. My guess is MS64RB, which greysheet dictates to be around $700. This one is going to haunt my dreams!!
I wouldnt automatically assume that you could have bid $300 and won it. The winners final bid may have been much higher to overcome than you think. You could have bid 500 and not got it. If somebody really wants somethng on there, the last second, max bid usually means business. The other guy just got lucky you didnt make him pay more.
Beautiful coin, but let's face it, it's not an Ike! :smile I'd say if you're not sure then you made a good decision.
Even with good pics (I thought those were OK?) I wouldn't spend that much on a non-slabbed coin. Seller could have slabbed it and undoubtably got more - unless s/he knew their were potential issues. edit: OK, nevermind - the pics are pretty bad. But they look great on an ipod.
My sentiments exactly. I think if you got this coin in hand, it would have the muted luster (like in the photos) and those "whiz" lines would be more evident. I wouldn't have even come close to bidding on this coin, so I think you did just dandy skipping it on it. There are plenty of original examples without spots. (Or at least without spots as distracting as the one in between the 6 and the 7, YIKES!) RedRaider, I'm confused on how the spots on the front tell you it is original. Could you explain that one to me?
I don't think the coin looks whizzed at all. But I am put off by the color and the grainy and bumpy appearance. I don't care for the light scratch on the cheek either. No, I would not have bid on that coin.
I agree with two points already posted. As Atarian already noted, the seller could have gotten more if they paid the money to have this coin slabbed. Not slabbing an 1870 uncirculated Indian Head is questionable in my mind. Secondly, as Vess1 pointed out, you could have easily gotten in to a bidding war with the buyer on this coin. If this coin is the real-deal, it could command a $450 - $500 price tag. I wouldn't lose sleep over not purchasing it.
Thanks for the input everyone.....I guess I am kind of glad now that I did not bid on it. I still think the coin would look better in hand than the pics provided. I think the color is muted in the pics with bad lighting. I have had some great luck capitalizing off people taking really bad pictures of raw IHC's on ebay. 1871 came back MS64BN (paid $520)....worth 900+ 1863 came back 64 (paid $72)....worth 175+ 1864 L came back MS63BN (paid $26)....sold for $600 1864 L came back MS63RB (paid $282)....worth $600+ 1900 came back 64RB (paid $9)....worth 100 or so. Thought this one could have been added to my list.
That's the wrong question. If you liked the coin the real question is "How much should I bid on this coin?" If the answer is a number bigger than the posted high bid, you should bid. Otherwise you should forget about the coin and go look for another one.
