Hello to all, About 15 years ago I bought this twenty-cent piece along with several other coins from a co-worker. I showed it to a local dealer, and he said it was a shame because of the scratches, nobody would grade it. he did say he felt it would grade around XF if that damage wasn't there. He did say that he would give me $50 for it, or I could have it put into his monthly auction and see what happens. Apart from the scratches, I think it is still a nice coin and I only bought the lot for type coins anyway (also got 2 1834 bust halves, a 1876 seated half, a 1853 seated quarter, and an 1858 flying eagle cent - so I think I did alright on the deal) Any opinions as to value? Sorry these pictures are the best I could do at this moment with my phone. Thanks very much.
Welcome to the forum. He offered you $50? Dealer ought to be ashamed. Here is one like yours. I cannot grade it that well from pics. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1875-S-Liberty-Seated-Twenty-Cent-Piece-20c-AU-Details-01490-/130777644415?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item1e72f47d7f&nma=true&si=8zfrGf3eFX9yiMw7XE2NEdTfL%2B8%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Looks like it may have been cleaned but hard to tell from pics. Even with the scratches the $50 offer was pretty low I think.
Wow, that was quick. The coin really has a decent luster to it. I will try to post some better pics. We have an inspection camera at my work. I'll see what I can do. Any thoughts as to grade? I know that it will only be worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Thanks again.
If you didnt count the scratches I would say in the VF range, my 20cent is graded XF40 from NGC and its got full liberty on the shield, yours has some wear. But with the scratches I dunno the net grade.
I only paid $50 for the lot. One of the bust halves was a large date and letters AG, the other a small date and letters F - VF, the seated half was F to VF, and the flying eagle was F also. So I think I did ok even back then, and that was his asking price. The old coins are so beautiful, and I sometimes wonder about where they have been over the course of time.
That 20 cent piece has great details. I would say it's VF, but looks like it was dipped. I see people paying $120 plus for G-VG examples, where you can just make out the shape of Lady Liberty. You have a beautiful coin.
The coin appears to have more meat remaining than a VF. It looks to be an EF to me and has obviously been dipped one or more times. The scratches are a killer, but $50 is less than AG money for this coin. I think it is worth more than that, but would be a tough sell to most folks.
I'll check it out on the inspection camera, got a pretty good reflection in spots, hopefully I can post some better shots of yhe scratches. Thanks for the great replies on this.
I think xf details with a cleaning and scratching sounds about right. $50.00 is very very low and $100 would a little more fair, probably closer to $125.00. If someone needs a nice type set example this would be a beautiful coin to have
Hopefully, I can get some better images of the scratches tomorrow. I am actually very tempted to send it to ICG. I think they are the only ones that will touch it wth the issues it has. That is if I can stop reading through the posts on this site.......really some awesome stuff out there.
:welcome: EdGs I just found this one by doing a search on eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/1875-20-Cen...47?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item25759b12eb
Both NGC and PCGS will slab problem-coins at this time, though I do not know if they will each give a details grade to such coins. The coin would likely be somewhat more liquid in a PCGS or NGC holder vs. an ICG holder. However, keep in mind that if you decide on certification that you will then sink more money into the piece and will have to determine if these costs, as well as shipping, are justified.
Well, the inspection camera at work was already set up for a job and didn't show the scratches as well as I hoped. It was zoomed in really close and I didn't want to change the setup, so it might be a couple days before I can put them up. Sorry for the delay.
I ended up taking some pictures in natural light and here's what I got. These are the worst ones on the obverse and there are very similar ones to the left of Liberty's right arm that wouldn't show well. they are very similar to these but much lighter. As you can see the reverse has much less wear, mostly to the edges of the wings and foot. I have also noticed that the strike appears weak in spots. Normal for these?
Twenty cent pieces are awesome in any condition and desirable. Yours does appear to be cleaned, as some have mentioned. Either way, still worth over $50. I own one, and it has worse scratches and less detail then yours.
