So i was browsing the antique shop and seen these pennys. I took a chance and bought them for 20.00 each. Even if i overpayed for them, oops, i liked the 1863 being from the civil war and all but whats your guys thoughts. Redbook lists the 1907 at 20.00 in AU 50 and the 1863 is a copper nickel oak with shield, thats listed at 20.00 at F12. So i went back and bought them. Could i get a humble grade on these two please.
Thank you, lol. Oddly enough tho, the antique shop is also the comic book shop. One half, comics, the other back half antiques.
The 1907 is probably AU details, might have been uncirculated before it was harshly cleaned. The 1863 looks XF or AU to me, but I can't tell from these photos whether it's been cleaned. Or, for that matter, whether it's genuine. I don't see anything that immediately screams "cleaned" or "fake" to me, but I'm not a specialist. Keep in mind that Redbook prices are generally "prices that a dealer would be really, really happy to get from a customer", not "what you can expect to get if YOU decide to sell the coin".
1907 harshly cleaned and maybe even polished. Both of which hurt the value. And that's a common date for Indian heads. But I think you are underestimating the 1863 at a F12. I also think its in the XF range. So you definitely overpaid on one, and got a bargain on the other.
The 1863 looks nice. $40 to $50 coin. The 1907 is only worth a few dollars. I would remove the 1907 from the holder and just leave it laying around on the desk. Pick it up from time to time and let your fingers touch the surfaces. Over time the coin will take on a more natural look. It will always be a cleaned coin but it will look better as it tones back to a darker color. Don't do this with coins that have much value.
The 1907 has been harshly cleaned. At the price you paid that's an expensive lesson. The 1863 makes up for it.
Thank you guys. How can you tell that the 07 has been cleaned? Any points of referances i could look out for next time? Iam not sure how you guys can tell its been cleaned?
A cent shouldn't be that color unless it's completely uncirculated. If it's uncirculated, it will show mint luster -- patterns of bright reflection that rotate and move as you rock the coin back and forth under a light. It looks very different from the flat sheen of a coin that's been polished. The next time you get some brand-new 2019 cents, look at them under a light, and you'll be able to see what luster looks like. Other marks of cleaning include areas of parallel scratches on the coin. Sometimes these are too fine to see with the naked eye, but when you rock and turn the coin under a light, the patch will light up when you light it from some directions, and not from others. It looks very different from luster, once you know what you're looking for. You'll also sometimes see a halo around the fine details on the coin. The person polishing it didn't push hard enough to reach those areas, so they still have luster, but on the rest of the coin it's polished away. Seeing halos doesn't always mean a coin is cleaned, but it's a red flag. In fact, you might take a few of those shiny new 2019 cents and clean them yourself -- rub some with a cloth, maybe even use a toothbrush or pencil eraser on a couple of them. See how the ones you clean look different from the uncleaned ones. (I'm not too worried about this ruining them for future collectors, because modern copper-coated zinc cents aren't supposed to last long enough for future collectors to see them.)
Thank you guys. It was marked as uncirculated, but lession learned. But thats what iam gunna try, looking at some new change and learning that difference of cleaned and mint luster.
That line just came to me. Lol. Sometimes we have it easy and other times, I'd rather not recall. Lol
