Hello everyone. I'm new to coin collecting and also new to posting threads, so please excuse my ignorance on both matters. I have a few old coins that belonged to my grandfather and it looks like this particular coin is discolored a bit and I'm not sure if someone tried to clean it and in the process has ruined it or not. My question is, is this coin worth sending away to be graded? Thank you for your input
If it belonged to your grandfather it's worth hanging on to, for sentimental value, but IMO it's not worth spending the money to have it graded. It's a common date in circulated condition, worth not much more than melt, you'd spend more in grading fees than it's worth.
Welcome to CoinTalk @ZeddX10! The condition of your coin would have to go in to the Mint State range in order for it to be worthwhile sending in to be graded and it just isn't there. If the coin holds sentimental value (which it sounds like it may) then you could put it in a nice lighthouse holder yourself OR spend the money to send it in as long as you understand the above. A lighthouse holder is a nice way to keep your coin!
Def not worth the cost of grading. Cool coin in that it belonged to your grandfather. I would def keep it for that. You can get something like this from your local book or hobby shop to put it in and keep it protected.
Forget having it graded. Wonderful that it belonged to your grandfather. A keeper for sure, Welcome to CT.
Welcome to the neighborhood @ZeddX10 ! As others have stated, it's not worth the fees to have it graded. Since you're new to numismatics, you might want to invest in a book on grading such as... Chris
Welcome to CoinTalk. You have a common coin in heavily circulated condition. Its definitely not worth the cost of grading but I would still recommend preserving it for sentimental value. Try buying some plastic flips or hard plastic cases. They’re much cheaper than grading.
Awesome. Thanks for the input everyone. I do have one that looks almost perfect, except for some discoloration also. What do you guys think about this one?
This is another example of why you should get a book on grading. This is hardly "almost perfect". Note the lack of detail in LIBERTY's hair and the scratches/gouges in the obverse fields. Chris
Thank you again. I'll definitely be getting one of those books. In your opinion is that the best book on the market?
There are several books on grading coins, and everyone will have their own opinion on which one is best. As a matter of fact, one of our members, Jason aka @physics-fan3.14 published his own book on grading not too long ago. Chris
Yes, I neglected to mention that there are online resources. I'm "old school" and was using a library long before the internet was born. Chris
Awesome. Thank you. I found and downloaded the app. Very detailed pics to compare mine to. I appreciate the info
