YOLO! I did a deal, now how did I do?

ZoidMeister · Aug 17, 2020

rosethe said: ↑

Hello,

Just for those who may not know or follow along, I am the daughter of the advanced collector, Jim, my father who passed in 2001.

I am very inexperienced and don't know much at all about coins still, but you have to get your feet wet and learn some hard lessons along the way, in almost anything.

SO, I went back to the Collectible/Pawn shop where I got a good deal of the Flying Eagle cent.

DESPITE, reading the advice about Trade Dollars, I bought one anyway. #yolo

Here was my thinking:

A) I believe it is genuine because it meet some of the diagnostics available to me, as in the Obv and Rev match. The dentiles are even. The ribbon end is appropriate for the year as well as the arrow angle on the reverse. The font and legends look good- at least to my eye. It is non-magnetic.
It is in a generic slab, so obviously I could not weigh it nor view the edge.

B) I know the China is counterfeiting the slabs as well. That being said, I don't think that they would counterfeit a generic slab that lends no credibility to the coin.
So, the coin still could be fake, and somewhere along the line someone put it in the slab.

C) The shopkeep guaranteed it authentic and will give a refund if not.

I hope that it can grade as an F-15 to VF-20.

I paid $130.

======

My other purchase is the 1921 Peace Dollar. I am thinking it is cleaned.

I am hoping it would grade an AU-50 or a bit better.
I paid $125.

Please, any opinions? Thank you all for helping a neophyte. View attachment 1160033 View attachment 1160034 View attachment 1160035 View attachment 1160036 View attachment 1160037
Click to expand...

John Johnson said: ↑

I hate to be this guy, but I'm afraid I don't think your trade dollar is genuine. My first thought was the water should come right to her leg on the obverse, but there are some like yours so that doesn't necessarily prove my point. However, the foot is all wrong. It is open wide where it should be more pointed. Also the ankle should be pronounced and on yours it isn't even there. That could be due to wear, though.

Still, looking at her foot would keep me from buying the coin. There are a lot of smarter collectors on here who could tell you I'm wrong, and I hope I am, but that's what I see.
Click to expand...

Many thanks to @John Johnson , and I do believe that he is on to something here.

Here is an enlarged view of my 1877 Trade dollar. John's points on the foot and water are new information to me, but it seems this coin posesses the traits John is talking about. Wish I had a better photograph. I'll try to get one taken.

Food for thought . . . .

Z

EDIT: The font used on the reverse TRADE DOLLAR looks fatter in the first coin. Is mine perhaps the fake? Would these difference be attributed to them being produced by different mints? Again, sorry for the crappy photos, these are all I have at this time.

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rosethe · Aug 17, 2020

Welcome to CoinTalk, Zoid.
Thank you and @John Johnson for sharing this with me. I do see what you are talking about. Having looked at the PCGS photograde, the water thing is clearly as you said, but in the lower grades it does seem to separate off. Why it would wear in that background area, I have no idea. As for the foot, it is giving me fits. Every photograde image seems different to me. The closest one to the foot I have is in the photo below.

I will need to put this coin into the hands of my LCS and trust his opinion with the issues you bring up, The man I bought it from said it could be refunded.
If LSC can't determine, then I will have it graded and see if it gets bagged. Thanks!

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YOLO! I did a deal, now how did I do?

ZoidMeister Hamlet Squire of Tomfoolery . . . . .

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YOLO! I did a deal, now how did I do?

ZoidMeister Hamlet Squire of Tomfoolery . . . . .

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