Just Bob

Reported

Even though you didn't say this was a "guess the grade," I'm going to toss my opinion out there. I think the nickel will come back as a 66, maybe a 67, no cameo.

Yep. It's on their list of tokens they grade: https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/united-states/tokens-and-medals/california-and-state-fractional-gold-tokens/

I haven't shopped for a copy lately, but I have to admit that I am surprised you found one that easily. Copies of that book have been scarce in the past. I was actually going to reply and wish you good luck in your hunt. Congrats on scoring one so quickly.

Welcome to the forum, and back to the world of collecting. Cleaning coins was considered an acceptable practice years ago, and today's collectors are still paying the price. If you were collecting in the 80s, you were around when cleaning was not considered to be hugely taboo the way it is now. Lightly cleaned coins were usually net graded, if the cleaning was even taken into consideration at all. Even respectable sellers, like Bowers and Merena or Heritage, sold moderately cleaned coins without any mention of it. It wasn't until the late 80s and 90s, when PCGS and NGC graded coins really took off in the marketplace, that cleaned coins started to be looked at as serious problem coins. They used to send them back to the submitter in a "body bag" with no grade, but now they are given a letter grade according to the wear they show, with a description of the problem, just as yours was. There is definitely still a market for problem coins, especially the ones with only slightly detectible issues. I would expect your coin to bring VF to AU money, depending on the level of damage.

I am a 3 cent fan, too. Nice collector piece.

Schilke and Soloman's America's Foreign Coins" lists 319 different gold coins from 7 countries that possessed legal tender status in the US from 1793-1857. Most are multiple listings of the same coins, but with different designs and/or dates. It appears your list contains most, if not all of the different types. These, of course, could be subdivided further into different denominations and designs. Great idea for a set, by the way.

Here is a link to one of the grading sites on the web that uses pictures to which you can compare your coin. The pictures on this site don't enlarge, but you should be able to compare yours and come up with a very close grade. Hint: it will not be MS64. https://coinauctionshelp.com/coincollectingapps/coin-types-identification-cart-lite/us-large-dollar-morgan-photograde-lite/

Your responses - the above statement in particular - lead me to believe that a study into how dies are made would benefit you greatly. And that was what Woods was saying, also. He did not mean that if you did not know the reason something happened that you should ignore it. He meant that if, after learning how the process actually worked, you determined that it could not have happened during the minting process, it could be (most of the time) dismissed as post-minting damage. Mr Burdette responded as I was typing this post, and, as usual, he explained things well. Let me just add a link to a long but detailed article that I think will be of help to you. I suggest spending some time reading this and other articles on this subject. Click Me Edited to add: Also, if you could post a link to the Washington quarter with the circle that resembles an earring, I would like to take a look at it.

I have responded to several different threads recently, both on my phone and on my laptop, and, when I hit the "submit" button, my posts disappear. Has anyone else had this happen?

That looks like glue. Try soaking it in acetone for a while.

Not true! Those markings are actually symbols from an ancient alien civilization. If I read them correctly, they are plans for an invasion. They intend to take over a small hardware store in upstate New jersey.

That's what Tyndale, Coverdale, King James, and a few other old English translations of the Bible called it. Most other translations called it a denarius. It is believed to be the coin shown to Jesus when he told the Pharisees to "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's."

The gold and silver stars on those labels are a marketing gimmick. They have nothing to do with eye appeal, condition, or actual value of the coins.

There are, however, at least three two-tailed coins - two Washington quarters, and a Roosevelt dime, and one two-headed Jefferson nickel known. These are not true errors, though. These are fakes that were produced on the "midnight shift" for sale to collectors. It amazes me that four suckers paid multiple thousands of dollars for these illegal creations. The guys who created them, the dealers who sold them, the TPG that certified them, and the auction houses that facilitated the sales were all laughing on their way to the bank.

You sure that isn't a "9" that took a hit and looks like a "6"?

I am harder on my own coins than I am on those that belong to others.

I think Mike & Coinbuf have it correct. A newly struck Lincoln cent stuck to the obverse die, creating what is known as a capped die. This means that the surface that would strike the next planchet now had a raised impression of the reverse - the memorial. The first coin struck by this capped die would have had a near perfect incuse impression on one side, and a normal memorial impression on the other side. Each subsequent strike would have caused the cap to expand and thin out, stretching the design. The edges most likely curved around the die face as the coin expanded. After repeated strikes, the cap would have thinned enough to sink slightly into the design on the obverse die - Lincoln's portrait, causing a vaguely head-shaped impression on the coins being struck, called a "ghost image." This is where your coin fits. It was struck through a capped die that had already struck several other coins before it struck yours, which, in coin jargon, is called a brockage. It would probably be a mid- or mid-to-late stage, since one that is truly late stage would actually have all signs of the memorial obliterated, and would show a blurry image of the obverse design.

The "S" on your label does not represent the mint mark. I stands for "silver," as in "silver dollar." Your coin is not an 1870S. It is an 1870P.

Oui

Welcome to the forum. Can you show a clear picture of the full reverse?

In that case, I humbly retract my feeble attempt at a joke. Sorry, Penny Lady.

No, not really. My post was tongue-in-cheek. There were lots of pictures of PCGS, one of ANACS, and none of NGC. I was attempting to play off RWB's joking reply, questioning if PCGS slipped the OP some cash to post all of those pictures. I joked that maybe NGC did not pay her.

Apparently, NGC either forgot to send their check, or failed to show up at the show. They got left out of the report entirely. And, what is the story with the guy with the cello case? Did he entertain the show attendees? PS - Glad Rich was ok. He needs to keep some snacks and water on hand from now on.

That is the very rare dime that was created when FDR temporarily gave up smoking for a short time and took up chewing tobacco.