Coinbuf

Concur, both worth $.25.

I cannot tell if you have a die crack or a scratch from this photo. As to any VAM you can check at vam world to see if what you have matches any of the 81 VAM's VAM world 1881-O

While it can be a hard pill to swallow take solace in the knowledge that most of us have been there. Sometimes it can help you learn, and others are just what the heck moments.

Awesome that you are doing well!! No surprise that replacing coins will be your biggest challenge moving forward.

Most designators like FBL or FS, FT or FH are added to the label if NGC feels the coin meets their requirements, it will automatically be noted on the label you do not have to do anything special in filling out the paperwork. Keep in mind that just because you think a coin is FBL or has full steps does not mean that NGC will agree. If you need a specific variety attributed, then that you need to provide the variety you feel is correct on the form and pay the extra fee. If you want you can fill out the denomination field as $.50 FBL to help highlight your feelings about the designation you think the coin deserves, I doubt that it would make much difference but it should not hurt anything.

Welcome to the forums, I think the benefits are well described By NGC's home page. Hover over the submit tab then click the join NGC link in the first section, this will show you all the available memberships and the options each provides. I think that most average collectors are best served with the premium membership, that level costs you $150 but provides you with a $150 grading credit which will cover the cost of grading around 8 modern coins or 3-4 classic coins. So basically your membership is free if you have a few coins to submit, this level also gets you 10% off of some special services like first release labels and scratch resistant holders. Now if you have a lot of coins, very expensive coins ($3,000 or more in value), or need quick turnaround times, then the elite level may be the better option. With elite you get 10% off the grading fees and you still get the $150 grading credit and 10% off special services, so if you have lots of coins or many very high value coins that require the higher cost, higher level submission tiers then that 10% discount may end up saving you money over the premium level. And in addition, you have the added benefit of bulk submission abilities. So really which membership level is best depends on what kind of coins, the value of each coin, and how many coins in total you plan to submit.

As the system is currently setup no, however I think that a way to contact or communicate with registry members is one of the things NGC is considering for future updates. One thing to consider is that it could require each registry participant to opt in for the communication feature, not everyone likes to be cold called as it were.

Forgot all about this journal entry, As expected my number one spot did not last very long, still fun for the little time that I had the crown.

Between your new photos and price I can say that I'm leaning towards not geniune. For sure the new photos show signs of very harsh cleaning or polishing lines. I would avoid this seller if your goal is to find coins that are viable for slabbing. Also I id'd your coin as a medium because the medium date has the ball top 6, but as I look closer it seems like the 6 is shaped more like a small date. However, the small date should not have a ball top 6, which is confusing. It's possible that it is a small date that took a hit to the end of the six and over time with wear and the cleaning or polishing that it now resembles a ball top 6. At any rate for $1.77 each fake, real, small, medium, is all rather moot and the silver lining is that your downside is next to nothing, what is 100% for sure is that neither of these coins is worth spending $40 each to have slabbed as they will come back as not genuine or at best cleaned.

There is really nothing that we can tell you about the authenticity of the coin from these photos. It appears to be legit is all I can say, and that opinion might change with better photos or an in hand look. It is a medium date coin (there are three, small, medium, and tall date) or if a fake modeled after a medium date. If it is legit, it looks like it has been cleaned harshly and is not worth much, again better photos could change all that I've said.

You do have a 1909 VDB, but you do not have a 1909 VDB Proof which is what the op is showing/discussing. These show up in major auctions quite often there were three last year and three in 2020, 2019 was a huge year with ten showing up in major auctions. As far as showing up on ebay I am not sure as I have never looked for one there, but I would not be that surprised to see some of the low end examples with poor eye appeal like this one to pop up there now and again. I did not look up the asking price of the one you posted, my WAG is way more than it is worth.

Details for just the rim damage alone, I would not consider this coin a good candidate for slabbing.

I think your looking in the wrong place. Here is a photo of where the "L" is located. Also your coin has a rounded bust and all the "L" coins have a pointed bust

Welcome to the forum and back to the hobby. I always advise against buying problem coins like cleaned and whizzed coins, they are problems now and will forever be problems. They may seem to be a "deal" but that deal may quickly evaporate when it comes time to sell those coins as many (perhaps most) collectors do not want problem coins. It is not just the financial aspect here but the desire and demand for problem coins is not that strong unless those coins are extremely rare or hard to find key dates.

The nose looks to be a die chip, the photos are slightly blurry and I cannot tell from your photos on the cheek. It may be a strike through or even a minor lamination, we would need sharper photos of that to say. You have what appears to be some PVC slime on the rev and that needs to be addressed now, it may possibly have already begun the process of eating into the surface of the coin but if not arrested now it most defiantly will do so. Get some 100% acetone, this can be found at most hardware or big box home improvement stores. Use a container that the acetone will not melt, glass is best, and soak the coin in the acetone for a few minutes. Then take a q-tip dipped into some fresh acetone and roll (not rub or brush across) the surface to remove any stubborn green stuff. A final rinse in another fresh bowl of acetone will complete the process, throw away that 2X2 and use a new one. I will not say that you overpaid, I will only say that I would not have paid $8 for that coin from what I see in these photos.

Yes sadly those cents in your photo have the dreaded cleaned look and their value have been diminished. Youtube does have some good info, however it is mostly lots of bad info from hustlers that are more interested in the number of clicks and ads they get than the dissemination of good useful and truthful information.

Welcome to the forum, we are excited to see what you collect.

A) Never clean in vinegar, it is a very aggressive substance and can strip a coin's surface and patina. B) Never under any circumstance ever polish any coin, you will completely destroy it and eliminate any numismatic value. The only liquid I would suggest for anyone to use is 100% acetone (not nail polish remover) this will not react with or damage the surface of coins. It will remove any foreign and organic matter that is on the coin without damaging it.

@Deana2874 I took your photo and circled the areas where I see some slight doubling, these areas look like strike doubling from you photo. Strike doubling is very common and is not a true doubled die, the resources that @Mohawk posted have information on true die doubling and the worthless types of doubling like strike doubling (also commonly referred to as machine doubling) and die erosion doubling. I am also including a photo which may help you in the future to identify between the worthless type of strike vs real doubled die.

I have to admit that I was rather surprised at a grade of MS64, but as you noted neither of us has seen it in hand yet. So once you have it then you can really tell if the luster is full, from the photos it seems somewhat subdued. But that may just be the photo, sometimes large photos have a tendency to make a dark coin look dull or darker. And I am also looking at the cheek and fields and interpreting some signs of circulation which the photo may be exaggerating somewhat. Overall the coin has a great look with as you noted a lot of red for the BN designation, and some weakness around the crown peak and "L" as well as the 4th and 5th stars is not terribly unusual for this date. That does not mean that you cannot find this date with a full crisp strike, even at the MS64 grade there are some very fully struck examples. Price is a substantial factor too, you do not want to pay full boat for a not quite all there example. You know the series, probably better than I do, so I'm sure that once you have it in hand you will know if she is a keeper or not

An interesting example and I sure can see where people today would get the pit bull reference as the head does indeed resemble that breed. The body does seem more suited to the panther than any other member of the cat family as depicted on the coin. In the end I do not guess that you will have to worry about offending the designer of the coin so how you decide to reference the design is all about your personal like.

You can download your inventory to an excel spreadsheet, however I am not certain if the PCGS registry can use that file to upload.

What grade did PCGS assign, AU58?

I would check with capital, if they don't have one it probably is not made Capital website