Coinbuf

Multiple thefts.....grand larceny...and use of the mails plus other violations.
Was she tried by Alvin Bragg ? 

Clicks pay, the people getting rich on pocket change are the folks that get you to click on their you tube ad or buy their get rich quick on pocket change book.   Carpet baggers is an old term for these types of slimy scammers, and it is just as true today as back in the day.   Just that today they operate on the net vs knocking on your door, well unless its solar they are selling then they still knock on your door.  
While you make some good points I must disagree with one.   Coins do not have to be certified to be a real error or have value.   Yes certification helps to remove the question of authenticity and can make it easier to sell as it takes away the uncertainty especially when selling via the net.   A variety or error is still a variety or an error certified or raw, certification does not create the condition it merely verifies it.
Likewise value is not driven by certification, but having coins graded removes most of the grey areas and facilitates the sale of coins over the net.

Clicks pay, the people getting rich on pocket change are the folks that get you to click on their you tube ad or buy their get rich quick on pocket change book.   Carpet baggers is an old term for these types of slimy scammers, and it is just as true today as back in the day.   Just that today they operate on the net vs knocking on your door, well unless its solar they are selling then they still knock on your door.  
While you make some good points I must disagree with one.   Coins do not have to be certified to be a real error or have value.   Yes certification helps to remove the question of authenticity and can make it easier to sell as it takes away the uncertainty especially when selling via the net.   A variety or error is still a variety or an error certified or raw, certification does not create the condition it merely verifies it.
Likewise value is not driven by certification, but having coins graded removes most of the grey areas and facilitates the sale of coins over the net.

Glad she was caught, have to agree with Jason that the sentence seems rather light for the crime.

Both are large dates and have no value over face value.

While I feel very confident that your coin is a replica if you have had it examined in hand and that dealer felt it was the real deal I suggest that you see if there is another dealer in your area to confirm or refute that dealer's finding.   NGC has a list of NGC authorized dealers that you can access here Link, not all coin dealers are expert enough to know and we can only go by your photos.   Given the value of a real coin it would be prudent to follow up with another in hand evaluation just to be sure.

Welcome (back) to collecting coins, without knowing what you actually have it is not possible to fully answer your question on storage.   Obviously the more valuable a coin is better storage would be preferable over banging around in a mason jar.   On the other hand if what you have is mostly circulated coins from pocket change then at least until you have the time to properly review them your mason jars are likely fine for the time being.
I suggest that you purchase the "guide book to United States coins" often referred to as the red book.   This has lot of information on each coin the US mint has ever made and will be very helpful to you when you have the time to tackle going thru your mason jars of coins.   The valuations in the book are usually not super relevant as the market is fluid and changes often, but it will help you to identify if you have any coins that might have higher values from the rest.

Clicks pay, the people getting rich on pocket change are the folks that get you to click on their you tube ad or buy their get rich quick on pocket change book.   Carpet baggers is an old term for these types of slimy scammers, and it is just as true today as back in the day.   Just that today they operate on the net vs knocking on your door, well unless its solar they are selling then they still knock on your door.  
While you make some good points I must disagree with one.   Coins do not have to be certified to be a real error or have value.   Yes certification helps to remove the question of authenticity and can make it easier to sell as it takes away the uncertainty especially when selling via the net.   A variety or error is still a variety or an error certified or raw, certification does not create the condition it merely verifies it.
Likewise value is not driven by certification, but having coins graded removes most of the grey areas and facilitates the sale of coins over the net.

Employee working at USPS caught red handed stealing thousands and thousands of dollars worth coins only to get a light slap on wrist 37 months prison sentence ! Should be in jail for a good 10+ years for breaking a federal crime like that!  
 
https://www.numismaticnews.net/us-coins/coin-thief-sentenced-to-federal-prison

Yes certainly when you consider how much time and resources were used up in solving this crime. If you add up all the pain endured by owners that lost this property, or if it was all Universal Coin property it doesn't matter. It's a Felony crime. Pay the price.

Clicks pay, the people getting rich on pocket change are the folks that get you to click on their you tube ad or buy their get rich quick on pocket change book.   Carpet baggers is an old term for these types of slimy scammers, and it is just as true today as back in the day.   Just that today they operate on the net vs knocking on your door, well unless its solar they are selling then they still knock on your door.  
While you make some good points I must disagree with one.   Coins do not have to be certified to be a real error or have value.   Yes certification helps to remove the question of authenticity and can make it easier to sell as it takes away the uncertainty especially when selling via the net.   A variety or error is still a variety or an error certified or raw, certification does not create the condition it merely verifies it.
Likewise value is not driven by certification, but having coins graded removes most of the grey areas and facilitates the sale of coins over the net.

Ah, if I only knew back then what I now know, life could be so different.  Your post dead on.  Unfortunately, fresh faces are blinded by the light of the "unicorn" find and only after experiencing the pitfalls, will they step back and take stock...If they are smart enough. 
Side note: what you have learned in your post can apply to more aspects of life than just coin collecting. 
Everybody is selling something & nothing is as "easy" as they say. 
 

...sadder n sadder, ur continued references to the "well-liked member" is shameful...he couldnt stand ur presence on the forum n justifiably so...very doubtful anyone here will refer to u in the same manner...too bad the moderators r so indifferent to the wishes of the aforementioned departed member, guess they r starving for participants....

...yep, just following thru on a promise i made....

100% replica, these were/are sold as souvenirs at lots of places.

Interesting, a good friend of mine grew up in the Boston area and I never got the impression from him that everything is where it should be.   At any rate your "expert" is correct and you are incorrect, that is not a CAM, not even close.

Just curious, how is it that you "just stumbled on it an hour ago" yet have had time to take it to an appraiser.

No worries, knowing that might explain why a few members there have amassed some large scores, at least I'm assuming that some have by now.

Damaged coin, what is known as a "vise job"   Two, or perhaps three coins were squeezed together in an attempt to create a fake error.

Pretty dead over there, doesn't seem like they were able to entice people to participate on yet another forum or to drop others in favor of MC. I'll pop in over there once or twice a week to see if there is anything interesting, usually it is bupkis.

Damaged coin, what is known as a "vise job"   Two, or perhaps three coins were squeezed together in an attempt to create a fake error.

I will second @Coinbuf.  I do not believe it to be anywhere close to a CAM.

Your friend must be in the wrong line of work if that’s the case. How come it is not a CAM? Why is there a pooling of die that makes it look like it was to be brought closer together??? And why is the FG exactly where it needs to be for a CAM? I need another opinion. Not one from Mr. High Horse over here. 

If you are not aware, representatives o NGC do not typically reply to inquiries in this section of the forum.  If you want an answer from an NCG representative you should post your question in the "ask NGC" section.
I do not collect world coins so I don't know if NGC has or will grade tis specific coin, hopefully another forum member has the information to help you.

No I did not say that or imply that, I said please tell me any dealer or bullion operation that is selling AU dets $2 1/2 gold coins for melt values, I don't know of a single one that is selling any gold coin for melt.    There is a big difference between melt and spot and theory and reality, in theory a junk gold coin should sell for melt, but the reality of this market is that those coins actually sell close spot even though most are less than 100% pure gold content.
I am well aware where to fine melt values, you do not need to lecture to me on this.   What you seem to not understand is how impaired gold is currently traded in this market, nobody that I have seen or know of is buying or selling cleaned or ex jewelry coins for melt, that is just not true.   Impaired gold coins sell at or near spot, yes it is true that most classic gold coins are 90 or 92% gold and thus should sell at a discount to spot.   But that is not the reality of this market, stackers are more than willing to pay prices that are above melt and close to spot for impaired coins and unimpaired coins that grade less than MS63/MS64 depending on the spot price.
As I noted in my reply to GF the rise in spot gold price has compressed the premium of coins that grade less than MS64, here is a section of Gerry Fortin's blog where he discusses this.

Here is an example of what most sellers are asking for impaired gold, this is copied from a facebook group that if for classic gold only this was posted just one hour ago.   This particular coin is a common date $10 piece but as you can see this is priced above melt which as of now would be almost $1,060 for a Liberty head eagle.

Here is another post in that group from one day ago selling common date unimpaired AUish $2 1/2 Indians (there actually is a 25-D in this group he is selling), for $390 ea, well below your $500 estimate.

And one more, in this case another 25-D $2 1/2 posted yesterday selling for well above melt but in this case below spot, which is somewhat unusual.

@Sandon please do not lecture to me on something that you seem unfamiliar with, none of the examples I have provided to you are atypical of what I see every day.   I follow this and other gold groups and sites and am quite familiar with how both unimpaired and impaired gold is being priced in this current market.   However, and again, if you know of a source that is selling details gold $1 or $2 1/2 for melt values ($1 gold is $106 and $2 1/2 is at $262 as I type this) I'm all ears and would love to purchase some at melt prices.