Not familiar with Quarter Eagles - Grade help please!

[stckplunge]

Before I post this on eBay, I figured I should at least get an idea of the value. Please help me with the grade on this coin if possible. It is in a slab that has an unbelievable grade on it and I would like to know if that grade is even close. I will reveal the grade after you guys tell me what it actually is!!!

 

Thanks, Jeff

[MunkyMan95]

Looks too good to be true. Is it in a NGC slab? Looks almost like there is too much detal on the reverse.

 

I could be WAY off base here.

[rrantique]

My guess is a net AU Jeff hard to grade from photo. Reverse does look solid. Can't tell about ^ ^ ^ on Bonnet band on obverse or the wear if any on the cheek.

After comparing to Bob's photo below I too believe this coin is polished. Just does not look right to me either. I tried knocking the shine down a tad. Remember maybe it's just the photo and i maybe completely off .

 

As Perry mentioned below I too agree with x-jewelery as what looks like rim damage in reverse photo above "D" in United.

[robec1347]

How did you take that image. It looks totally off to me. All of your lines and details look raised, when in reality they are incused. It looks like white paint was applied. Do you have a better image? It should look more along the lines of this.

 

[MarkFeld]

There is no way to provide a meaningful grade guess from those images. The coin could be AU or some grade of uncirculated and/or cleaned or polished or counterfeit. The image is distorted/off to the point where it almost looks like an illustration from a book.

[TomB]

Looks like a scan.

[MikeInFL]

I agree with Mark and Tom -- there is not enough info from the scan to judge the coin's quality, but the details seem to be AUish...Mike

 

p.s. robec, gorgeous coin!

[James_OldeTowne]

It looks like a horribly polished UNC.

[DJCoinz]

Who's slab is it in and what's the stated grade?

[PerryHall]

AU details---heavily polished---net VF---Possibly ex-jewelry

[stckplunge]

I will try to get a better picture today as this was a scan. I also thought it was kinda strange that the scan seemed to reverse the perspective. In any case, the coin is not in a NGC slab - it is in an NNC slab and graded MS66.

 

Jeff

[bsshog40]

It would be very hard to grade this coin with any accuracy at all by this pic.

[stckplunge]

Well I am not yet the picture taker of the year, but this picture is a bit closer to its actual look. It is graded on the slab as MS66 and "Guaranteed Authentic"

 

[MarkFeld]

Based on the new images it looks polished to me. If such is the case my guess is that it's worth in the $140-$175 range.

[MikeInFL]

From the new pics, I am sorry to say that the coin seems to have been harsly cleaned/polished. As a result, it would be worth little more than its bullion value. All IMHO...Mike

[MunkyMan95]

I agree with Mike and Mark. Definitely polished, based on the new images.

[stckplunge]

I think this story is ending very sadly as I am trying to sell this coin for a friend (from a much larger collection which is quickly looking like a big ol polished collection. It seems to me that this coin may have had a considerably higher value if not for the polishing. Lets just pretend those polishing marks are not there, care to estimate what the grade would have been. I am just learning the grading game and would like to know exactly what polishing did to the details (if any). In other words, sans polishing this coins looks to have tremendous detail - am I way off base?

 

Just as a side note, who the heck would take a coin of this apparent prepolish quality and ruin it??!?! I am pretty disgusted and it isnt even mine?!?!?!

 

Jeff

[MarkFeld]

Jeff, if your friend bought the coins from dealers and hasn't already done so, he should try to sell them back to the dealer(s) he acquired them from. It's a long shot, but one worth trying.

 

Without the cleaning or polishing the coin looks to be high grade AU at a minimum. You'd be surprised at how many people clean coins, mistakenly thinking that to be a good and not a bad thing.

[MikeInFL]

I think this story is ending very sadly as I am trying to sell this coin for a friend (from a much larger collection which is quickly looking like a big ol polished collection. It seems to me that this coin may have had a considerably higher value if not for the polishing. Lets just pretend those polishing marks are not there, care to estimate what the grade would have been. I am just learning the grading game and would like to know exactly what polishing did to the details (if any). In other words, sans polishing this coins looks to have tremendous detail - am I way off base?

 

Just as a side note, who the heck would take a coin of this apparent prepolish quality and ruin it??!?! I am pretty disgusted and it isnt even mine?!?!?!

 

Jeff

 

I'm sorry to have to agree that this story is ending sadly.

 

You asked two questions --

 

#1 -- "In other words, sans polishing this coins looks to have tremendous detail - am I way off base?"

 

It seems to have between AU and MS details, while there is a lot of detail there, I would not call it "tremendous". Remember, this coin in AU is common and relatively cheap -- worth around $250 or $300.

 

#2 -- "Just as a side note, who the heck would take a coin of this apparent prepolish quality and ruin it??!?! I am pretty disgusted and it isnt even mine?!?!?!"

 

There are two likely possibilities... The first is that a previous owner polished the coin in order to make it look more attractive -- this was a very common occurence in years gone by. Another possibility is someone cleaned the coin (or found the coin cleaned) then got it into the holder with the intent of fooling someone into believing it is actually an MS 66. Remember that AU coin @ $250, it is now worth "Trends" of $25k.

 

You are right to be disgusted. Unfortunately, the coin game is filled with people who take advantage of others. The hobby is a field full of mines hidden to the uninformed. Education and the free exchange of information, such as you will find on this forum, along with experience are your only defense, and the sad reality is that most people (your friend being one example, but almost all of us have done it) don't do a good enough job protecting themselves before spending money on coins. Buyer BEWARE!

 

All of the above is my opinion, respectfully and humbly submitted...Mike

[MarkFeld]

Jeff, please check with your friend and see if he bought most or all of the coins from one or two dealers or telemarketers and if so, whether they are still in business. If so, there is a slight chance that I can help him out. He is free to email me at:

coinguy1@earthlink.net

 

Also, stress that if he feels embarrassed (most people in his shoes are), not to let that prevent him from going forward and trying to do something about the situation. Many sellers who take advantage of uninformed buyers get off the hook because the buyers are too ashamed to take appropriate action.