Seen this link to Cent ATS

[bsshog40]

Is this coin for real? I've never seen one in this condition.1820 Cent

 

I would like to see some that are this nice if anyone has any!!

[MikeInFL]

Yes, I believe the coin is real. I'm not so sure the color is natural, but high-grade large cents from this date/variety (N-13 IIRC) are common. They are part of the Randall Hoard, a group of large cents from the late 1810s and early 1820s that were found in a few kegs years later...Mike

 

p.s. here's a post I made some time ago on the Randall Hoard: http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/1535672/site_id/1#import

[MunkyMan95]

That's a Randall Hoard cent alright. You can tell by the die cracks around the periphery. It's a beautiful one at that.

[bsshog40]

Thanks for the link Mike. BTW, I was not denying it's authenticity, just never seen one this purty before!

[rrantique]

Is this coin for real? I've never seen one in this condition.1820 Cent

 

I would like to see some that are this nice if anyone has any!!

 

Wow Bobby that one is a little better than my 182? large cent.

 

[bsshog40]

Just a Tad there Irvin, but yours is close.

[WinstonWare]

I'm not one for slabbing everything but I do wonder why this $1,500 coin hasn't been reviewed by professional graders

[TomB]

The ebay lot in question looks like it was certainly stripped at one point and would likely bag at NGC or PCGS. However, the 1820 large cent is a famous cent because of the Randall Hoard, which had many large cents of this date. Typically, the pieces that have not been disturbed either have pronounced spotting or light, mild spotting and are generally much deeper in color. Here is one that I own-

[rrantique]

I think Tomb has me beat by a little bit also. Very nice Tom.

[James_OldeTowne]

The coin appears to me to be drastically stripped and then poorly recolored.

[jesbroken]

Dang, Tom, but that does look original!! Great coin. Makes my mouth water.

[MarkFeld]

I will read the other replies after I post this, but that coin does NOT look natural to me - the color is definitely off (due to a cleaning or whatever) in my opinion.

[MarkFeld]

I'm not one for slabbing everything but I do wonder why this $1,500 coin hasn't been reviewed by professional graders

Perhaps it was reviewed, and if so, rejected for grading/slabbing.

[MikeInFL]

p.s. FWIW, here's my example, and yes, I'd trade it for Tom's.

 

 

Although they are rumored to exist, I don't think I've ever seen a Randall Hoard cent without some spotting. Here's a second shot of the reverse showing the blue-green color often seen on these cents (and can also be seen in Tom's example above):

 

 

And yes, that's an example of a naturally-occuring shade of blue on copper, take note that the shade (more of a sky blue-green) is very different from those curated with MS70 (more of an electric sky blue) .

[James_OldeTowne]

I'm not one for slabbing everything but I do wonder why this $1,500 coin hasn't been reviewed by professional graders

My guess is the vast majority of Randall coins are not certified. One thing to remember is that actually, many of the coins from the Randall hoard were in horrible shape - corroded, spotted, and just plain ugly. In fact, when originally discovered, a large percentage of the coins were basically thrown away, since they were fused together from long time corrosion.

 

If I see a Randall coin without spots, I'm immediately suspicious. A very few are not spotted, but they are extremely rare.

 

Here's one of mine, spots and all:

 

[MikeInFL]

Great points, particularly the last one.

 

My guess is the vast majority of Randall coins are not certified. One thing to remember is that actually, many of the coins from the Randall hoard were in horrible shape - corroded, spotted, and just plain ugly. In fact, when originally discovered, a large percentage of the coins were basically thrown away, since they were fused together from long time corrosion.

 

If I see a Randall coin without spots, I'm immediately suspicious. A very few are not spotted, but they are extremely rare.

[bsshog40]

Nice Cent there Tom. I like yours too Mike and James, even with the spotting still a nice detailed coin. I like it!