1788 mass cent

[Junkdrawer]

about 4 years ago i purchased a 1788 mass cent from a coin dealer in boston. right after the purchase i sent it in to NGC and in 45 days it comes back in a body bag "corrosion" hard to really see,but what do i know i collect comics and sport cards mainly. i return to the dealer with my concern and he was quick to agree to exchange or refund, what ever would please me. i walked out the door with a gold indian $5 piece. i dont remember the year now, but i took it home amd looked on ebay there was one there with a buy it now for around $500. back i go to the dealer and back out the door with my mass cent and i forgot to say he told me it was XF. so here i am about 4 1/2 years later wondering would i benefit to send this coin in to NCS? i did post on ebay one time and with a reserve and bids only went up to $368. why is the value seem to be going down and not up.

[ant]

im a lil confused which coin did you end up with the cent or the gold also a picture would help greatly in this situation.

[Junkdrawer]

i should have kept the gold but there was something about have a coin from 1788 that was kinda neat. i dont think gold was no more than 520/oz if that then

[TomB]

If those are the images you used on ebay then most bidders would have been reluctant to bid because the piece might have either been counterfeit or might have had surface problems. It appears that NGC gave it a thumbs up in terms of being genuine, but once a coin has corroded there is nothing that can be done to reverse the corrosion. Areas of active corrosion may be neutralized or removed, but the underlying damage is there to stay and this is where NCS might help.

[Junkdrawer]

my scanner stinks compared to some of the wonderful enarged images i have seen on ebay. i agree with you on why the lack of bidding as well. i know with comic books, restored books whlie still sellable fetch 1/2 the price as original. the corrosion is very light, would ncs do like a dentist and remove and fill and what will the outcome be with ngc? i seriously need some direction here. thanks

[BillJones]

NCS can't do much for you with a corroded copper coin. Having said that light corrosion is with mildly granular surfaces is not the worst thing that can happen to a 200+ year old coin. It all depends upon the variety. At with large cents and half cents some of the finest known examples some of the rare dies are in very poor shape. Yet they bring strong prices. There are a couple of rare Massachusetts cents, but there not that many people who appreciate them so it’s sort of a wash.

 

You should be happy that the dealer has had so much patience with you. He let you go though this transaction twice and has not seemed to make any money except from the initial sale.

 

[ant]

what is the scanner? and what dpi or ppi is it set to scan at?

 

 

[TomB]

Coins, medals and tokens can have corrosion removed, but NCS will not undertake repair work to hide the underlying damage.

[Junkdrawer]

scanner is a cannon m 160 and the scan was 150 dpi i see i can increase that higher, but i dont see ppi. if i increase to 1200 dpi for a better image i cant upload the file because of size. that with ebay as well. i may need auctiva or something like that

[michael]

LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!!!

 

leave it as is

 

it is not a great photo but i grade this coin $675.00 maybe more depending on the variety

[Junkdrawer]

i'm a big fan of "let it be" and i am trying to get the most from my scanner and camera, guess its time to get out the directions. thanks

[michael]

i think this particular coin is not only monster historical

 

but has great eye appeal

 

and has much character and again a really eye appealling coin

[James_OldeTowne]

Your situation is exactly why I strongly urge against certification of such classic colonial coins. It is hardly shocking that a 220 year old coin might have corrosion.

 

Actually, I find that to be a very nice example of a Mass. cent. They are seldom struck that well, if I am interpreting your images correctly.