1891 Indian Head

[wdrob]

 

Are they just playing visual tricks with the red background or is this red?

 

I am aware of the big gash on the cheek as well. I thought that at the grade that it would come in at it would be of little consequence.

 

 

 

 

 

I am color blind so unless it is just very, very red I have trouble determining where it may fall on the color.

 

 

 

[BillJones]

The red - orange background has thrown off the white balance in the photo. It is possible that the seller is using it to help hide the big scratch on this coin. I'm guessing that the scratch is very old and the coin has a light brown color. BUT it might have been cleaned and re-colored, and that could be hidden with this white balance problem. The piece has VF-30 or 35 sharpness, but I'd net grade it to VG because the scratch.

 

At any rate the 1891 Indian cent is a common date, there is not rush to buy something like this. The 1894 Indian cent is the toughest date in the 1890s. It is a little scarce, but not rare.

 

[wdrob]

I was thinking EF since there was no wear very little wear on the ends of the feathers and most of the diamond shows plainly but I didn't think that gash would matter at this low of a grade. Now I know.

[BillJones]

I was thinking EF since there was no wear very little wear on the ends of the feathers and most of the diamond shows plainly but I didn't think that gash would matter at this low of a grade. Now I know.

 

"EF" is not "low grade" in my book. I've paid tens of thousands for a very scarce coin in Fine-15. For this coin EF is not huge deal because it is a common date, BUT in any case, that gash "kills" the coin. It would be major problem if this were an 1877 or a 1909-S Indian cent or any date in the 1866 to 1878 era. That era forms the heart of the Indian cent date set.

[wheat'swheats]

The photo is not very good, but it appears to me that it may have been cleaned

wheat

[wdrob]

Hey Wheat, Do you think this Lincoln has been cleaned also?

 

 

[BillJones]

Let's see if I can help you with grading some Indian cents. NGC graded this 1877 AU-58. I'd call it something a little lower because it did not have any mint luster, but it shows something about how these coins look in a high circualted grade.

 

 

And here is a 1909-S Indian in MS-64, Brown.

 

 

 

[BillJones]

Hey Wheat, Do you think this Lincoln has been cleaned also?

 

 

 

I don't know what wheat will say, but my answer is "yes." The obverse has an orange look to it which is the result of having the surfacs stripped. The reverse has some crud let on it that was not removed by the cleaning. Some people call this crud "residue traces."

[wdrob]

 

Ok. That ought to be a real beauty when it arrives. (that was sarcasm)

 

No problem, not much money there. I guess it adds up after time though.

[BillJones]

Yes, you are not buying expensive material at the moment, but when the day arrives, you might consider going to a few shows. If you are lucky you might run into a dealer who will help show you the ropes. I used to do that with new collectors, and it helped build my business.

 

Also you will need to get into the certified coin game after while. The grading services are not perfect, but they do filter out a lot of the junk, or at least put in a 'genuine" or net graded holder, which can save you a lot of grief.

 

At this day and time, an alarm bell goes off in my head when I see a scarce to rare coin that is not certified. I'm not saying that such coins are 'bad." I'm just saying you had better know what you are doing if you get involved with them.

[jwc]

both coins looked cleaned to me as well. Seems like they overgrade a bit sometimes on the key dates. The 1877 coin is very nice but not sure it should have gone that high either.

[wdrob]

 

I just turned a raw 1987-S in for submission and received PR70DCAM Bill.

 

I don't lose always.

[wheat'swheats]

Hey Wheat, Do you think this Lincoln has been cleaned also?

 

 

It is really hard to tell from the photos, but just the overall appearance of the cent makes me lean towards yes, but you just can't tell from these pictures

wheat

[wdrob]

 

 

I will just have to wait to get it in hand. Most everything I buuy on the Internet, unless it is slabbed coins which I buy allot of, look different in hand. There are just to many variables such as camera settings to light placement.

 

I think the backdrop plays a big role on me too.