1850 gold dollar grade opinions

[Guest Golddog3]

Please suggest grade

[FishyOne]

AU50.

[Coindude]

Looks like a 50 but the color looks off. Probably an old cleaning.

[ldhair]

Is it real?

[Coindude]

To me it looks real but I would hope Bill Jones would chime in.

[wdrob]

MS61 or 62

 

Too much detail for AU imo. The obverse is probably as detailed but the photo did not show it.

 

However, with "The 1850-C is the second rarest collectible Charlotte Mint Gold Dollar. It also boasts the lowest mintage after the 1859-C--a mere 6,966 pieces. Only 90-100 coins are believed extant." that and the date and mint mark being so strong It might not be real.

 

[BillJones]

I would say the sharpness grade is AU-58, but the piece has a number of significant marks, especially on Ms. Liberty's neck and on the letter "1" on the reverse. There also could be issues with the left side of the reverse rim that could prevent it from grading if those marks were placed on the piece outside of the mint. These factors might make this piece a "no grade" at the two major services. Since this coin has shown up elsewhere in a "What to do you think of ICG grading?" post, that is the reason I know that the coin is not in a major service holder. I've seen Charlotte and Dahlonega $5 gold coins that were abraded like this with slab grades, but given its size the situation might be different with a gold dollar. The reverse rim situation might be the key here.

 

My net grade from what I can see is AU-50, but if I were in the market for one of these coins, I would probably keep looking if this piece were offered to me. I would hope to find a piece with a few less post mint surface issues.

 

[Guest Golddog3]

Thanks all - I normally would passed on this from the start - but wanted other opinions since I was on the fence with this one.

[BillJones]

If you have nothing but photos to use to make your decision, it is almost impossible to make an informed decision on rare coins graded by second tier slab companies. Years ago I had a really beautiful 1848-C quarter eagle in an MS-64 SEGS holder on consignment. Even if you graded coin MS-63, which I thought it made easily, it was still a bear to sell. A dealer I knew had one in a PCGS MS-64 at almost four times the money, and the PCGS coin was not that much better.

 

Ultimately I sold it to one of the big retailers. I will guarantee you that that coin was cracked out and sent in for a re-grade. Given the time period, 1990s, they might even have it offered raw.

 

Sadly when you see a coin like this in a second tier holder, you have ask, "Why is this coin in THAT holder?" Unfortunately it's just human nature given our mind set because of certification.