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1860 $3 piece damaged--too cheap?

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/1860-Three-Dollar-Indian-Princess-Gold-Coin-3-/152060718869?hash=item2367866f15:g:GicAAOSwXj5XFn2E

 

How do people here price rare coins that are damaged like this? My thought--after a restoration job, where it would at least get a net grade, is that it could easily be worth multiples of the $300 or so sale price.

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I think the damage on this piece is really bad. It's on both sides, and it's going to take a lot of engraving and probably a little gold to fix that piece so that it would look half way decent. I'd say you are going to spend a few hundred on the repair. I think that the damage is going to be harder to fix than a simple hole.

 

In the end I don't think that it's worth it. The 1860-S Three Dollar Gold is a better date, but using Gray Sheet numbers it's only worth $325 more than the most common date in VF-20. Furthermore I can't see where an advanced $3 gold piece collector would want this piece. Therefore my view is that it is a filler for the type with no date and mint mark premium.

 

Bottom-line: I think that $315 is all the money and then some.

 

BTW - a fair number of these coins were used for jewelry because a lot of people back in the day thought that the obverse design was attractive. The Type III gold dollar, which had pretty much the same design, was a popular jewelry piece.

 

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Bill mentioned the reason for the $3 coin's popularity in jewelry. The $1 was also popular in Britain because it was a well made, attractive and inexpensive item for jewelry. In some years a large percentage of new gold dollars were exported to London.

 

From about 1889 to 1912, the Treasurer of the US had a private hoard of $3 and $1 gold coins in his office vault. Whenever VIP visitors appeared (usually political types) the accompanying ladies were allowed to select one or two coins as personal mementos.

 

[see a JNR article on the same subject, and the chapter "Treasurer's Treasure" in Renaissance of American Coinage 1909-1915. ]

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