1851 Half Cent

[Ataris]

Just picked this up, and I'd like to hear some opinions before I send it off into the wild for grading.

 

[MarkFeld]

Welcome to the forum.

 

My opinion is that you would be wasting your money, as the coin looks to have been harshly cleaned or whizzed. It does not look at all original/natural. And if you can return it for a refund, I would suggest doing so.

[Ataris]

Thanks for the welcome.

 

That is rather upsetting to hear, as I bought it at a show from a dealer from nowhere local. I even had my local shop owner look at it and he said it was a good buy. I'm unfortunately a bit of a novice, so this may just be an expensive lesson for a guy on a limited budget.

 

So, since I blew a bunch of my set aside coin money on this, would you be willing to give me a dollar figure you think I might be able to get for this? That is, just to know how much money I'm out on this.

 

Thanks.

[MarkFeld]

Thanks for the welcome.

 

That is rather upsetting to hear, as I bought it at a show from a dealer from nowhere local. I even had my local shop owner look at it and he said it was a good buy. I'm unfortunately a bit of a novice, so this may just be an expensive lesson for a guy on a limited budget.

 

So, since I blew a bunch of my set aside coin money on this, would you be willing to give me a dollar figure you think I might be able to get for this? That is, just to know how much money I'm out on this.

 

Thanks.

 

If in hand, the coin looks like it does in the images, I would value it in the $75-$100 range. However, please kept in mind, that I can only judge it by the images provided. And I might feel differently in either direction, if I were to see it in person. Additionally, others might disagree with my assessment.

 

See if the seller will take it back, even if you have to pay a reasonable restocking fee. And check with your local shop owner (who said it was a good deal) and see if he will put his money where his mouth was.

[Nutmeg Coin]

I would be cognizant of the fact that many cents have been doctored, recolored or otherwise mishandled. Look at real examples from auctions to compare your coin with others that are original or not:

 

http://coins.ha.com/itm/half-cents/1851-1-2-c-xf40-brown-anacs/a/23103-13013.s

 

http://coins.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?Nty=1&Ntk=SI_PCGS&Ns=Time%7c1&N=51+790+231+4294967161+4294967153++4294965681+4294966269+4294967105&Ntt=1224&ic4=SortBy-071515

 

There is a dealer in Fishkill, NY I know who got a collection of large cents; one of his customers bought a group, swallowed his sales pitch hook, line and sinker. Predictably the customer went back to the dealer when they all came back as problem coins from PCGS. The dealer offered to try to resell them.

[Raisethis2]

I agree in large part with what Mark has indicated. This coin is around 150 years old. As such (and knowing what copper coins we handle each day look like after a while) you have to logically expect a coin that's a rich chocolate brown color from middle to deep dark. Not finding this should be a red flag because these coins were not sheltered from the environment like coins today can be.

 

On the other hand, pictures can be very deceptive. The coin could easily be original and the pictures are helping us draw the wrong conclusion. Hopefully you're investment isn't so great that you get mad and stop before you really begin.

 

As was suggested, show it around to people who should know. You may even want to (at some point) submit it for grading through a friend or Dealer and keep it as your "lesson piece". The costs of grading can be minimized in that way so you're not losing another 50% of the coin's value with encapsulation.

 

For beginners (like yourself) we always say, buy the book first, then the coin. The reality is that as collectors we want the damn coin too. Accordingly, if you "have" to buy the coin, buy it already encapsulated.

 

 

 

 

[BillJones]

The pictures in the link make this coin look very unnatural. Here are three half cents I like. This first one probably has been "enhanced," but it has remained stable. for seven years, so I don't care. The slab grade is MS-64, R&B.

 

 

This one was graded "VF" back in the 1960s when I bought it. Today it is in an MS-62, Brown holder.

 

 

This one is still raw. My grade is EF-40.

 

 

All three of these coins please me more than the piece that started this thread. The coin that started this thread may have white balance problems with the photo. BUT if it looks like that in person, I don't think that the color is natural.

 

 

[Ataris]

Everything else I bought was slabbed, which I tend to prefer for reasons that are becoming more and more clear.

 

I'm not so deep into this that it is the end of the world, but I do plan on submitting it, regardless, as a permanent lesson to myself.

 

I am deep enough, though, that I can't buy anything else for a while with my limited budget for collecting.

 

Thank you to everyone for giving me new information, I hope to apply it to future purchases. Copper is something I'm still very new to. I hope to go forward learning about these so I can make better, informed purchases in the future.

 

I'll be over here, in the corner, hoping that the picture just made it look like it was a doctored coin until I get the inevitable results back.

 

Thanks again.

[Raisethis2]

Ataris,

 

If you're going to proceed with encapsulation you can usually give it to a local Dealer and have him/her include it in a future shipment to limit costs.My guy here will do it for a few dollars over his cost (which covers insurance).

 

If you think you're going to do more submissions then just join NGC's Collectors Society at the level you prefer and submit them yourself using the online software. It's a bit hard to find but easy enough to fill out once you do.

 

Again, welcome to the forum.

 

 

[Mark T]

You are going to get the same comments from pretty much everyone here that the coloring looks off .Based on your photo the coin looks to have been cleaned and re colored.

Can you get a better picture with better lighting ?

Regardless before spending the money for a grade take it to a dealer or two and have them look at it. What was the grade given by the dealer and how much did you pay for the coin ?

 

 

I attached two photos for you. The 1853 66 RB is closer to a BN designation but it's still a nice coin .