RonnieR131 Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 (edited) Is ‘55 doubled die in this bad of shape worth the cost of grading? Edited April 5, 2020 by ronnie stein spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKK Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 Can't tell from just the obverse, nor from such a zoomed-out image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbbpll Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 (edited) If it's real, it's certainly worth the cost of grading. The circumstances under which you acquired the coin might help, as would an image of the reverse. The offsets on yours all look correct to me, but I have no idea how good the fakes of this are. The ones I've seen are laughably cheesy, but this one isn't (to me). Edit to add that I certainly wouldn't purchase a raw one. Edited February 1, 2020 by kbbpll Matt_dac 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieR131 Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 I inherited this '55 penny, as well as the 1855 and 1867 $3 gold coins from my father. He passed away 19 yrs. ago and I just now found them in a big tub in my garage 2 months ago. The penny I found 3 days ago in an old family letter. The 1867 $3 gold was between some pages of an old railroad ledger that I also discovered in the tub 2 months ago, probably put there by my grandfather who worked for the railroad and gave the ledger to my father, who gave it to me. The ledger is one of those old grey and brown big hardback ones that I remember in the 1950's to do accounting. My grandfather 'probably' put the 1867 $3 gold coin in the ledger to enhance the importance of the ledger, which was done in 1867 thru 1869. Give it some perspective, so to speak. There is a lot of short line RR's mentioned that have never heard of, most from around Missouri, probably bought out, merged, or bankrupt or whatever. It is in extremely excellent shape and beautiful handwriting with the old ink pen. He had to have put the "67 in the book sometime between 1930 and 1958 when he retired. I wish the coin was in as good shape as the book. I'll probably get the two gold $3 and the '55 penny graded this month. I wouldn't be surprised if the 1855 $3 gold is fake, looks like tool marks to my newbie untrained eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbbpll Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 I'm sure you realize that you're talking about a 4-5 figure coin, if real and the surfaces are original. Be careful how you handle it - don't get fingerprints on it or attempt to clean it in any way. Is there any context as to why it was in this "old family letter"? Post a picture of the RR ledger - that sounds as cool as the coins to me. I have 5 generations of RR workers in my family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jade Collection Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 OP please send this in to NGC and get it authenticated!! If real you'll be really happy plus it looks pretty nice if real Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieR131 Posted April 4, 2020 Author Share Posted April 4, 2020 TfxGot my first four ever submitted returned. Good news/Bad news. 1855 $3 gold__Good news_its not fake_ bad news, some cowboy was playing poker in Dodge City Kansas and spilled his beer all over the card table and wiped my coin off with his shirtail. Then the 1883 5 cent, whizzed, just bad news. Good news, 1955 doubled die is real, better grade than expected, I'm happy. Good news, 1867 $3 is real, hoping for AU58, but they wre right on target, 55 is what it is, I'm happy. Now what to do with the 1855 cleaned coin, AU55-$1250, sell for $900 -$1000, but now cleaned. What do you think, start at $550 to sell and see what happens? Or make jewelry, or what? Hoghead515 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieR131 Posted April 4, 2020 Author Share Posted April 4, 2020 forgot to add, 1955 doubled die is XF45, cellphone wouldn't download anymore pics. Hoghead515 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Congratulations on your submission. Glad they all turned out to be genuine. As for pricing the 1855 $3 piece: one sold in October last year, also NGC AU details, for $660, including juice. Your idea of starting it at $550 sounds reasonable to me. Before you sell it, though, use it as a learning tool. Get out your loupe and look it over carefully from all angles. Try different kinds and intensity of lighting. Try to see what the graders saw that caused them to give it the "details" grade. Same with the whizzed nickel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieR131 Posted April 5, 2020 Author Share Posted April 5, 2020 (edited) Thank you JB. Good recommendation. Also, starting to wonder about the 1867 $3 gold. If it was enclosed in the ledger for a minimum of 60 yrs., since 1958, I would think it would have some toning on it. It had none, it was shiney, although my cellphone pics don't show it. Oh well, no one is alive that I can follow up on the story. It was in a little cloth bag with a drawstring on top, I probably should be thankful no environmental damage. Edited April 5, 2020 by ronnie stein info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieR131 Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 (edited) Yes indeed, now that I KNOW the two coins were whizzed and cleaned, it's so obvious to see what I couldn't before. The whizzed coin, a horrible result I can see with the naked eye. The cleaned gold, a little more difficult, because I see comparison photos of like coins that weren't cleaned that look cleaned to me, especially around the dates, lettering, and the devices. I narrowed it down to small areas deep in the devices that weren't dirty after all like I had previously thought, they were natural 'peach' toning like the entire coin probably should have. I saw no rubbing etc., just a 'too pretty' piece in the fields. Cleaned coins are a no no in a collectors world, but cleaned gold sure is a stunning sight otherwise. LOL Thanks again JB, and everyone. Done with all of this, going to fold up and read and study about die cracks for a few weeks, so I won't have to post "Is This" over and over. Enjoyed!! Edited April 12, 2020 by ronnie stein more cleaning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 I would still like to see a picture of the old RR ledger, if you have the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieR131 Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 Temporarily misplaced that ledger, here is the second ledger continued after that one. Hoghead515 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieR131 Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 Hoghead515 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieR131 Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 (edited) Having heck with someone else's phone, one at a time pics, upload issues. Edited April 7, 2020 by ronnie stein continued explanation Hoghead515 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieR131 Posted April 7, 2020 Author Share Posted April 7, 2020 (edited) Anyway, will have new computer in a week, can give good cropped pics all in one entry then, but you get an idea with these. Also, the first ledger, that my oldest son says he borrowed, (oh boy), has a piece that sounds like the San Francisco mint sending coins by wagon to be loaded on the Union Pacific RR, from there to Omaha NE, from there to Kansas City Ks, from there to St Louis, and charges discussed along with hiring Pinkerton Agency to help guard the train account Bell Starr and her gang had been robbing trains in Kansas and Missouri and then going back into Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to lay low. That said, this is a coin collectors forum, so I'll put it in WYNK later on, a few GOOD pics with clarity, and keep it brief yet informative and interesting, I hope. Brief for sure, no one prob gives a D but me and I get carried away. Later.... (WHIZZED!! That's one negative nasty looking word isn't it). Edited April 7, 2020 by ronnie stein continued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbbpll Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 Handwriting was so elegant back then. Each capital letter is like a work of art! Thanks for posting, I'm sure more viewers than me enjoy seeing this stuff. The RRs had a lot of business with the mints so I don't know if anybody would mind if you just keep adding photos to this thread when you have the time. My personal opinion is that "cleaning" as a curse on a coin is way overblown. That 1855 looks lovely regardless and it could have been "cleaned" over 100 years ago. This is a case where I say, who cares. Rummy13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conder101 Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 On 4/5/2020 at 10:11 AM, ronnie stein said: Also, starting to wonder about the 1867 $3 gold. If it was enclosed in the ledger for a minimum of 60 yrs., since 1958, I would think it would have some toning on it. It had none, Gold is fairly inert and doesn't tone that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieR131 Posted April 16, 2020 Author Share Posted April 16, 2020 (edited) Found an interesting bookmarker in the ledger, at least I know someone had it open since WWII. Which also happens to be my garage passcode if you need in there for any reason,Once again, pic taken with cellphone other than mine, didn't realize it was getting 'saved' in the wrong direction, hope you needed to pop your neck muscles from sitting around all week. Edited April 16, 2020 by ronnie stein photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 That bookmark is about as cool as they come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinbuf Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 28 minutes ago, Just Bob said: That bookmark is about as cool as they come. +1 very cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieR131 Posted November 13, 2021 Author Share Posted November 13, 2021 The mystery of the misplaced 2nd ledger is solved. My daughter in law accidently threw it away as 'trash'. Oh well, I just smiled and said it could happen to anyone. Coinbuf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinbuf Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 On 11/13/2021 at 7:56 AM, ronnie stein said: The mystery of the misplaced 2nd ledger is solved. My daughter in law accidently threw it away as 'trash'. Oh well, I just smiled and said it could happen to anyone. Sounds like my wife, if something is sitting on the counter for more than five minutes she automatically assumes it must not be needed and is headed for the trash. My office is the only place off limits to her decluttering needs. Hoghead515 and RonnieR131 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RonnieR131 Posted November 13, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 13, 2021 Just Bob, I finally saw the cleaning issues on the 1855 $3 coin, and it was a 'barely'. The whizzed 1883 5 cent, on the other hand, 1 1/2 years later, is so obvious that now it's embarrassing that I even submitted it in the first place. It's obviously so whizzed it looks like they did it with a skill saw blade, pitted and scraped. I should have posted it and got opinions before submitting, no doubt it would have been unanimously been deemed whizzed, and even that would've been a nice way of saying "I've never seen a parking lot Liberty Nickel before".! Coinbuf, your lucky to have a wife like that and you know it. You would think that my daughter in law, at the very least would ask someone beforehand, being that it's 150 years old, thick and Heavy, and on the kitchen counter all by itself. Oh well, she's a sweetie and I guess there's a reason for everything, maybe, probably, I guess. She's got a new Corvette. I think I'll go over there and put a guilt trip on her, let her know that my hurt feelings would subside if I could use it for the weekend. GBrad, Hoghead515 and Coinbuf 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post J P M Posted November 13, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted November 13, 2021 The reason leger 2 was so heavy is it had all the $20 gold pieces in it. Coinbuf, Rummy13, RonnieR131 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Just Bob Posted November 13, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted November 13, 2021 On 11/13/2021 at 8:56 AM, ronnie stein said: The mystery of the misplaced 2nd ledger is solved. My daughter in law accidently threw it away as 'trash'. Oh well, I just smiled and said it could happen to anyone. It is amazing how people view things so differently. When I see something old, my first thought is, "Cool!" When some people see something old, their first thought is, "Junk!" Alex in PA., Hoghead515, GBrad and 3 others 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBrad Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 On 11/13/2021 at 1:39 PM, Just Bob said: It is amazing how people view things so differently. When I see something old, my first thought is, "Cool!" When some people see something old, their first thought is, "Junk!" HOW SO TRUE!!!!!!! Hoghead515 and RonnieR131 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWB Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 On 11/13/2021 at 1:39 PM, Just Bob said: It is amazing how people view things so differently. When I see something old, my first thought is, "Cool!" When some people see something old, their first thought is, "Junk!" Several mint directors considered old documents were "junk" and threw them away; Eva Adams and Stella Hackel come to mind. 124Spider, RonnieR131 and Hoghead515 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
124Spider Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 That's a cool story! What a great way to acquire such a fabulous coin (and some other pretty neat ones)! Mark RonnieR131 and Hoghead515 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...