EagleRJO Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 I have been collecting half dollars when I find ones that are interesting or look good. Another topic got me interested in this as a pretty inexpensive coin that was the first year the US issued commemoratives. I came across the attached raw 1892 Columbian Half Dollar Commemorative which actually looked pretty good, with the second pic being the closest match. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKurtB Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 On 8/27/2022 at 8:51 PM, EagleRJO said: I have been collecting half dollars when I find ones that are interesting or look good. Another topic got me interested in this as a pretty inexpensive coin that was the first year the US issued commemoratives. I came across the attached raw 1892 Columbian Half Dollar Commemorative which actually looked pretty good, with the second pic being the closest match. Thoughts? The lower pair is a much more desirable coin than the upper pair. World Colonial and Sandon 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandon Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 These coins do not appear to be comparable. The photo of the first coin is of low quality, but it appears to be of a lightly worn and possibly dipped or "cleaned" coin with little or no mint luster. The second photo is of much higher quality and appears to be of a highly lustrous and original uncirculated coin that would likely grade "65" or higher and would be of much greater value. The second coin shows evidence of contact on the high points, not "rub" or wear like the first coin. Then again, at least part of the difference may be due to the photos. I must reiterate that you need to compare actual coins, not photos of varying quality! World Colonial 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleRJO Posted August 28, 2022 Author Share Posted August 28, 2022 (edited) The first pair of pics (top) are for the listed raw coin I saw, and the second pair (bottom) is a mid-MS grade from PCGS CoinFacts to compare wear of the coins, not really to compare luster which is different. I agree the first/listed coin is darker/duller and also may have had a light "dip in the pool" at some point in the past as it is an older raw coin, but it's possible that's a poorly lit picture. Focus point per ANA for wear are the eyebrow, cheek and forehead hair on the obv as well as the top rear sail and right side of the globe to the far right on the rev. I am seeing a lot more dings or contact marks on the first/top listed coin, but in general not much wear at all particularly at the focus points. It even looks like some areas like the head, shoulders, boat and globes are showing more detail zooming in and comparing the two. I am also not seeing any cleaning scuffs or cleaning scrape marks, or classic signs of a cleaning like dark areas within and around devices, letters and numbers, particularly with the "O"s. My guess is that the first/top listed coin is just Unc. with no brilliance left for it to be a BU due to the darker appearance and possible light dip. Edited August 28, 2022 by EagleRJO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J P M Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 I think you have been doing a awesome job finding good looking coins Jo I still have to say that almost all photo shots of a raw coin can make a coin look any way they want it to look. When you shoot with light or white color it is true looking. A dark background changes the coins look so it looks brighter and cleaner. When you take a shot straight on it takes away all the fine cleaning lines. I have held many a coin in hand with a loop in store light and did not see lines until I got to natural lighting by a window. Shopping coins off the net is all a shot in the dark. LoL I think VKurtB can add to this he has taken a couple photos in his day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Bill347 Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 Agree Eagle, the first coin has been cleaned but has good detail. I have one of these too, but not quite as nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleRJO Posted August 28, 2022 Author Share Posted August 28, 2022 (edited) As with any coin you are buying from the web with just pictures you can't really be sure about some things. It's why I only buy raw coins online if there is an unconditional money back guarantee, so I can get the coin in-hand to carefully examine. And I am curious if our resident photo expert @VKurtBhas any further thoughts on photo appearance. But I an not seeing any signs of a cleaning. What are you guys seeing that I am missing to be able to state it was cleaned, or is that a presumption based on appearance which I agree is a darker appearance that lacks significant luster. But that might just indicate an AU or Unc condition without that brilliance I usually see from raw BU coins. Also, like many other older raw coins it may turn out it has had a light cleaning or a light dip in the pool. But it is very common to encounter, something I might even expect for better condition older raw coins. Many of those will even straight-grade its so common and known if light enough. So that really doest bother me as much if I am going in eyes wide open and it's priced accordingly with a good sense of the coin grade I will end up with. Edited August 28, 2022 by EagleRJO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Bill347 Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 These are the areas that I saw. I could be wrong as i often am. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleRJO Posted August 28, 2022 Author Share Posted August 28, 2022 (edited) On 8/28/2022 at 12:51 PM, Mr.Bill347 said: These are the areas that I saw. They do not appear to be scuffs or longer length scratches or gouges from cleaning, at least to me. Those are the short length dings or contact marks I mentioned that are throughout both the obv and rev. Attached is a close-up of some of them on the rev at the top, to the left of the upper sail which is one of the circled areas from your post. Looks like typical random contact marks, and not cleaning scratches or gouges. Edited August 28, 2022 by EagleRJO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Bill347 Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 Eagle I think this one has a better chance of not being cleaned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleRJO Posted August 28, 2022 Author Share Posted August 28, 2022 (edited) Thanks, I think I did see that one but ... it's not an 1892 first year of issue, it's an 1893 that looks like it has more wear and less detail vs others for that year I have seen, like the attached 1893 50C Commemorative which I may get to have both an 1892 and 1893 issue. The one I originally posted is an 1892 which are a little less common in better condition/grade, but still not that expensive. So, the question remains as to if what I am seeing are random contact marks throughout as suspected and shown in my preceding post with a close-up. Edited August 28, 2022 by EagleRJO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKurtB Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 My 1892 (I haven’t found the ‘right’ 1893 yet) has prooflike fields and peripheral toning. I really like my ‘92. Raw, not graded, … yet. Don’t hold your breath waiting for me to send it in. You’d turn awfully blue and assume ambient temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleRJO Posted August 28, 2022 Author Share Posted August 28, 2022 On 8/28/2022 at 2:33 PM, VKurtB said: I really like my ‘92. Raw, not graded, … yet. Don’t hold your breath waiting for me to send it in. Well, I sure won't be holding my breath, the grading cost is prolly more than the coin. Btw, the attached is another 1892 I am considering which is cleaner with a lot less contact marks, but with what appears to be less detail which may not have been as sharply struck. Then again, it may just be slightly out of focus. I was originally thinking of going with this one and just seeing how it looks in-hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World Colonial Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 This is another coin, where based upon your preference, I'd buy graded and just crack it out of the holder. I would only buy an ungraded one after a personal inspection (mine or someone I knew), not from an image. It's a really common coin, so I see no need to buy it as you are describing here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleRJO Posted August 28, 2022 Author Share Posted August 28, 2022 (edited) You get charged a premium for a graded/slabbed coin, with the 1892 not that expensive a coin to begin with. It's why I and others like VKurtB will not be submitting these coins for grading any time soon. A $40 to $60 nice raw coin jumps up to $80 to over $100 slabbed so I'm not even considering that, even as a crack-out due to the low initial raw coin cost. I stick with sellers who have an unconditional return policy so that I can get the raw coin in-hand to examine, no matter how good it may look from pictures. I just try and avoid wasting a lot of everyone's' time by closely looking at any pics and doing a little digging or post for some feedback if I have concerns. [P S. There were 2 coins, with another one similar to the orig one posted from the same roll/source, which went for $43 and $48 which is about what I thought. I decided to try for the brighter 1892 one with less dings posted later.] Edited August 29, 2022 by EagleRJO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsshog40 Posted August 29, 2022 Share Posted August 29, 2022 (edited) I have a few these myself. I only have two that are graded. I also wanted a set so I would have both years. I've always liked the Columbian halves and looking for raw ones that haven't been cleaned is another issue. Have fun looking for them as there always seems to be a good abundance of them on ebay. Here are is my graded set. Sorry for the poor pics but my computer is in storage and these are the only one's I could find of them on my phone. Both are NGC MS 64 with the 92' having a green bean. Lol Edited August 29, 2022 by bsshog40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleRJO Posted August 29, 2022 Author Share Posted August 29, 2022 On 8/28/2022 at 9:02 PM, bsshog40 said: Have fun looking for them as there always seems to be a good abundance of them on ebay Yea, tell me about it ... it's a jungle out there and a lot of cleaned/dipped raw garbage. Nice coins. bsshog40 and Mr.Bill347 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleRJO Posted August 30, 2022 Author Share Posted August 30, 2022 I did end up bidding on and getting the attached for $26 which I mentioned above, which was less than the other two darker looking ones went for, and will see how it looks in-hand. Now what did I do with those NGC grading submittal forms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
