Do I need to get this graded? 1 1

[Bradley5523]

Got this nice little coin in a trade, and I’m curious if it’s worth getting graded. Any help such as value or probable grade would be appreciated!! Note, it looks a lot better out of the plastic 1853 1 dollar gold 

[VKurtB]

Hear me now and think about it later. (Remember that?) On one hand, it is not a super high grade and that militates against having it graded. On the other hand, some legitimately believe ALL U.S. gold coins should be submitted for reasons of authentication. 

[Coinbuf]

On 6/14/2024 at 7:48 PM, Bradley5523 said:

Got this nice little coin in a trade, and I’m curious if it’s worth getting graded. Any help such as value or probable grade would be appreciated!! Note, it looks a lot better out of the plastic 1853 1 dollar gold 

I personally would not be in any rush to send this to a grading company, but it depends on what you want to do with the coin.   If your plan is to sell it very soon on the internet then getting it graded might help to make buyers feel more at ease.   If you plan to hold the coin for a long time then there is no pressing reason to have it graded except to ease your concerns on the authenticity of the coin.   Honestly if you were worried about it being a counterfeit you should not have traded for it until you could determine if it is authentic or not.

I see nothing in your photos that would lead me to think it is not genuine, but it would help to know the weight and dimensions of the coin.   This particular coin date is not one of the more commonly counterfeited dates that I am aware of.

As far as grade I grade it AU53 (from these photos anyway), and due to the runup of gold prices these gold dollars do not have any price premium over spot gold unless MS63 or better in grade or a better date.

[Bradley5523]

Thanks guys. I know it’s genuine, no worries about it being counterfeit. I’ll post some better pictures tomorrow. It really looks horrible in the pictures in the sleeve 

[VKurtB]

On 6/14/2024 at 10:55 PM, Bradley5523 said:

Thanks guys. I know it’s genuine, no worries about it being counterfeit. I’ll post some better pictures tomorrow. It really looks horrible in the pictures in the sleeve 

The weakness of the date is the only thing that bothers me.

[Sandon]

   Welcome to the NGC chat board.

    If you collect coins, you first "need to get them graded" by yourself, so you must develop your own grading knowledge and skills if you want to make good decisions as to what to purchase and for what price. This is true even if you only purchase certified coins and is absolutely necessary if you buy uncertified coins. What you mean, I assume, is, "Should I submit this coin to a third-party grading service?"  If you do so without learning to grade yourself, you are likely to waste a great deal of money.

   Small denomination U.S. gold coins such as gold dollars are frequently counterfeited.  Some of these counterfeits are composed of gold of approximately the correct weight and fineness and can be quite deceptive, so it is questionable that you "know it's genuine".  The 1853 gold dollar is identified as number 13 on NGC's list of "Top 50 Most Commonly Counterfeited U.S. Coins" and is discussed at 13. 1853 Gold Dollar | NGC (ngccoin.com). One of the diagnostics of a counterfeit is "unusually weak details". Although the dates are often weak on Type 2 (some 1854, all 1855 and 1856-S) gold dollars, this is generally not the case on Type 1s.  The best reason for submitting this coin to a grading service would be for authentication, not grading.

  Based on the photos, I estimate that this coin if genuine and uncleaned would grade somewhere from XF 45 to AU 53, so an approximate grade would be AU 50.  An 1853 gold dollar in this grade range has a retail list value of $390-$400 on the NGC Price Guide and a similar price range in current Coin World Coin Values.  At NGC, assuming that you have a paid NGC membership including submission privileges, the least expensive option would be the $35 per coin "Gold" tier and would also involve $10 per order processing and minimum $28 per order shipping fees, as well as your cost of shipping the coin to NGC. It really wouldn't be economical to submit this coin to a grading service by itself. You might be able to save something by submitting the coin through an NGC member dealer. See Find Coin Shops & Dealers | Coin Dealer Locator | NGC (ngccoin.com). 

   

[RWB]

The purpose of sending your 1853 gold dollar to NGC is authentication. The coin, in my view, is a rather scruffy EF with no claim of any kind to "About Uncirculated" grade.

Edited Saturday at 11:59 PM by RWB

[Henri Charriere]

🐓 : In all this talk about grading, possible counterfeits and submission, ALL the responding members missed the key point.

Q.A.:  Which is?

🐓 :  They say you get what you pay for, right?

Q.A.:  Right, but nothing was bought.

🐓  :  Precisely... so what was traded?

Q.A.:  HUSH UP, RICKY!  That's rude and disrespectful!

🐓  :  Maybe so but would you have traded a Rare "Gold" 1883 Liberty Head nickel for it from a guy who calls himself Ratzie?

Q.A.:  You've got a point there...  I certainly hope not!  Btw, Brad, where's that nice Buick you were driving the other day ?

🤣