Found this among a relative's estate items. Any thoughts on where it might grade out (and corresponding value)?
reddit.com/gallery/150ftim
reddit.comPosted Jul 15, 2023, 4:07 PM UTC
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reddit.com1806 Draped Bust Half Dollar - looks to be in VF condition. If it’s legit, it would start around $690 and up from there.
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Which variety is it? I’m currently comparing pictures on PCGS
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1806 pointed 6 no stem if it is real
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Thanks friend! I’m always trying to learn.
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Thanks. Would that correspond to around a 40 grade?
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Photograde puts it around 10 - 15 I’d say.
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FYI, I didn’t downvote, because I don’t have any expertise
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I guess I dont understand the downvotes. People disagree?
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I see the other comment suggesting, a 20. I could see that, but I tend to ‘round down’ to avoid being over optimistic when putting values on mine.
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Where does it say the denomination ‘half dollar’
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Along the edge.
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Yep, this is a pretty valuable coin in good condition.
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It’s absolutely fake. Everything is engraved and flat. That’s not how coins were made back then. Looks like it was purchased off Aliexpress.
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When would you say such fakes were made? I’m guessing it was acquired by my relatives maybe 50 years ago.
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Weigh it. It should be about 13.5 grams not accounting for loss due to wear.
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Don’t pay them any mind send it out to be graded and you will know 100% true or fake. nice looking coin. i hope you nothing but the best out come on your coin.
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Will probably run it by an LCS first
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No I wouldn’t do that. They have an agenda to try to get it from you for the least possible amount to profit. You really cannot trust a local LCS that you don’t personally know.
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They probably bought it off of the analog internet.
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Good one
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They ordered it off of the typewriter.log. Back then you had to connect a cloth wound wire from your typewriter up to your wooden telephone. Rotate the handle thingy to connect to an operator who would then begin buzzing/humming into your ear. You would then clickety clack your order and then wait for lightning to strike your house to connect to the server. This was often very cumbersome so some people would just jump on their horse and gallop all the way to the U.S. Mint to get their collectors edition coins so that they could bury them in the ground until metal detectors would be invented. It’s a fake from China. Chinese people buried these in the ground on American soil so as to throw off future Redditors. They had it all planned out!!
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That reminds me of the time Mrs McGillicuddy got her order for a new undergarment tangled up with Mr Foster's order for a new house bridle. By the time they untangled the ordering ribbons, the damage was done. Old Gerty, the horse, looked so ridiculous in that frilled corset that that old lady Swanson laughed so hard that she upended her butter churn.
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So frustrating to see people say it looks fake without providing any details. If you could include a photo of the edge of the coin, that'd be a big help.
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People here love saying “it’s fake” or “cleaned” without providing any facts
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You're fake.
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You’re clean.
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Don’t tell everyone!
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Yeah I started to hang out here but I get really tired of the automatic “FAKE” cries from people who probably really have very little clue what the hell they are even looking at let alone what actually authenticates or gives grading nuances.
I have collected since I was a small child under the guidance of my maternal grandfather who was a coin and antiquities (specialized in far eastern items - with emphasis on Japanese) and was actually a grader for ANACS when that was the premier service.
My first collection paid for my college education and down payment on my first home as well as three different cars and other stuff. That was the small one.
I currently hold in the neighborhood of 40,000 coins (including bulk low value, full and ancients - a lark of mine including a large batch that I am going to try to restore myself). I have always stuck primarily with US coinage although occasionally if I find something unusual or attractive I’m foreign I will pick it up if the price is right.
Sue to the fact that Grandpa started me on what I could afford and relate to, I have a high expertise in US Pennies and Half Pennies. Morgan’s were Grandpa’s faves so I’m well versed in those and have a number of VAM errors and rates that I have had the good fortune to get ahold of.
And more recently I have taken a serious liking to early halves. I just really enjoy the artisan ship in the designs. And there are a lot of errors and varieties so it’s a constant enjoyment to discover a new one.
Anyway I hope this gives some perspective as to why I have little use for the constant cry of “it’s fake” from a crappy internet photo. You have no idea and your opinion means nothing anyway.
The best thing to do is if you suspect that you have a coin of value or potential value, get it graded by PCGS and best to do a batch for better pricing but either way the worst case you’re out fifty bucks and the associated mess that an actual counterfeit would cause you and best case you now have a nice, valuable and value added slabbed coin with an easy way to measure it’s worth.
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Nice old table though
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Thanks, but it’s at most 20 years old, Ethan Allen
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It does not look fake, despite the other comments. Seems to be about a VF20, which would come out at around $500-$700.
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Thanks
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Nice find!!!!
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Current slabbed price guide for that is $800.
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My valuation is not based on price guides, but on actual value.
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I have a vf30 in PCGS and the obverse looks slightly nicer than mine so I think this is closer to a vf35
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I would be a little concerned about authenticity. It's the color that throws me the most. The tip of the 6 seems a little off as well but there were multiple varieties.
That being said, all of the other details look correct, but I'm no expert. Seems it would be worth several hundred, if legit.
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As noted in an earlier comment, the phone camera makes it look more gray than the eye. It looks more brown to me irl.
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It’s a pointed “6” no stem variety. It’s well known.
There are SEVEN common graded PCGS varieties for the 1806 half dollar and probably a whole lot more sub varieties that would take a specific guide to sort through and are likely incredibly scarce.
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I don’t see any red flags there as far as authenticity. I think a lot of the knee jerk “that’s fake” reactions come from collectors that simply don’t handle and examine many 200 year old coins.
Circulated coins that old can develop all kinds of unique toning / patina that really doesn’t look like anything else. Coins of that era could have 75 years of wear on them, another 75 years of patina from sitting in an old school coin cabinet and THEN 50 more years in an album.
125 years of toning sitting on top of 75 years of wear has a unique look.
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Bingo!
Many of my own thoughts on this. It looks like a commonly circulated early 1800’s half that then sat in one place for a very long time.
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It looks genuine to me, I highly doubt it’s counterfeit. I’m not sure if it would grade straight though, I would need a more high res picture to take a closer look, but it looks like the patina is covering up some abrasions in the fields in the nose/chin area on the obverse, which could point to an old cleaning. With those details and eye appeal, it’s probably worth around $300-$500 if it comes back as a details grade, and $650+ if it grades straight somewhere in the mid VF range
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Solid advice
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Excellent and 100% spot on answer.
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I agree that it’s likely an Overton 109. I hold one very similar.
The pattern of the marks you referred to struck me as corrosion marks. There are some pits there that are that look. As well it only shows it on the obverse and it anywhere glaring on the reverse which makes me think it rested on something or under a weight for some time (possibly lodged under a piece of old wooden (porous to water) furniture?
You may be right though but I don’t get obvious cleaning signs which always affect the later patina pretty markedly.
I cleaned an older seated dine one time strictly for my own viewing enjoyment as I knew it would kill value. But I picked it up for almost nothing and under the corroded surfaces with only a few slight exceptions the details were extremely sharp and fun to see.
But about a year later I took it out and it had a very odd look to the patina that was quite different than what you would normally see.
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Thanks for all your insights throughout this post. Much appreciated.
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☝️ what he said
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Thank you for sharing this coin! I love how 50¢ can become $500 just by being around for 200ish years!
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Because it's fake.
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I’m not asking about the authenticity of this coin, I’m just wondering how people would know it’s a half dollar. Google is full of similar coins that also don’t state the denomination.
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There is no denomination because it's not a real coin
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Sounds like someone has never seen this design before
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How can you be so certain yet so wrong?
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Check the rim for the vslue
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I can’t believe I’ve been downvoted for this comment!! Reddit is weird!
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Because it’s a token. Not a real coin.
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You’re wrong.
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That is on the edge of the coin.
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Thank you! That makes sense. Clearly I don’t own an old coin such as this!
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It's fake.
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Those arrows look mighty sharp in the eagles claw. Don’t mess with the bird!
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That is awesome!!!
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I just found 1832 and 1855. Half dollars.
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Jelly, super cool coin
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Wow 🤩
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VG08 those I cannot tell from photo if the surface is ok
If it grades true, then somewhere from $350-$450
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😲 woah!!!
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Your first task is to assess the coin's authenticity by checking its weight, diameter, and magnetism. My first reaction to your photos, especially of the obverse, is that it does not look quite right. It has almost a greenish tinge to it, like a copper patina. I have never seen that color on a silver coin, but maybe it's just the lighting or photo quality.
Regarding it grade, you can judge for yourself by comparing it with the PCGS photo grading for that coin type. I would grade it in the F15 to VF20 range just based on the photos.
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Thanks. Definitely not the best photos.
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Nube here, what is “grade out”? Thanks
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“What number do you [we] think a third-party grading service would assign to its condition if I [op] were to pay fees to have it submitted?”
Also, the conventional spelling is ‘noob’ (or ‘n00b’ for l33t haxzors)
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Hey, thanks
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Looks fake
Based on coloration or something else? The photo didn’t capture the color that my eyes see—more brown than gray.
It’s legit.
The bust and letters look strange and slightly different from real examples.
Why do you say this?
I'm trying to learn...
Download Coinfacts app.
Because they don’t know what they are talking about.
US coinage in the 1800’s - especially before the civil war - has a very common occurrence of sir varieties and even complete changes in coin style mid year. It’s also not at all uncommon. To find a pretty good run of coins where the reverse is that of the prior year, the die set of the date didn’t get changed or has the completely wrong number, or they were double or more stamped creating various types of doubling. Letter styles vary due to die wear more commonly than anything and the same is true for the sharpness of a stamp.
Metal alloys were not as pure. Technology was predominantly hand in and later steam press. We aren’t talking some computer guides mint turning out hundreds of millions of coins precisely with a constant specific blend of metals.
And even today there are errors in the process.