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[pianogod]

Hey guys and gals!
I haven't posted in a while being winter and all, but I have a question! Although this is not a find while metal detecting, I was hoping to hit some rarities while detecting last summer. Well, I got tired of waiting and actually found a 1888/7 Indian Head Penny graded professionally by the NCG at a G-4. Does anyone know the value of this coin? I paid 71.00 bucks for it and I got today and it is beautiful, but I am curious of it's worth. Just wondering if anyone can tell me anything about it.

Thanks!

Tom Hamilton[/img]

[PlunkTwang]

As I tole u on the phone, rat basset enterprising upstart, $1100 as of last year's Red Book. GadZOOKS!

We'll take a field trip over to see Mr. Abbott and I'll bring my probably-just-an-1888-one.

[ernie46]

Plunk is right on. I just checked the 09 Redbook and a G4 is $1100 but it says that there is a variation where the overdate is not very prominent and that it is valued lower than the clear overdate. Hope you have the clear one!!

[tr snyper]

Well I'm just a couple of years late to notice this post. But the over date caught my eye. On the world coin website NGC (not NCG) price value through an average of a number of sources has that coin at 2,340.00 in G condition???

Even though weaker strikes command less money there's no way it would take it down that far to $71.00. Consider the fact depending the number of coins a dealer could send in to be graded could vary the charge from $15.00-$30.00 it would mean the dealer did all of that work (shipping, insuring etc.) to make what? $40.00.

I sincerely hope you did get an authentic coin but sometimes when something is too good to be true. There may be bad reasons behind it.

Here's a few facts I know about (as Ricko calls them) coin doctors. And something I've even messed around with. Modern tools can split and reseal grading slabs. With only a light hammer and a nail punch with strong magnification any coins letters or dates can slowly be manipulated.
And the worst in which (I will not take claim to doing) make a 1916D Merc
. Since it was my early hippie days memory fails me to where I saw this, unless maybe it was a dream or something . From what I think I remember a 1916P merc was ground flat on it's reverse on an oil stone while carefully measuring it with a micrometer. Then an earlier small D Merc was ground down on it's face. When the two were mated together at the exact thickness the rim was silver soldered and re-grooved. 2 out of 5 "so called" professional coin dealer caught it. Being the rim was soldered and it wasn't one solid piece of silver it didn't "ping" as a silver coin should. The sound couldn't resinate. A simple test 3 "pro's" didn't check??? It was never sent in to be graded as it would have been caught with no doubt. But here's the problem. If someone were to buy the real thing in the same grade, one if good enough could replace it into the certified slab then send the real one back to be certified as a different coin from a different dealer and even NGC wouldn't know. They could grade the same coin twice and never knowing they slabbed one authentic coin twice with only one being real out in the market.

The grading systems have improved dramaticaly over time. But unfortunately there are earlier type slabs out there and for the most part are considered as genuine as the modern slabs.

I'm honestly not trying to rain on your parade but if any rare or error coin goes up for sale "under" 40% of the redbooks value. Take caution unless your at a garage sale and an old lady opens a cigar box and says give me $50.00 for the box. Because any dealer would pay 40% of the redbooks (retail) value. I think the Blue book is a wholesale guide and the Black book is an average buying price taking in average of several grades. My last dated Black book is 1980 so I wonder if they still publish them.

Any honest reputable dealer who may sell a coin over an internet auction may let it go for bid but certainly would hold a reserve on it. Unless If you got the real deal as not to many were watching it or were suspect of it and I hope you did. Good for you. I'm on the hunt for a high grade 3 legged "certified" Buffalo. But I can't seem to come no where close to the deal you certainly made out on. So I'm out there at estate sales and flea markets with my loupe digging through countless Buffalo's in hope I'll get one that way. I've lucked out over time on key dates and even one error Morgan detecting. But to dig a specific coin and date I gave up on that hope for chance along time ago. Plus no high grade buffalo is going to come out of the ground anyway.

Good Luck and as always stay healthy