1798 Silver Liberty Dollars
 

I'm more of a straight forward bullion man, but can I ask the advice of the numismatists out there?

I spotted a 1798 Silver Liberty Dollar in an antique jewellers near me and just wondered if they'd got the price right. It was �400 (about $670)

Is this the approximate value for such a coin? It looked in reasonable condition?

TIA

Re: 1798 Silver Liberty Dollars
 

Could be a steal....depending on condition.....low wholesale for a worn good specimen is 600+ middle of the road fine 1000+ if it is a rare variety, thousands...not being there to professsionally see it, no one can help much beyond that. I'd sure like to see it up front and personal. gltu

Re: 1798 Silver Liberty Dollars
 

Thanks Bullion.

I'll nip in and have a closer look next time I'm passing.

Out of interest, what makes one rarer than the next (except for condition, of course)?

Re: 1798 Silver Liberty Dollars
 

Too hard to explain.....one variety for 1798 only to look for, is if it is an eagle without a shield on its breast...if that is the case hop on board, it is minimally worth a thousand. The more common has a large heraldic shield on its breast....GLTU

Re: 1798 Silver Liberty Dollars
 

Here is the coin in question. It has contact marks at the edges, both back and front. I notice that it has 13 stars and the clouds(?) on the eagle side appear to be over stamped. A couple of the stars on this side are also touching the "clouds".

The guy is looking for approx $700. Is this about the right value? Or is he looking to be stiffed. I'd love to stiff him. When I once tried to sell him Krugers he tried to offer me 30% under spot. :rant: Yeah right.:hahaha:

http://tinypic.com/jr6135.jpg http://tinypic.com/jr65hz.jpg

Any thoughts by those in the know would be most welcomed.:adore:

Re: 1798 Silver Liberty Dollars
 

Not an expert, but... according to the "red book", the condition descriptions are:

Good-4: Letters and date legible, "E PLURIBUS UNUM" (motto) illegible
Very Good--8: Motto partially legible; only deepest drapery details visible. all other lines smooth
Fine-12: all drapery lines distinguishable; some detail visible in hair lines near cheek and neck
Very Fine-20: left side of drapery worn smooth
Extremely Fine-40: Drapery distinct, hair well detailed
etc...

judging from the picture, the whole motto's there, and there's a fair amount of detail, so it seems like it's in the VF-20 to EF-40 range, for which "book value" is $2300 to $3800... but even taking half that, it seems like a good deal;

A quick eBay check finds this one that sold for $650 in _much_ worse condition than yours:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1798-DRAPED-BUST...QQcmdZViewItem

and others there have indeed sold for thousands... so it seems like a good deal!

Re: 1798 Silver Liberty Dollars
 

http://www.apmex.com/shop/buy/Early_....asp?orderid=0

$2300 at APMEX.com . Use caution with "collectable" coins. You can lose your ass.

Re: 1798 Silver Liberty Dollars
 

Since draped bust dollars are widely counterfeited it might be a good idea to see if it is on this page

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/reidgo...ts/page_7.html

or this

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/reidgo...s/page_7a.html

or see if it is talked about here!

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=bu...%20counterfeit

Re: 1798 Silver Liberty Dollars
 

Looks like a cast counterfeit......STAY AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: 1798 Silver Liberty Dollars
 

Thank you all for this excellent thread. What a perfect example of why the ordinary purchaser should stick to bullion!