For the Copperheads
 

Re: For the Copperheads
 

A beauty , REAL MONEY I'LL SAY.... whats she worth? Looks ' VERY GOOD'

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Beautiful!

I have a large cent but not a nice as that.

Congratulations.

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Old coins are truly works of art, US as well as foreign. There's an obvious quality there that doesn't seem to exist any more. I don't think it has to be that way, though.

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thanks for that pic, I have been seeing those advertised and wondering what they looked like

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Thanks DC, but some numismatists would not like the coin becuase it has been cleaned. There is wear on the coin besides the dings, and any coin would loose its luster and color.

Whoever cleaned it ruined the coin in some eyes. For me, I think it adds beauty. I have seen similar graded coins that are brown in color, and no where near as pretty.

The Great Ag

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To my eye, the detail and condition make a coin more enjoyable than if it was cleaned.

I have cleaned coins, But often end up avoiding them not because of personal taste, but concerns about resale.

I pulled my large cent out, it's an 1853. Based on photograde I'd say mine's a fine, maybe a vf. Yours definately has more detail.

This head on this large cent is from 1839-1857. I'd also like earlier ones, but I think this one was the best looking.

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Congrats, she is a beauty! I have one dated 1853 that looks to be in similiar condiiton to your coin. Large copper coins like those are all the more special since cents are not even made from pure copper anymore. If you find you enjoy collecting early American coppers you might want to check out half cents. Like large cents, they are larger than the modern small cents and all half cents are considered scarce and highly collectible.

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from my collection of scans...


Here's one that I used to own. I had to sell it a few years back to raise some money to pay some medical bills. I bought it in the mid-90's for about $1200 and got about $2500 for it in 1999.

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here is another chunk of copper that I sold at the very same time to pay the very same medical bills in 1999.

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Just beautiful, the s-vdb and the large cent. What a shame to have to part with quality like that! I no longer have any health insurance, and could find myself in a similar situation. It's something that haunts me. I've still got a few things, including some nice cents, but nothing like those two examples. did sell a couple of things to buy some silver last summer, but there's nothing prettier in the world than pristine copper like that. If I were rich I'd buy that stuff until it came out of my ears.
Hope you resolved your medical problems, Ross.

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I agree. NEVER clean your numies.

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They are beautiful. Love those vintage ones.

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Found another scan of the 1909 SVDB that I made before I sold it... I used the scans to sell the coin in 1999.

To fritzkrieg: Thank you very much about your concern, I am fine and healthy now at the ripe old age of 49 1/2 ,,, :coolbeer:

and I plan on another 40 or 50 :applause_

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Hey AG,
Here's a nice copper I picked up from a guy from Scotland a while back. A bit unusual, and getting harder to find. It's an Isle of Man 1839 half penny. I like stuff from all over the world, especially Victorian.
I think more people would share coin photos and info but may be reluctant because of security issues, even if these fears may be mostly unfounded. Don't really know, just surmising.

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I real beauty. 100% copper or bronze/brass?

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Thanks for all the comments. I hated to part with that 1853 large cent.

I always felt the 1909SVDB was slightly overgraded. The reverse side has beautiful luster and could rate a MS66. But the obverse side is weakly struck and kind of blotchy. Just average luster. Could rate a MS64. I suppose that averages out to MS65.

It looks like they used a new die for the back side and a worn die for the front side when the cent was struck back in 1909 in San Fransisco.

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digging through the old files... I find a closeup of that big beautiful 1853.

click on this one and look at it full size.

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here's a nice ms66 chunk of copper

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here is a denomination that wasn't very popular.

only made from 1864 to 1873.

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Is that what you give when you "give your two cents?"

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Too bad you had to part with it.:frown:

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Most GIMers collect bullion, the only good pics shown, thanks to Tom D, are bullion pieces. There aren't too many numismatists on GIM. Only 5 come to mind.

Check out the luster on that coin, man, that is gorgeous. There is no way the bullion coins made by our mint come close to that copper cent. Out mint needs to get its head out of its a:censored:s and start making decent coins. Not that presidential crap.

Hey, RossL,
Wasn't that coin made for postage purposes, but the cost of a stamp went up making the coin obsolete? Am I thinking of the three cent nickel?

The Great Ag

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Hey, Fritzkrieg:

Thanks for posting the pic. I don't collect foreign coins, but that's a beaut, for sure. High quality too. Check out the detail around the ear where most wear would occur. What is a coin like that worth today, Fritzkrieg.

The Great Ag

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Hi Ag,
It wasn't much, between $30-$40. I was also able to pick up a couple of gold sovereigns for little over bullion price. He had all kinds of neat English type coins, going way back several hundred years. He had a really good site on the internet One of the prettiest pieces was a 1/4 farthing with just a unique rosy color. Some pieces, like that 1853 large cent above, almost take your breath away. I finally had to give up acquiring anything really nice, because the bullion seems to be more important as an investment vehicle. So far I haven't sold any coins for bullion, but have come close. It's a real dilemna!
I'll dig up a few more scans. It really is fun to share this stuff.

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This is a real favorite of mine. Bought it from a guy who deals almost exclusively with old copper ( on the internet). Real fine fellow. Anyway, he knocked off a couple of hundred $ for me. Another piece of Americana at its finest. It's maybe a VG 12, or F 15 at the highest. There just are not many Bust dollars around any more.

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Hey, Fritzkrieg:

That is cool coin! The first year our mint began production of copper cents, if I recall correctly. Our coins of today have no personality or engender a spirit of liberty. The best we can do is say, look at lincoln, washington. . .etc. If we have to have presidents on our coins, at least have them doing something! Washington at Valley Forge, Lincoln delivering Gettysburg address, or Roosevelt stealing our gold. At least the Draped Bust coin has a female reminding us of the feminine qualities of Liberty, and the heraldic eagle on the reverse; symbolically reminding each person is royalty. God first, then man, then gov't.

I',m at work and will post the pic tonight of the one other interesting copper I own, a flying eagle in XF condition colored brown. This is the first cent the treasury minted that is the same size as our current Lincoln cents.

What I like, and you won't be able to tell from the picture, is it has a small rotational die error of 5 - 10 degrees. It took my a while to figure this out. Not sure if this error is rare or not, but a cool coin nonetheless.

The Great Ag AKA The Great Cu

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OK you copperheads... I pulled some slabs out of deep storage and fired up the scanner.

First up... a proof 1898 indian cent. This one really needs re-slabbed. The green speckles are on the plastic, not the coin.

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Here is a 1909 VDB cent minted in Philadelphia.

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1931-S Lincoln cent. Second lowest mintage of the Lincoln cent series. Only 866,000 minted in San Fransisco in the depression year of 1931.

Another old green PCGS slab with scratches on it.

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re copper toning
 

my wife puts pennies on the coffeemaker hot plate. she says it keeps the coffee from burning and insists that I comply or else.

the heated pennies, when exposed to some water and coffee, will turn amazing colors in a few weeks time.