1861 2 1/2 dollar gold coin

tony cooper wrote:
On Tue, 9 Feb 2010 21:05:51 -0600, "Mr. Jaggers"
lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote:

tony cooper wrote:
On Tue, 9 Feb 2010 18:32:33 -0600, "Mr. Jaggers"
lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote:

tony cooper wrote:
On Tue, 9 Feb 2010 16:49:17 -0600, "Paul H"
wrote:

I have an 1861 2 1/2 dollar gold coin (a quarter-Eagle) in a
ring. I know that having been in a ring diminishes it's value.
But the front appears to have all of the detail that I see in an
ad for an uncirculated 1861 quarter-Eagle. The back, of course,
has excellent detail. I would think an 1961 coin is special
because Lincoln was president and the civil war started in 1861.
Is the coin's value as a coin or it's gold content greater?
TIA, Paul

The date, as a historical point, will not affect the value of the
coin in any way. The grade (condition) of the coin and the
relative rarity of coins minted in that date determine the value.
That value is, of course, a theoretical value without a willing
buyer available.

1861 $2.50 gold coins range from $300 to $700 (skipping the
top-tier conditions and the rarer "old reverse" versions), but
your coin will be downgraded by being ex-jewelry. The value will
be higher than the gold content value in any case.

Tony, you've been away too long. Welcome back!

Thank you. I've been preparing some ads to run on eBay to sell some
US gold, so the post caught my eye. I just so happens that the
pieces I'll list are graded (Details) with a few ex-jewelry
included.

That (Details) is a killer on selling price. One of the pieces is
an 1858-C $2.50 gold piece ANACS graded AU-53, but (Details) due to
"Ex-jewelry". Would have been such a nice piece without that
(Details).

Do your potential clients a favor and include the word "details" in
the title bar for any coin thus slabbed. Way too often I open up
auctions that don't reveal the "details" issue until I get inside.
To me that's false advertising.

My ads *always* include "AU 55 - Details" (or whatever the grade is)
in the listing line and the headline. The body copy states what the
Details are (cleaned, ex-jewelry, scratched, etc) even though that
information is shown on the pictured slab.

You are indeed an exception. Keep up the good work!

I'm going to be listing all of my (Details) gold now, but I'm holding
on to the rest of the gold.

I'm really conflicted about all this "Details" and "Genuine" and NCS
business. I probably always will be. It does all carry the assurance that
what you have is the real thing, an issue of crucial and growing importance
these days, so I guess we live with it.

James