Oh, well...

I was at a gun show this morning. There were a few dealers who had
coins to sell.

One that immediately caught my eye was a 1799 large cent. It was
heavily worn, probably a weak AG, but the date was strong. Knowing
that there are many altered dates, I looked at the date with a glass.
It didn't look altered to me, but since I am not an expert on large
cents, I wasn't sure.

I asked the dealer how much he wanted for the coin. It was very noisy
in the building and it sounded to me like he said $625. If it were a
genuine 1799, that would have been a great price even for such a
heavily worn coin. Then he added "It's too bad it's not an XF, it
would be a $500 coin."

I was baffled. I asked him again how much he wanted, and he said $25.
And I immediately thought what the hell? That's not much to lose. I
bought it and hurried home to compare it with the photos in Penny
Whimsy, with the hope that I had stumbled upon the Holy Grail.

It took me a long time to attribute the coin, because it is so heavily
worn and because my copy of Penny Whimsy is the Durst reprint with the
lousy photos. I finally figured out that it is a VERY skillfully
altered 1798 S-163. The date looks almost exactly like an S-189 should
look, but the reverse gave it away.

What I'm still baffled about is the dealer. This guy was obviously not
a copper specialist. He had numerous different types of US and foreign
coins, paper money, guns, knives, and other collectibles. But any coin
dealer should know that a 1799 large cent is a monster coin.

So, did he know that it was an altered 1798? Or was he unaware that it
was altered and also unaware that a 1799 is very valuable?

Say, I wonder if Accugrade will slab it as a 1799? (Just kidding).

Say, I wonder if Accugrade will slab it as a 1799? (Just kidding).


Of course they would. (Not Kidding)

--
Jason Craton ---- CONECA N-3407 --- WINS #5
---------------------------
Interested in error coins?
http://www.error-coins.com - A work in progress (lack of progress
really).

eXistenZ32 wrote in message .. .
In article , Craton wrote:


Say, I wonder if Accugrade will slab it as a 1799? (Just kidding).


Of course they would. (Not Kidding)


Too bad the topic came up. if you sent it in now, it would probably
"disapear in the mail"

I should have thought of that. I could have sent it to Hager for
grading, and then donated it to Eric's collection of Accugrade gems.