celtex wrote:
"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
celtex wrote:
Newbie trying to understand the grading process. What is your best
guess at the grading of this coin? I hope pictures are good enough
for your guess. Thanks!
Jim

This photograph is better than the last one, in that it is a much
smaller size. However, I must repeat that posting pictures to
rec.collecting.coins is not allowed. Obviously, you can ignore the
warning, but you will gain little respect and few friends by doing
it. Your coin appears to have the sharpness of at least an EF, maybe
even an AU, but beyond that, the image is so badly exposed that it
is impossible to tell anything more. If I had to guess, I'say that
it has been cleaned, it has some rim damage on the reverse, and a
stain of some kind on the obverse. Any one of those problems would
prevent it from getting into a respected slab.

James
Would you venture guess on value of this coin?

Coin World Values quotes the value of an 1896 dollar in AU-50 at $35. In
light of the likely cleaning and apparent damage, it would have to bring
less. How much less is impossible to determine without the coin in hand.
Part of the problem is that unmolested examples of this date are readily
available, so a dealer is not going to have a market for it. I'd suggest
you take it to a coin shop, though, and see what a dealer would pay for it.
Don't be offended if he offers you bullion value. You can then decide
whether to save or sell.

If you are indeed new to the hobby, there's a lot to learn! Equip yourself
with a few basic books, such as the Guide Book of United States Coins (a/k/a
the Redbook) and one of the several books on grading coins that are
available at most bigger bookstores. Then read them! Good luck, and let us
know how this all sorts out.

James