coinman1794

The toning is modest, even for a clad toner. I'm also surprised it was able to make MS68 with a 2mm long bag mark on Washington's head.

This piece has retoned attractively, but in my opinion, it appears to be a Cleaned or Altered Surfaces coin that will not straight grade. The videos are not zoomed in enough to be very useful. However, the fact that the reflectivity is not just limited to the fields, but also extends over the devices tells me that it was altered surfaces and not a polished die. Normally, there will be a contract between the mirrored fields and the devices. Sometimes the devices will actually be frosted with some traces of Cameo. The devices should not be reflective, and you should not see reflectivity rolling over wear spots. I'm also wondering why I see so little handling on a piece in the AU53-55 grade range. The handling lines may have been erased.

That is an odd buy it now price. Are you sure the item was not listed at a higher price and currently included in some sort of sale? There are times when I have a sale running and can't take much more off through offers because it is already discounted that week. Now, if you are running a sale that lasts indefinitely, it is not a sale at all, and in that case I can see a problem not accepting offers.

This piece is completely genuine, but it is not a coin, it's a medal. This is the bronze, 1962 Bashlow Restrike (HK-853A) of the famous 1876 Dickeson Continental Dollar copy (HK-853). These are fairly popular and can sell for good prices in the right grades. This one does not look bad, considering the sulfurous packaging that caused almost all of these to tone. We have done a couple different educational articles on the variations of these medals: http://www.dmrarecoins.com/Research-Articles.php

This is the more common Type 2 reverse, characterized by narrow lettering. The Type 1 chows fat letters, by comparison, and is scarcer.

This variety often comes with striking softness on the central obverse.

That was also my first thought.

This does look like a die chip, to me.

A worthy Star, it is! Glad it got fixed!

If the Star was awarded for reasons other than eye appeal, it was to note that the coin has a PL obverse, or that both sides just missed PL by a hair. Therefore, a full PL designation is objectively better than the Star, (again, if it's a case where the star was not used for eye appeal).

On classic US coins (pre 1839), a rotated reverse is relatively common and not considered a major error. Thus, it tends to have little or no affect on the value, in many cases. Therefore, I would argue it is a matter of taste, and I would also prefer not to have a rotation. On later coins, this error is much more unusual and will add value to a coin if the rotation is greater than 10-15%, in most cases. These are generally classified as Mint Errors and collected mostly by the Error community.

It looks like an MS65. It would grade higher without the reeding marks in front of the face. It is not possible to determine, from the pics, whether or not it is PL.

Make sure to set the white balance on your camera if possible. Some of your backgrounds have a noticeable, reddish tinge.

Heritage sells higher caliber coins, and generally sells their coins for more money. Heritage also takes their coins all over the country to market them in featured, coin show auctions. Additionally, they have an army of numismatists, consignment directors, and staff in house. Heritage makes an attempt to describe many of their lots. On those points alone, I think comparing them to GC would be apples to oranges. On returns, GC offers 1 free return per month. The rest will be charged a 5% restocking fee. Heritage will accept returns, with a 5% restocking fee, if there is a mistake or discrepancy in the listing. That's why you needed a reason and an approval. GC can always ship right away because they are always in one place. Heritage lots can be delayed when they are at a destination auction. They take about a week to ship most other lots.

If the picture shows everything, this is a cosmetic concern only. The lips often chip on these holders, even when properly packaged. That said, he did not package the coin properly, and that did not help. Being that it is a question of $10, you would think the seller would give in and pay.