Large cents and half cents

[William J. Doyle]

I recently acquired 30 or 40 large cents and half cents from the late 1790s and early 1800s. They are mostly well circulated and I expect they will grade G to VG with maybe one or two at F if I am lucky. I feel I should send them in for grading so they will be preserved for the future but knowing most of them are not even worth the price of grading I am a little reluctant to spend the money.  I am curious to hear the thoughts of others before I decide. Thanks.

[TomB]

Honestly, from what you have written I see no reason at all to send them in for certification.  There are quite a few of them, they are relatively low grade and you acknowledge that most are not worth the cost of certification.  Keep them raw and enjoy them.  Buy some sewn-cotton square holders for them and place them inside 2x2 Kraft-style paper envelopes.  You will enjoy being able to hold them in-hand, will not have invested the time and expense involved with certification and the coins will take up far less space.  Regardless, it would be terrific to see images.

[TomB]

Honestly, from what you have written I see no reason at all to send them in for certification.  There are quite a few of them, they are relatively low grade and you acknowledge that most are not worth the cost of certification.  Keep them raw and enjoy them.  Buy some sewn-cotton square holders for them and place them inside 2x2 Kraft-style paper envelopes.  You will enjoy being able to hold them in-hand, will not have invested the time and expense involved with certification and the coins will take up far less space.  Regardless, it would be terrific to see images.

[Keigwin]

Tom's advice is so good you can read it twice!

I agree, don't spend to have any graded unless you identify something very special that ought to be graded/certified for authenticity and preservation reasons.

Many collectors of early copper actually prefer them raw. When I filled my Dansco album I cracked-out plenty of large cents...just not the difficult, pricey ones.

FWIW, you should have no trouble selling them raw at a major coin show when that time comes.

Lance.

[numisport]

Hold one of those in your hand up close and you could have a cool coin dream while contemplating what that cent would be spent on in mid 19th century. Its harder to do when encased in plastic !

[BillJones]

Quote

Buy some sewn-cotton square holders for them and place them inside 2x2 Kraft-style paper envelopes.

Cloth lined inserts can be nice, but not all of them are totally "coin friendly." I got a bunch of them years ago that encourage tarnish in a big way. That might be good for an old copper coin that has been cleaned. I've mever had a coin which which to conduct an experiment with that, but for silver and other metals, it's not so good.

[bochiman]

Unless any of them are a key or semi-key, I would keep them raw as the cost isn't worth it.

I have about a dozen raw large cents, that I 'inherited', that are worth $20-$40 most likely.  I wouldn't slab them.  All are common.

I have a couple 1/2c coins that are raw, that I purchased 10+ years ago from a local EAC dealer.  I've kept them raw as well.  Value is roughly $60-$100.  Not worth sending in, imho.  Common.

 

Now, if they were all problem free, and you had an 1802/0 1/2c or 1793, 1794, 1795, 1797 1/2c, I would probably have them graded, even at low grade.  Problem free being the catch.

[Conder101]

A 1793 or 1802/0 half cent would probably be worth slabbing even if it was a problem coin, especially a 1793.