by John Reich » Tue Aug 21, 2012 4:57 pm
I finally got a chance to look at the photos of your coin. It appears to be Sheldon Variety #2 (S.2). That tells us it's not a Gallery Mint or Royal Oak Mint coin that's been tampered with to look old. However, before sending it in to PCGS, weigh your coin. A real cent should weigh 13.48 grams, or slightly less due to wear. If your coin is heavier, what you may have is an electrotype. A lot of these were made in the late 1800's. A wax mold was made of the real coin, then a copper shell was built up in the mold with electrolysis. The two halves of the mold were filled with lead and joined. If the coin weighs more than 13.48 grams, check the edge very carefully--you should be able to see some evidence of where the two halves were joined. The joint will be either at the top edge of the obverse, or reverse. Imagine a shallow "bowl" with a tight-fitting plate dropped in. That's how they were put together. If the coin weighs in the neighborhood of 13.48 grams, it's definitely worth sending in. As I say it has all the die characteristics of S.2--I used a copy of William Noyes Large Cent book to look it up. Do you have access to that book or Sheldon's book? If the coin is a 19th century electrotype, it's still worth a few hundred dollars. Send it to Market Harmony or Rodebaugh & they can show it to Rod Buress, a dealer who is an EAC member. He should be able to tell what an electrotype would be worth. Hope this helps! Good luck with the coin! I'll be interested to see what you find.