1959-D carbon deposit and effect on value

[MariusE]

Greeting Once Again!,

I have this '59 penny that has a great obverse, but darn it, has a carbon deposit on the reverse (see pic). Would I be better off going with "cleaner" coin as far as submitting it for grading? Thanks!

[Kloccwork419]

Unless you know it will get 67 or higher I wouldn’t send a 59-D in for grading. You’ll pay more for grading than the coin is worth, but thats me. Depending on why you want it slabbed is all on you. Nobody else’s opinion. With the ding on the rim and the ones on the steps and field below it, along with the spot, I dont see this coin hitting 67.

but yes, coins without carbon spots are a better choice to submit.

[MintErrors]

Greeting Once Again!,

I have this '59 penny that has a great obverse, but darn it, has a carbon deposit on the reverse (see pic). Would I be better off going with "cleaner" coin as far as submitting it for grading? Thanks!

Kloccwork419 hit it right on the head. Look at the pricing to submit, and then, it's up to you.

Typically, three graders look at the coins, and give the obverse and reverse a grade. It's not that easy if the coin has an obverse and a reverse that are more than a handful of grade points off. Typically they lean towards the lower grade - in most cases.


I suggest looking at the cost of slabbing a single coin.

For example, sending in a single coin to ANACS, one if not the cheapest ones to get done, would be $19.00 and no outbound postage if you could find an ANACS rep at a show. Otherwise, you would have to send the coin yourself, with insurance if you desire.
The bummer is the return shipping and I am sure all third party grading services charge a return shipping cost because they use a 3rd party shipper like Fedex or UPS. Plus, they have to insure the package as well. The MINIMUM return shipping charge for ANACS is $24.00. It can be seen on the back of their form.

The wait is typically 4-6 weeks. Some third party grading services may be back logged and the wait may be longer.

In my opinion, you need to be extremely confident that a coin is going to come back with a high grade front and a high grade back. There are many coins and select years that can yield a high grade. I will say this, I see MANY customers opt out for a Red Brown vice spending the high dollars for a red specimen because they say eventually, the copper may tone towards Red/Brown to Brown anyway.

Add in that there are a TON of different price guide out there and they aren't synched up for pricing. Coinprices.com will have one value, Numismedia.com another, same with usacoinbook.com, PCGS.com (slabbed prices) and NGC ngccoin.com (slabbed prices) . Then you have the red books, the Coin dealer newsletter Market review (retail pricing) and probably a few other publications...


Good luck with your decision.