Many years ago, about 1973 in Minneapolis, I was at a major coin show.
At one booth, there was an absolutely stunning
Indian Head cent, the most pristine and beautiful cent you could hope to see, with a fresh natural brown color and with this incredible frosted appearance.
Then there were a few more, at other booths. Quite stunning, but a bit surprising.
And then there was one seller, with display after display of hundreds of them! And not quite as prominently displayed, further behind the guy, were what would normally be "average" middle grade Indian Heads, but those too, everything the seller offered, had the same brown but frosted appearance. By then it was clear, these were all somehow processed to achieve the look, somewhat like
Buffalo nickels treated to reveal their dates, but with a much more sophisticated touch.
Taken individually, there was no real clue that the cents were enhanced, but seen together, there could be no other conclusion; this seller or someone close to him had established a specialized little enhancement business. And every dealer who saw the display had to know what was up, but most of them couldn't help wanting at least a few to sell. They were simply that good.
So I learned that we can all be fooled, so faced with a coin that really looks good, all we can say is "it really looks good".
After all, the best counterfeits are the ones that haven't been detected!
In another field of truth-finding, DNA has proved the experts wrong to a very serious extent.
In the same way that DNA technology has recently solved (or unsolved or reopened) legal cases, an easy way to detect when a metal surface was "born" could some day allow us to date the surface of a coin. Perhaps a better example would be in the way we can now date inks and papers and paints, revealing forged paintings and documents.
This particular cent is in such excellent condition, with no dings or wear and especially no marks on the rim, so it probably was never handled in a way that would cause it to need cleaning, which suggests that this specimen has led a charmed life. It REALLY looks superb, no faults.
Don't get me wrong, if I was in the market to find a coin like that, I'd attempt to buy it, but don't have the confidence to pass judgment on it, but that's just me, because I've been fooled. Here it is 40 years later and I'm still rattled.
-Duncan
PS: Do any of the "community elders" remember those Indian Heads or other copper coins with that special frosted appearance? Were they acid etched and chemically toned?
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Posted 02/04/2014 6:20 pm
