The answer is repaired obverse. If you could spot it out then you are truly gifted. I sure as heck couldn't. Neither could Ian Russell, definitively. He thought it could either be the obverse right field or the area between the 6th and 7th star.
When I told him there is no way I would have caught it, his response was 'that's why I don't buy raw coins.'
Let's be honest. If it wasn't pointed out, would you have noticed it? This one ended up being an unintended plug for the tpgs.
Thanks for playing everyone. I'll make sure the next one is easier.
@MikeF, can you please show us an image with an arrow pointing to the repair? Even with those two hints of the obv right field or between the 6th and 7th stars, I still don't see anything.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push." -----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed." -----King Adz
MikeF, this is what it looked like to me. The coin had some type of clasp or 4 mounting points. The mounting points were removed and repaired. The fields were sanded and smoothed so the fields would blend.
I could NOT find the repair area either. I put in a call to Ian at Great Collections. The crudely circled areas are the questionable places Ian pointed out during our phone conversation. But he sounded like he wasn't all that confident.
I'm in the same boat as you guys. Not seeing it on my end.
These are the areas Ian pointed out during our phone conversation.
I would have said details based on the harsh cleaning in the fields. It is usually possible to convert one type of details coin into another, like grafitti > smoothed, or holed > repaired, so once you find something disqualifying you can stop looking.
I agree that it COULD be, but in this case not so much since no one, not even the auction house Great Collections, can point out exactly what the repair is or where exactly it is on the coin. I was thinking that it might be more noticeable in hand versus a photo, but if GC couldn't tell what the repair is then I guess that's not the case. That's the problem with TPG details grades, they aren't very specific sometimes.
I guess it didn't bother the buyer that much, as the coin sold for about $3500 at the GC auction that closed a couple of hours ago. Of course, it might have gone for double that if it wasn't a details coin.
Quote: I guess it didn't bother the buyer that much, as the coin sold for about $3500 at the GC auction that closed a couple of hours ago. Of course, it might have gone for double that if it wasn't a details coin.
It probably sold for $3,500 b/c the bidder was smart enough to realize that no one will notice the problem. Making it an ideal crack-out candidate. Keep your eyes peeled. You might see it pop up on ebay as a raw coin marketed as choice BU +++. Unfortunately it's a common practice.
Hence the lesson here. Don't buy expensive raw coins.
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