1871-H 25c ICCS Rtrn "Irregular Surfaces"

That's a new one to me

Very interesting.

Pretty sure the 1871 H Obverse 1 does exist, it's just rarer than the Obverse 2. Or Charlton and Saskatoon Coin Club site (so informative!) are wrong.

Unfortunately, no. Once he received the coin and left feedback, I deleted my photos and the listing is too old to pull them up from ebay.

I've collected Canada large cents for 30 years and, of all the things that I've tried, a hawthorn thorn kinda sideways, easily removes what we all call the "Vicky gunk". It's removed from the larger nooks and crannies, as well as "hard" verdigris, but I never let the tip of the thorn touch the planchet itself. The coin won't appear cleaned at all unless you overdo it. Hawthorn thorns evidently have uses other than scratching the bejesus out of you if you have to remove some branches.