1915-S Panama-Pacific Expo Commem Half - CCF Thoughts Please

When you say you are concerned about being burned, do you mean because it may have been cleaned or it is not MS?

I believe it is a gorgeous coin as long as the price is right.

How much are they asking?

Great looking coin but I do not think this one would get an MS grade. Appears to be light wear on the eagle and high points of the obverse.

Hard to say if it was cleaned from these photos. Surface seems very dull and lifeless. No remaining mint frost of any kind which you would expect to find on a coin of this preservation. Might have had an old cleaning and now re-toning. I still like the coin and would buy it if the price was right.

Here is a NGC MS62 version (and it's an S/S) that is just south of $600. I think the marks towards the bottom obverse, top reverse of the rim are kinda "iffy", but it was slabbed with no problems.

(sellers image)



Here is a comparison image, the original coin appears (to me) have better detail (then again the white background image is kinda grainy).

I'm not stating the coin has had to have been cleaned because it is raw, but at the same time anyone who convinces themselves it is problem-free based upon a single, poor image is simply engaging in wishful thinking. You won't know about the coin until you have it in-hand and, since you have stated that you cannot tell a previously cleaned coin from an uncleaned coin, you will need to bring the piece to someone you not only trust, but someone who knows what they are looking at with respect to surfaces.

It's a ncie looking coin, but two points stand out. As commems said, looks like wear on the eagle, where it's tarnished. And as Tom B points out, I'd want to have this one in hand before I made a decision.