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1899 O PCGS Altered Surfaces

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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts
 Posted 12/06/2020  5:56 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Coinfrog to your friends list
I the obverse as apparently lustrous as the reverse?
New Member
United States
37 Posts
 Posted 12/06/2020  6:05 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add ok88beat to your friends list
@Coinfrog Yes
New Member
United States
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 Posted 12/06/2020  6:09 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add ok88beat to your friends list
here is another pic of the obv
1899-O-PCGS-Altered-Surfaces
Pillar of the Community
United States
1590 Posts
 Posted 12/06/2020  6:14 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jmkendall to your friends list
Sometimes the graders are just a bit shy about assigning a grade to a coin, for no real reason they can put their finger on. In that case they "body bag" it and put "Altered surfaces".

I've had very few coins, well two, that came back this way. Both straight graded on resubmission. I honestly have no idea of what happened. Though I have talked to more than a few collectors that have had this same thing happen as well.
Bedrock of the Community
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 Posted 12/06/2020  6:15 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Coinfrog to your friends list
Well, beats me then.



to the CCF!
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 Posted 12/06/2020  6:52 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add fortcollins to your friends list
First,

I think this may be what they saw:

1899-O-PCGS-Altered-Surfaces

Note the mottled surface appearance near UNITED and inside the branch beneath the eagle's lower right wing (our visual left). Compare that to the smooth area near the heavy contact marks west of the right wing. They may have seen the smooth area as an attempted reduction in the depth of the contact mark to avoid a 98 code details grade.

Just a possibility.
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 Posted 12/06/2020  7:10 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add NumisEd to your friends list

Quote:
Note the mottled surface appearance near UNITED and inside the branch beneath the eagle's lower right wing (our visual left). Compare that to the smooth area near the heavy contact marks west of the right wing.


They look like tiny blisters, or psoriasis. The area around "STATES OF" is full with them.
Edited by NumisEd
12/06/2020 7:11 pm
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56855 Posts
 Posted 12/07/2020  04:43 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add John1 to your friends list
Almost has a sand blasted look to it and I see no "cartwheel" look to it.
John1
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Australia
21788 Posts
 Posted 12/07/2020  07:01 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add sel_69l to your friends list
The luster is real enough, but it is not radial in the fields, which can only be seen on an unaltered coin.
In this case the luster is the same all over the entire coin.

All of the detail is slightly 'mushy' but I am happy that the coin is otherwise quite genuine.

If this coin has in fact been altered, my guess is that it has been lightly sandblasted in a shed job.
That was how the cameo effect was originally achieved by Mints for mirror proof coins.
Mints currently use masked laser etching of the dies for cameo effect for proof collector coins.

I can understand why PCGS were coy, and came out in declaring 'altered surfaces'. They didn't say why, -they don't have to-, but I have suggested a possible reason.
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 Posted 12/07/2020  4:04 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add suipakpaikungfu to your friends list
I'd send it back in a few times. I've had multiple coins that were bagged
and simply sent them back in. I'd give this a 60% chance of straight grading.
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 Posted 12/07/2020  5:05 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jmkendall to your friends list
Good Catch Ft Collins!

A question though for the Morgan experts. Would a rusty die account for that? I know rusty dies were occasionally used but have not personally seen one.
Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts
 Posted 12/08/2020  06:32 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add sel_69l to your friends list
A rusty die would show evidence of die rust damage, but in those parts of the field where there is no rust damage,
the radial mint luster would still appear on an MS+ coin.
Valued Member
Canada
235 Posts
 Posted 12/20/2020  9:12 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add whatdowehavehere to your friends list
Can you VAM it? That'll tell you rusty fields or no
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United States
1005 Posts
 Posted 12/20/2020  9:28 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add llewellin to your friends list
My vote is for overdipped
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 Posted 12/24/2020  8:06 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Jaobler to your friends list
Another possibility is that the cheek has been "thumbed" by rubbing with some material to make contact marks less evident. That would also garner an altered surface judgment.
Assuming no problems I expect the maximum potential grade for this Morgan is MS-64. Would that grade justify the cost of resubmission?
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