Regarding a possible old reverse cleaning: the reverse fields look splotchy, with darker areas — kind of like looking at the full moon, if you'll pardon the mixed analogy. Lettering and designs are more shiny.
QUOTE [/if you can post your own photos for comparison. hate trueview for grading]
Hey my forum friend, I guess I posted this picture hoping someone knows how to read trueview! I sure as heck don't. In any case this coin got smoothed details grade I read somewhere that means metal was moved?
Here is a marked portion of the reverse, from the TruView photo. The damage to the "C" of CENT and the field above the "N" of ONE could very well be the reason for the 98 Code.
Here's the PCGS video explaining how they see the 98 Code:
Definitely have to agree with PCGS on this one, that reverse has a lot going on that doesn't just seem like normal wear. Lots of weird marks and hits, I don't think smoothing is out of the question, especially after seeing your in-hand photo of the reverse.
[/Lots of damage (scratches, cleaning?) on the reverse. I can imagine PCGS gave it a Details rating.]
This is why I have been posting pictures you Have hit this right on the nose. Details old "cleaning"
I said this in an earlier thread about getting something graded at PCGS, "the color better be spot on or in their color progression of copper or it's details."
I guess I am hard headed but I am finally getting what's acceptable or not.
Don't jump in with looking through a magnifier. Hold the coin and eyeball it first, tilting it back and forth in the light. If it looks strange, it probably is.
The second photo you posted on October 10 shows the full reverse. Notice the surface scratches running in two different directions. They run from NW-SE through ONE and from NNW-SSE through "AME" of AMERICA. This suggests cleaning. Seeing two different directions of surface scratches is a red flag.
Die polishing lines tend to be in one dominant direction. There are practical reasons for this. Remember, coining dies aren't large, vertical ram presses usually have multiple heads (two in the old days, four more recently), and the wire brushes used to polish the dies are much larger than the dies. Rocker presses have one die pair. The press operator generally must stand in just one or two locations to brush the dies, in order to work around obstructions caused by components of the press (the ram, the frame, and so on) and reach some of the dies. Press operators are under pressure to produce product, and aren't know for much patience with wire brushes. (I speak from experience here.) It's greasy, hot, dangerous work, especially on the older presses before safety locks and fail-safe shutoffs. Hand feed rocker/tilt presses were especially notorious for removing fingers. None of us want to have our hands anywhere below the die heads. We like our hands, and want to keep the pair of them. That's why two different directions on one coin should make us pause a bit.
as for smoothed out this can be accomplished by polishing which gives the look you see on the reverse where it looks like the metal is melted. thats what I'm seeing here.
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Posted 10/09/2021 2:30 pm
