1876-S Trade $ - Too Bad Someone Dipped The Heck Out Of It!

That strike is hammered, too bad that it has no luster. AU50 would probably be a fair price since it is about 50% of the AU58 value.

At first thought it was a fake. Title says it's an 1878-S and I was going to ask why it had a type I obv. Then I looked closer and saw it was an 1876-S.

So, is a coin that is dipped considered a "cleaned" coin?

That's a shame, this coin has gorgeous details. Would love to have a coin like this in my collection, even with the problem.

Yeah, I'd love to have this coin in my collection, dipped or not.

But this brings up an interesting point - what kind of "dipping" removes luster? I was under the impression that even a strong acetone dip wouldn't alter the coin chemically - which seems to me it shouldn't remove luster. What did I miss?

It was dipped in some sort of mild acid like EZ-est. The idiot who dipped it had no clue what they were doing and either used it full strength and/or took a nap while it was in the acid.

The luster is totally stripped but otherwise the coin has no issues such has distracting hits or scratches. I think the remarkable strike helps make up a tiny bit for the stripped luster. I still think low AU money is fair for a piece like this. If I were to sell it, I might try out the Bay (and be completely honest about it, of course).

Luster is created by the striking of the coin. When the planchet is struck, the metal flows radially until contained by the collar. It is strictly a cold flow process, there is no heat or melting involved. Those radial flow lines are responsible for the luster. Unless a coin has been circulated or harmed in some way, it should have luster regardless of age.



Part of the confusion probably comes from the usage of the terminology. A "dip" typically refers to the use of a sulfuric acid-thiourea solution, commercial names are E-Z-Est and Jeweluster. Dipping will remove toning but it will also strip off layers of metal in the process. Light toning can be successfully removed with minimal impact but heavy toning requires too much exposure for the coin to come out unharmed. Copper should never be dipped unless you like your coins to be a nice salmon pink color When I am discussing the usage of acetone, I will purposely state "acetone dunk" instead of "dip" to avoid confusion. You are correct that acetone will not harm luster.