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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,479 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
Yeah, so at the local coin show last sunday, I bought this Walking Liberty out of a small box with similar looking Walking Libs that were all marked as AU/BU. The lighting there made it look like they were AU/BU, but when I look at them under most of the lights in my house, it looks like it may just have been dipped slightly. So, I'm wondering: is my "AU/BU" Walking Lib just cleaned?   They're both pictures of the same coin. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2596 Posts |
...looks like there is some wear on the breast and feathers on the reverse and the leg on front, sure is a shiny coin. I would suspect it might be cleaned. I think most coins have been cleaned in some way in their lifetime it just depends on how much it shows.
Edited by jessvc1
10/21/2011 12:36 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6389 Posts |
I don't see obvious cleaning sign and the slight detail loss over breast plate, hip, and eagle's breast feathers could be wear or strike weakness. Detail-wise this is at least an AU-55.
Many AU Walkers have been dipped to "improve" the brilliance, then passed off as BU coins to inexperienced buyers. Your best bet to judge cleaning is to compare the coin directly to slabbed Walkers in MS-63 or better (there are many out there!). If the color and/or luster are abnormal compared to the majority of slabbed MS examples that is a good indicator the surfaces aren't original (i.e., cleaned).
The 1944 is very common and you should be able to find a nice no-question BU example easily. If this piece is actually a dipped AU it will be worth little more than bullion value.
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Valued Member
United States
58 Posts |
It definitely looks cleaned to me. The obvious signs of wear AND the brilliant color makes it pretty clear - to me anyways.
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Pillar of the Community
1028 Posts |
It definitely looks cleaned to me too. It is also definitely an "AU/BU" so at least you didn't overpay for over-grading.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3283 Posts |
AU coin that may have been dipped (probably).
Not harshly cleaned by any means.
Still a nice coin.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4778 Posts |
Ok, so consensus is cleaned (dipped most likely) then? Then I guess by paying $18 for it I probably overpaid, right? Oh well, whether or not I did, it's lesson learned. And it is still a nice coin to look at in hand IMO.
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Rest in Peace
United States
7075 Posts |
If you overpaid, it is only by a couple of dollars -- but I'm no expert on the subject. Anyway, enjoy your coins and if the bad feeling persists, just sit and wait until the price of silver goes up (and it will) and sell one or both.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
That's true, about the silver price. Didn't really think about that. Yeah, if I ever have a change of heart about it, I could wait until silver goes up to sell it, especially to fund my other numismatic pursuits. Thanks everyone for your comments.
Edited by VisigothKing
10/21/2011 4:44 pm
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Moderator
 United States
188770 Posts |
It looks okay to me, but I can never judge well with photos.
How does it look to you in hand?
At that price (NumisMedia puts AU50 at $17), I can forgive light/modest cleaning if it does not hurt eye appeal.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2596 Posts |
thats a good price $18 for this coin, good deal JangoFett.
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Valued Member
United States
168 Posts |
This coin looks to be at least AU55 to me. WLH are notorious for weak strikes (primarily coins minted from San Francisco). It may have been dipped but I do not see any obvious signs of cleaning. Overall a really nice coin!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,479 |
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Posted 10/21/2011 12:22 pm
