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 Replies: 8 / Views: 1,106 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6387 Posts |
I purchased an 1871-S Half Dime graded MS63 Proof-like by PCI. The obverse appears to bulge outward slightly and the reverse seems slightly concave. There are many fine die cracks and heavy die polish lines visible. Could the dished appearance be caused by the use of worn dies, or is my coin damaged? The PCI holder does not describe any problem. Has anyone seen Half Dimes with a similar appearance? I've attempted to attach a photo of the reverse (concave side), although the dished effect is not really noticeable in the photo. I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!  Half Dime /a rev MS63PL PCI.jpg" border="0" style='cursor:default' onClick='doimage(this,event)'> |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
954 Posts |
 Wow, those coins are so tiny, any slight dish to them would be very hard to see. It might be that way from putting it in the holder. I know that my trime is cupped from putting it into my Dansco. I just don't know the answer to your question, though my gut feeling is that while it may be possible, it is probably not plausible. |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Welcome to Coin Community, Jaobler. That is a wonderful picture you've taken, of a great, low-mintage coin. Although I'm not sharp enough on Half-Dimes to know whether concave strikes exist for it, I sure hope so because your coin is an otherwise beautiful example. It's tough to imagine something post-mint which would bend the coin without damaging the strike details, and the coin shows no damage.
Does the obverse show the kind of weakened detail that overpolishing might create?
I'm very interested in what the membership will think of this coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
I cannot see the bend being part of the strike, warped or bent dies would create other anomolies as well, can we get pics of the obverse ?
Rick
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6387 Posts |
Sure, here's the obverse. There is some slight weakness at the top of States which I guess could be from die polishing. I will attempt to adjust color to a more realistic shade. I see that the reverse photo has an overall brown tint which is not accurate. The actual color is mostly brilliant silver with light gray tone.  Half Dime /a MS63PL PCI.jpg" border="0" style='cursor:default' onClick='doimage(this,event)'> |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Here you go:   I pulled all the reds and yellows out, which for these photos amounted to switching to greyscale. I am struck by what seems an overall weakness of the obverse by comparison to the reverse. Knowing that PCI slabs are too deep to make photography very easy of one side of the coin temper that but it still seems quite a contrast - the obverse honestly looks "circulated." It's almost like two planchets got fed into the press, stacked, instead of one but I have to wonder if even that much detail would have been passed thru the top planchet if that were the case. The reverse is a tremendous strike, which supports the theory if yours was the bottom coin (assuming the reverse is the bottom die), but I'm just theorizing here. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
There is definte weakness on the obverse to the left, The planchet may have been tipped to some degree at striking,, although I dont think this would account for the bend in the coin,, I'm leaning more towards uneven cooling of the planchet.
I agree with dave that obverse looks significantly different than the Reverse,, but the differences could be as simple as having been stored in an old album and possibly being wiped a few times while there. or just touched with bare fingers long ago.
Metalman
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3234 Posts |
I've never heard of a coin that had any concavity to it that was "as-struck". I'm sorry to say, but in all likelihood this is post-mint damaged which is also probably why it's in a PCI holder versus one of the top 4 grading services (PCGS, NGC, ICG, ANACS). Unfortunately, the coin is probably only worth a small fraction of what it would be worth without the damage. Could I ask what you paid for it?
Edited by Prethen
01/13/2007 6:57 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6387 Posts |
My cost was $264. I thought that was a great price for a true unc; even if it's an overgraded choice AU I wouldn't be too disappointed. However, if it's a damaged specimen that would be body-bagged by PCGS or NGC I would probably want to return it. One more feature I've noticed on this coin: on the reverse the rim is separated from the denticles by a wide, flat margin. The rim itself is high and narrow. Since a prominent die crack crosses this margin from the wreath to the rim, I presume this feature was generated during striking. The obverse looks quite different with the denticles right up against the rim. This difference (along with the dished appearance) still makes me wonder if something strange did happen when the coin was struck. I've attached another reverse photo which shows this feature and the die crack pretty clearly. Hey, thanks everyone for your thoughtful replies!  Half Dime /a rev close-up.jpg" border="0" style='cursor:default' onClick='doimage(this,event)'> |
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Replies: 8 / Views: 1,106 |
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Posted 01/13/2007 11:22 am
