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 Replies: 17 / Views: 3,103 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8904 Posts |
I was excited to upgrade this coin. When I got it today, I was a little surprised at the lines in the fields on the reverse under the eagle's wings. (Of course the seller's pictures on ebay don't show these line anywhere near as much as my pictures do...) It doesn't seem to be PMD since the lines don't extend into the eagle's body. Could these be polish lines on the die?  I'm wondering now whether to send this one back or not. Recommendations? 1859 S Half Dollar New     FYI: 1859 S Half Dollar (previous)   Edited by Moe145
02/15/2012 10:35 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4897 Posts |
Quote:
Could these be polish lines on the die? Funny. I was gonna ask YOU that! I think they are but really dont know. What an odd focus of scratches Edited by amida17
02/15/2012 10:45 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
If the lines are raised from the surface, they could be die polish lines. You should be able to tell with a good loupe.
I would send it back unless it was cheap (under $100).
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
Looks like it has been "whizzed" with a rotating wire brush.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
8904 Posts |
Quote:
Looks like it has been "whizzed" with a rotating wire brush. But why? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
Why the "whizzing"? To cover up dings, digs, graffiti, etc...
-or-
Why would I call it whizzing? Who knows maybe somebody got bored with a sharp object and was sorta filling in the fields.
Whizzing may not have been the "right" description. A rotating wire brush would have come up on the raised areas as well.
Throwing darts in the dark.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1014 Posts |
Maybe someone wanted to illustrate the flying motion of the eagle, like in the cartoons :(
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
They don't look like polish lines to me. It looks like some kid scribbled in the negative space under the wings with a sharp object or ballpoint pen (and then the ink was later removed).
Notice how the lines sorta conform to the shape of the area there? die polish lines are usually straighter, and just disregard the devices entirely, going underneath them. They wouldn't be that cleanly confined. On the left side, the lines go up to the leaves, but then they aren't there between the leaves. That wouldn't happen if they were die polish lines, but it would if somebody was scribbling. Polishing also wears down the edge of the field at the very edge of the devices, so the lines will appear to rise up slightly as they approach the devices. These links just sorta stop, plunk.
And it's hard to tell in a picture if they're raised or recessed, but I think they're recessed, which is definitely damage.
I would absolutely return it.
Edited by CaptainFwiffo
02/16/2012 12:50 am
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Definitely looks like PMD to me. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9792 Posts |
Absolutely PMD and just like oih82w8 said, scratched into the coin with a pointed object, like an awl or knife tip. probably done a long time ago by a bored kid, then years later the coin was cleaned again with a dip, now they show up real nice. Hope you can return this one, a real shame on a nice coin, and the seller was not forthright in describing them correctly, no way he didn't know they were there. "Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1432 Posts |
Also looks like PMD to me.  Otherwise, very nice, but I think she should go back. Your eyes will be drawn to those areas every time you look at her & IMO you will not be happy.  |
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Valued Member
United States
126 Posts |
That's very unfortunate, it would be incredible without the scratches...
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Valued Member
United States
230 Posts |
Looks like scratches to me too. It may have had something on the coin that couldn't be removed with a gentler method so some previous owner scratched it off. It could have been corrosion or one of the many foreign substance coins tend to pick up over 153 years. Just by the photo it certainly looks like it has been cleaned in the past. Were it my purchase, I'd be sending it back.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7187 Posts |
It does not look like die polish to me. I would venture to say that there was some kind of "gunk" that had adhered to this coin and was difficult to remove in the recess below the wings. Someone then scraped out what ever the gunk was and you have what remains today.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
They MIGHT be polish lines but it is questionable. I'd have to see the coin in hand to be sure. The whole coin has been harshly cleaned though. It is worth a fraction of what a coin with the detail of this piece should have.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
I agree that it could be die polish lines but you would have to be the one that determined that by having the coin in hand. I also agree that the whole coin looks to have been cleaned and looks like it has been polished a little. Polish lines can definitely look like cleaning and I have a 1921 Morgan that everyone swore was cleaned but it was polish lines and is noted in the VAM description. This is pictures of the die polish lines on the 1921 Morgan I mentioned, I know it looks like cleaning but it is definitely die polishing and if I am not mistaken is one of the TOP-100 Morgan VAM's    Edit: I just checked and it is a TOP-100 and is a VAM-41B http://www.vamworld.com/1921-P+VAM-41B |
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Replies: 17 / Views: 3,103 |
Posted 02/15/2012 10:30 pm
