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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,258 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
I am on a roll filling some 7070 spots and I am looking at this 1877-S Half Dollar as a possible 7070 coin. What does the CCF think of this one? Does anyone know what the "spots" on the gown and arm are on the obverse? Thanks for your opinions!    Edited by oih82w8
07/10/2012 08:50 am
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Valued Member
United States
100 Posts |
It appears clean, at the the obverse does. The reverse is difficult to tell. It was probably cleaned decades ago though, seems to be re-toning on its own now. The spots on the obverse appear to be scraping with other coins during circulation. I would not call it a problem coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3755 Posts |
Nice lady there. I'm guessing the TPG did not denote an issue with those spots. To me it looks like old dried adhesive kind of stuff. Q-tip and acetone time. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4416 Posts |
Great pics of a coin with XF+ detail. I'd venture that the coin was artificially toned so as to minimize a prior scrubbing and marks. It's the lightened periphery about the devices, stars, lettering, etc., that cause me to deduce the retoning. The few remaining spots may have resisted attempts at removal.
Regardless, IMHO, the strong detail makes this a most respectable type coin.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
7840 Posts |
PCGS did not note any problems.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5854 Posts |
I don't know exactly what those yellow brownish spots are. Maybe some bits of glue residue? It looks like it may have been lightly cleaned long ago but has retoned nicely. Still a nice coin. Possibly in a EF-45 holder?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4416 Posts |
If one looks beyond the toning in the fields, particularly below the eagle's beak and below Liberty's cap, I see what look like hairline scratches which suggest it was once scrubbed. Does anyone else see this?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36782 Posts |
Looks like a nice original toned EF-45 with no problems.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
Edited by oih82w8
07/09/2012 11:50 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4416 Posts |
Congrats on acquiring this respectable type coin. It may have a micro S mintmark. You might compare the size to other S's on Seated halves. Enjoy! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6389 Posts |
Looks like PCGS graded this one appropriately. There are faint hairlines in the fields and they may indicate an old cleaning happened with the coin having now retoned. The "halo" effect of lighter color around stars and devices is fairly common on silver coins and doesn't necessarily indicate any artificial toning issue. There is no compelling reason this coin deserves a "problem" designation.
The black spots are possibly inclusions from the original alloy that have oxidized over the years. These are called "carbon spots" if they occur on copper coins but I expect similar impurity issues happen with coin silver alloy. Again, not severe enough to be considered a problem.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7840 Posts |
Interesting call about the alloy of the material and carbon spots Jaobler. I will take a look at when I get it and report the microscopic findings with some images. Sometimes it's best to take a step back and get back to the basics of metallurgy.  Edited by oih82w8
07/11/2012 3:20 pm
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,258 |
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Posted 07/09/2012 6:57 pm
