Is This An Example Of A Whizzed Coin?

Appears to be an example of a harshly cleaned coin that has since retoned.

Yeah, implicit with the concept of "whizzing" (to me) is a burnished sort of look which doesn't show the hairlines of this coin, which I'd call "brushed." Whizzing implies the use of a power tool, which wouldn't leave such regular, parallel marks.

After your question in the other thread, Terry, I thought I'd expand on my answer here. Keep in mind, like anything else in numismatics these things are subjective in their interpretation. Even though we'd agree that a coin has been cleaned, the specific term we apply might be different beyond a minimal "by rule" definition.

For coins showing the look of this one, I personally apply two terms - "brushed" or "whizzed." The difference to me is in your choice of tools to do the dirty deed - whether by hand or by plugging something in.

For me, a "whizzed" coin wouldn't demonstrate such obvious lines. Whizzing by nature actually displaces metal - causes it to flow together into a "flatter" appearance. You would use this process as much to make dings and scratches disappear as you would to remove crud from a coin. Whizzed coins stand out best to me in that their "luster" doesn't change between fields and devices unless it was done by an expert, in which case you'd never know until you had the coin in-hand.

Although, just to confound you, I might also use the term "polished" in that situation.

I call the coin here "brushed." A much coarser mechanical process was used to remove crud and/or toning from the coin, and it's obvious because some of the crud/toning has been left. This was done by somebody who was completely clueless about the proper way to treat a coin - not even the bad guys who knew coins would do something this obvious.

Note the tight areas between the letters and stars. They couldn't be bothered to even try to get the brush into there. It's especially obvious in "RICA *" on the reverse - kinda pathetic, if you ask me. You'll also find that the lines - even if it's less-obvious in your (quite decent) photography - extend onto the devices. This is the hallmark of brushing/whizzing/whatever.

And that is where you draw the difference between die file lines and brushing (I'm gonna settle on that term for now, just to uncomplicate things). If this image were depicting die file lines, - aside the crud - it wouldn't look a whole lot different. This would be an extreme case of it, but I've seen it this extreme before, especially under lighting designed to highlight it.

But the lines would be at their heaviest closest to the devices, without extending in to them. Understand, a die is a negative - what you see sticking out as devices is concave on the die. So, if you were sitting there, polishing a die by hand, you'd naturally be applying the greatest pressure (subconsciously) at the spot where the field "drops off" into the device.

So, in most cases - this ain't one of them - the difference between die file lines and brushing is best left to personal examination with a loupe. Do it in direct sunlight - that stuff is harsh on file/brush lines - and the difference will be obvious.

From the other thread - JM is right, and I'm right. We're just defining the specific word we use to describe the problem slightly differently.

whizzing can be hard to detect, it can look like cartwheel at times. The main thing to look for with whizzing is buildup around the devices of the coin because where it is moving metal it will build up where they are stopping the brush and will cause it to look doubled almost around the whole design on the coin. It can be very difficult to see in images unless they are very clear

That is about as harshly cleaned as they come. The coin is basically worth no more than melt and probably less than that do any dealer or knowledgeable collector.

I've seen multiple examples of whizzed coins and the thing you'll notice first is the unusual "sheen" of the coin. It will have an uneven brightness but no real luster or cartwheel.

When you see a coin like that....RUN AWAY! For me, it's not worth it at virtually any price.