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 Replies: 11 / Views: 3,632 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2519 Posts |
I came across this nickel and it has a not shiny finish. Maybe matte or frosted, I don't really know what they look like in person so I can't really say. I've only seen this effect on nickels. I've seen one or two before but I didn't really think of it. What years, I'm not sure. Then I saw this and the effect looks very strong so I kept it. This photo was taken near a window. You can see on the coin on the right that it looks purple because my phone is reflected on it, but the 1995 coin doesn't reflect my phone. Both of them are cupronickel. It's also got a lot of cartwheel lustre. It has 4 "spokes" of lustre. The light is pointing in the wrong direction in this photo so it's not that obvious here.   The coin is in great shape, very few signs of wear. Details are still very clear. Today I borrowed a microscope from the lab and looked at it under 40x magnification. 100x would bring the rotating lens thing (that I forgot the name) too close to the coin and make it look too dark. There seems to be lines like rays coming from the centre of the coin toward the edges. Mostly on the backgrounds, but you can see some too on the relief if you look very hard. Lots of pics from here on. Sorry for the less than great quality pics. I am quite bad at taking pics down the barrel of a scope. Reverse closeups:         i couldn't see any "rays" on the beaver, that's why I did not take a picture of it. Obverse closeups:    Unfortunately I did not have time to take many photos of the obverse as classes were about to start again. The "rays" can be seen on flat wide areas on the queen such as her neck and cheek, even though it's less obvious than the ones on the background. These are the only photos I have now, I'll not have access to microscopes again until Monday. Anyone knows why this nickel is like this? Edited by Altaira
04/25/2014 7:06 pm
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Moderator
 Canada
10460 Posts |
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There seems to be lines like rays coming from the centre of the coin toward the edges. Mostly on the backgrounds, but you can see some too on the relief if you look very hard. Good eye... those are flow lines from the striking of the coin. That is what gives coins their 'cartwheel' lustre. Nickel, being a harder metal, sometimes shows these rays very well... nickelsguy can probably tell you which years show this the best. Here is an example I showed to Mike some time ago. It has very strong die polish (fresh dies), tooling marks and, your 'rays' from the strike. I annotated the image to show this.  "Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert OppenheimerContent of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_USMy eBay store
Edited by SPP-Ottawa
04/25/2014 9:31 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
2519 Posts |
Thanks SPP! It's cool how a fresh die can make those marks on a coin! I doubt I'll find more than a couple in circulation though. I can't see the lines on my coin with my eyes or with a magnifier. I just know it looks kind of different so I borrowed a microscope from the lab and I saw all these lines! I thought the mint made a different finish since it really doesn't have that "mirror-y" surface. Like when you pass your finger over a coin it will have the reflection of your finger on it, this one only has a shadow. Apparently it's not a different finish, even though it would be cool if it was.  Even cooler if it's a specimen but I think there's no way since it's not lined. Is the actual coin that is in your image not shiny too? It is a cupronickel one right? So my coin is from a new die, correct? Quite lucky it got spared from circulation or I won't be able to observe this! In hand, that cartwheel lustre is extreme  By the way I just found a 1974 nickel in a roll that was a victim of slight overpolishing on its reverse  (half of its neck is gone, and its back feet is detached) and it's got those random straight lines on its background. I was about to ask, but they look to be from die polish, based on your pic. Is the Mike you are mentioning Mike Diamond? If you would like to show my microscope photos to others feel free to  I'll wait and see if nickelsguy will comment on here. |
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Moderator
Canada
10460 Posts |
Mike = nickelsguy, in the context here.
"Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert OppenheimerContent of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_USMy eBay store
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2632 Posts |
Quote:
Is the Mike you are mentioning Mike Diamond? I believe he is referring to Mike Marshall=nickelsguy |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2519 Posts |
Oops. There's a couple of Mikes in this forum, and that's the first time I've read nickelsguy referred as Mike.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2632 Posts |
ha ha your not alone I didnt know who was who when I started this forum either.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2519 Posts |
Haha. We're all learning, aren't we?
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2301 Posts |
Nice coin! 1997 has the most spectacular version I have found. The radial lines can show clearly. Good eye. Regards Mike M
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2519 Posts |
Thanks nickelsguy! I'll keep an eye out for the 1997 one. I've only found worn 1997s so this might take some time. Not to mention that all I find in rolls are steel lately.
By the way, do these lines only appear on a new die?
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2519 Posts |
Edited by Altaira
05/02/2014 2:10 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2519 Posts |
Sorry for bumping.
Does anyone know about the finishes on 2001 nickels? I just really want to know why it's like this.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 3,632 |
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Posted 04/26/2014 12:59 am
