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 Replies: 21 / Views: 3,059 |
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Valued Member
United States
477 Posts |
Went to a coin show Saturday and found this 1880S Morg in a bargain box, for $35. With my magnifier it looked like a brilliant uncirculated coin with a few bag marks and one scratch I could see. I shot this pic of it this morning with a Nikon DSLR, no flash and discovered numerous scratches and hard evidence of cleaning I couldn't see with my magnifier, in good light. Pic's kind of blurry, as I was hand holding the camera but it is good enough for me to see the coin isn't what I thought. I am amazed how much detail the camera revealed that my eye could not see. In your hand this Morg looks just like it came from a new roll. Rick  Edited by shootnstarz
06/09/2014 09:39 am
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
If you want to see all the little scratches on a coin use a halogen light bulb  John1  |
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Valued Member
United States
234 Posts |
I've done the same thing- frustrating, isn't it?
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Valued Member
United States
258 Posts |
Oh wow, that's a tough lesson to learn. You really just have to tilt it in every single direction under a good light and with a loupe in hand to really get a feel for its surfaces.
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Valued Member
 United States
477 Posts |
The scratches don't bother me as much as the fact I didn't notice it was cleaned, and I really looked hard, just not hard enough.
The pic was taken under a LED light, it really brought out the flaws. In the unshrunk image you can enlarge it and really see the fine details.
Rick
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Pillar of the Community
968 Posts |
Rotating and tilting the coin would have brought out the flaws under any light. I've been burned in the past, too, so I can't really say I'm perfect either... I actually didn't notice the cleaning until it came back from PCGS as a code 92. Whoops.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4416 Posts |
We all miss a beat now and then. At $35, there's not much of a downside though, if any. Many years ago, I bought what turned out to be a counterfeit gold piece at a country auction. The only positive thing was that it was real gold. Lesson learned ... That "shiny" 1880-S $1 would probably still fetch $50 at a flea market or antique auction, despite the condition issues.
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Valued Member
United States
291 Posts |
Sorry to hear.
If their is a silver lining, for $35, it is a relatively inexpensive learning experience.
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Valued Member
United States
477 Posts |
Yep, it's no huge loss, I'm more upset I didn't see the issues with it at the show, and I looked hard. But to just hold it in your hand it's one of the best looking Morgs I have. I'm still amazed how the camera under LED lights brought out so many invisible issues.
Rick
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3755 Posts |
Here is the thing. I have pulled any number of modern coins from rolls straight from the mint that have hairlines that could easily be mistaken for "cleaning". And I don't see them until I take pics. So who knows what those hairlines are from?
Regardless, that is a beautiful coin and you paid a price you could easily recoup if you wanted. Carry a pocket LED flashlight with you to shows from now on. Just an idea...
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Are you sure it's not die polishing?
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Valued Member
United States
415 Posts |
I have to ask, if it takes a near forensic investigation to determine that the coin is cleaned, why would anyone even care that it's cleaned? If it looks fine to the naked eye, so what?
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Quote:
I have to ask, if it takes a near forensic investigation to determine that the coin is cleaned, why would anyone even care that it's cleaned? If it looks fine to the naked eye, so what?
This "near forensic" investigation is standard numismatic behavior the world over. Brushing is rarely visible from all possible lighting directions - unnoticeable from this angle, horribly obvious from another. A dSLR - and the Sun - are deadly enemies of cleaning which is attempting to hide. |
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Valued Member
United States
259 Posts |
It's a very difficult decision. I have several IHC's with what appear to be very, very fine hairlines to the left of the Indian's nose. These kind of "features" are not visible at all angles, as others have noted in this thread. I find that not only do I have to tilt the coin, but I also have to rotate 4-6 times AND tilt the coin at each position to find the hairlines on some coins. All that said, I bought a PCGS AU58 slabbed IHC recently, and put it on our binocular microscope at work. To my surprise, the coin has hairlines in the same field as the others I have. So, does this mean PCGS missed it, or are these "hairlines" normal for AU-MS IHC's (perhaps due to gentle rubbing in mint bags)? |
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Valued Member
United States
75 Posts |
Make a pocket piece of it and you will forget the minor cleaning and scratches soon enough.  |
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Valued Member
United States
477 Posts |
No Dave, I'm not sure it's not die polishing, I'm way too new to this to know what that looks like.
I do know the coin has zero wear, has a good size nick on the rim and what looks to me like brush cleaning scratches, as well as plenty of bag marks and some heavier bag scratches. It's the discoloration around the finer details and the relatively shiny areas in the open field.
I plan to take it to the LCS to see what they say, mainly to see if I'm reading the book correctly.
Rick
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Replies: 21 / Views: 3,059 |
Posted 06/09/2014 10:46 am
