Indian Head Proof Coin Question - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 924
rhino80 New Member United States 9 Posts	Posted 02/12/2008 5:40 pm How can you tell the difference of a Indian Head penny regular strike from a proof? Report this Post to the Staff

Jaobler Pillar of the Community United States 6381 Posts	Posted 02/12/2008 5:51 pm Hi Rhino80, Good question! If you look in the Coin Grading forum you can inspect my proof 1870 Indian cent. This coin does look a little bit like a regular business strike in the photos. Proofs should have mirror surfaces in the fields. This quality should be visible when you tilt the coin under a light, even if the coin has dark toning. The mirrors will flash at you when you get the angle right. The design elements should also be very well struck. The rims should be sharply defined with squared edges, although I think this feature can be pretty variable among 19th-century proof coins. There are coins which seem to blur the difference between proof and business strike. For some, even experts might disagree. Do you have a coin that you are wondering about? If so, please post some photos! Report this Post to the Staff
biokemist6 Bedrock of the Community United States 12437 Posts	Posted 02/12/2008 5:55 pm The diagnostics hold true for any proof vs. business strike. Look for mirrored fields, square rims, and razor sharp devices. The differences in hand are usually pretty obvious but not always so obvious from a picture. Report this Post to the Staff
rhino80 New Member United States 9 Posts	Posted 02/12/2008 6:10 pm Here is a pic. My macro setting is junk Image: IM000488.jpg 100.57 KB Report this Post to the Staff
Jaobler Pillar of the Community United States 6381 Posts	Posted 02/12/2008 6:46 pm I can't be certain from the photo, but I don't think you have a proof. The color is unnatural, probably from an aggressive dip in some kind of cleaner. The details are pretty sharp but I don't see any mirror quality to the fields. My guess is someone took a high-grade (AU or maybe mint-state) business strike and dipped the heck out of it to make it look new. "Red" BU Indians are worth more than "brown" toned coins, so many cents have been chemically treated to create an artificially-bright copper finish. Of course, this seriously hurts the value of the coin. If you can, please try to post larger photos of front and back. I'd be interested in hearing what other forum members think about this one. Edited by Jaobler 02/12/2008 6:46 pm Report this Post to the Staff
MorgansRmine Pillar of the Community United States 1219 Posts	Posted 02/12/2008 7:01 pm Coloration differences around lettering and date give the appearence of the coin being cleaned. Report this Post to the Staff
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