Coin Community Family of Web Sites Join Thousands of Coin, Bullion, & Money Collectors
Specializing in Modern Numismatics Royal Canadian Mint products, Canadian, Polish, American, and world coins and banknotes. Shop for APMEX Bullion on eBay!Coin, Banknote and Medal Collectors's Online Mall Vancouvers #1 Coin and Paper Money Dealer 300,000 items to help build your collection! Join Thousands of Coin, Bullion, & Money Collectors








Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?


This page may contain links that result in small commissions to keep this free site up and running.

Welcome Guest! Registering and/or logging in will remove the anchor (bottom) ads. It's Free!

Indian Head Proof Coin Question

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.
Author Previous TopicReplies: 5 / Views: 924Next Topic  
New Member

United States
9 Posts
 Posted 02/12/2008  5:40 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add rhino80 to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
How can you tell the difference of a Indian Head penny regular strike from a proof?
Pillar of the Community
Jaobler's Avatar
United States
6381 Posts
 Posted 02/12/2008  5:51 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Jaobler to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
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!
Bedrock of the Community
biokemist6's Avatar
United States
12437 Posts
 Posted 02/12/2008  5:55 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add biokemist6 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
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.
New Member
United States
9 Posts
 Posted 02/12/2008  6:10 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add rhino80 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Here is a pic. My macro setting is junk

Image: Indian-Head-Proof-Coin-Question IM000488.jpg
100.57 KB
Pillar of the Community
Jaobler's Avatar
United States
6381 Posts
 Posted 02/12/2008  6:46 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Jaobler to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
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
Pillar of the Community
MorgansRmine's Avatar
United States
1219 Posts
 Posted 02/12/2008  7:01 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add MorgansRmine to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Coloration differences around lettering and date give the appearence of the coin being cleaned.
  Previous TopicReplies: 5 / Views: 924Next Topic  

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.



    




Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us  |  Advertise Here  |  Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum © 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Forums
It took 0.27 seconds to rattle this change. Forums