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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,321 |
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
I recently purchased a bulk coin lot from ebay. It had what appears to be, some very nice silver, as well as "junk". I started looking closely at the nice ones and noticed some peculiar scratches. Now I'm not sure if the coins might have been polished or cleaned. I don't know what a whizzed coin would look like. One thing I also noticed is the rim edges on all of the coins in question are very sharp and crisp. I would like to send some of them out for grading, but I don't want to waste my money if they have been altered. Here is a closeup of some of the scratches. (1963D Franklin) One other thing, a lot of the scratches continue from the field on to the raised areas without a break, It seems like that could only happen if it was on the planchet before striking. Does anyone have an opinion?  |
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
1361 Posts |
franklin? altered what 1963D? scraches are from cleaning. put more picture
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1984 Posts |
One thing I would request is a pic of the whole coin. Another suggestion would be to think twice before sending out any Franklin to be "graded." The only reason to do that for a common date is if we are talking MS-66+, or for a date where the value increases markedly for an FBL designation (I don't have my book in front of me, but I think the '53-S is one of them). Otherwise the bulk silver is just bulk silver and spending money on grading and authentication might not be worth it. Cleaned/whizzed coins can be both easy and tough to spot, there are a few reasons other than cleaning that lines may appear on a coin. Also, lots of things can happen to a coin/planchet and the dies used to strike them during the minting process. There are die cracks which can start at the rim, and Cuds, which can sometimes have the appearance of blobs at the edges. |
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New Member
 United States
10 Posts |
Thanks for your help, I've uploaded some images to my website: http://brucerutledge.com/coins.htmlI realize this particular coin won't be graded, it is just the best example of what I am seeing and the first one I grabbed. There are some other ones I am considering for grading(49S, 38S and 40D dime and a 58D Qtr, etc). I am just using this coin to help me decide the trustworthiness (is that a word?) of this dealer. Are there any websites that give examples on what to look for. I've read a few things but I am a "visual" person and would benefit from "color glossy 8x10's with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back telling what each one is..." (sorry I tend to quote Arlo Guthrie this time of year). |
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
Those are are marks(the ones you suspect were on the planchet) that are giving me the most trouble. Many of them are parallel which suggest some sort of mechanical means was used to make them, but since they continue from the field onto the relief with no break it suggests they were on the planchet (at least to me!). If they weren't there, I would assume most of the parallel marks would have come from cleaning. Most of the marks I'm concerned or suspicious about are these parallel scratches, the others can be explained by normal use.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1984 Posts |
Whizzing is one possible cause of regular scratches since whizzing abrades the surface of a coin to produce a series of minute parallel scratches which can cover the entire surface or small parts of a coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5606 Posts |
BruceRutledge, WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!.
I see the lines you are speaking of(i think) and these if I am looking at the right thing are apparent whizzed marks, or visual cleaning or scratch marks, some might be from the die used to make the coin, the picture could be better, so could my eyes for that matter.I believe them to be considered cleaning scars and ANACS, the grading company would grade them and not (body bag ) them because of the fact they were cleaned.Here at this forum there are plenty of members with lots of knowledge, some more informed on certain subjects more than others, however everyone is more than willing to share their knowledge to help one another, good luck, BE WELL, MORGANS DAD...
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
Thanks Guys you've given me a lot of great points.
It's a shame so many perfectly good coins get relieved of their "history". In a way an untouched, well worn coin is more interesting just knowing how may hands it has passed though over the years. But we all know that's not where the challenge lies, it's in finding that perfect Gem. I suppose that's where some peoples greed comes in and they commit acts like whizzing... It just makes you want to slap their parents for instilling that sort of value!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
One of the easiest ways to tell abraided die lines from cleaning /whiz damage is that an abraided die will leave raised lines on the coin ,whizzing leaves indented or sub surface lines .
its hard to tell from your pictures if the coin has been cleaned , but I do not think it has been whizzed.
depending on what the shine looks like in hand its possible that it has been cleaned with polish or some other method .
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New Member
United States
10 Posts |
Metalman, It is a very shiny coin, with sharp crisp details, Except for these minor scratches it looks like it is straight from the mint. As do the other coins in question. I put the images here: http://brucerutledge.com/coins.html but they are scans and don't show the luster. This particular coin does have a couple of dings on the obverse. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
whizzing creates a illusion of cartwheel on coins that the luster isn't present. If done properly it is very hard to detect but its mostly done by back yard coin doctors that aren't very good at it and it can be detected pretty easily. There is usually build up around the design because the whizzer doesn't want to get close to the design (because luster isn't on the design on a MS coin) and they leave a buildup around the design that can be seen with magnification or sometimes even with the naked eye
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,321 |
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Posted 11/21/2008 10:08 am
