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Posted 03/31/2021 6:15 pm
Well, this story has turned into a rather disappointing tale.
Ty2020b suggested I take a close look at the hairlines on Liberty's cheek, which I did with my 10x loupe. There, under the toning, I saw two marks, one running horizontally across Liberty's cheek and the other, vertically and larger, from the hair down through the cheek, forming a cross shape where they intersected.
I also discovered that what I thought was a toning streak running from 2:00 on the obverse to Liberty's chin was, in fact, a long, thin, toned over scratch.
I didn't notice any of these when I first examined the coin and took the photos. To the naked eye and in the photos the coin looks great.
So, the coin is going to be shipped back tomorrow for a refund.
My thanks to Ty2020b for his suggestion to further examine the coin. It saved me from a costly purchase mistake. I was considering sending this one in for grading but now know it would have most likely received a "Details" grade.
I also was reminded that toning, while it can be lovely, can also hide things. I am glad to be part of the CCF community where there is always numismatic education going on. I know I need it.
Ty2020b suggested I take a close look at the hairlines on Liberty's cheek, which I did with my 10x loupe. There, under the toning, I saw two marks, one running horizontally across Liberty's cheek and the other, vertically and larger, from the hair down through the cheek, forming a cross shape where they intersected.
I also discovered that what I thought was a toning streak running from 2:00 on the obverse to Liberty's chin was, in fact, a long, thin, toned over scratch.
I didn't notice any of these when I first examined the coin and took the photos. To the naked eye and in the photos the coin looks great.
So, the coin is going to be shipped back tomorrow for a refund.
My thanks to Ty2020b for his suggestion to further examine the coin. It saved me from a costly purchase mistake. I was considering sending this one in for grading but now know it would have most likely received a "Details" grade.
I also was reminded that toning, while it can be lovely, can also hide things. I am glad to be part of the CCF community where there is always numismatic education going on. I know I need it.
Paul Bulgerin
Though on my side, it's hard to see these types of things without the coin being in hand where one can tilt it around and get views from various angles under a point source of light. I enjoy grading from photos and I think I usually do pretty darn good most of the time, but it's not the same, and too easy to get fooled, as you've just proven. 
