1934 Cent. First Upgrade.

When it comes to older coins I have seen almost none in hand except in much lower grades. I don't know exactly what makes the coin tampered with or anything. The details look rather sharp to me, I don't see harsh polish lines and weight is spot on for the year.

So this must have been a fairly nice cent before that all happened. The obverse shine looks more authentic to me and I can see the browning behind the letters on the obverse but the portrait is just shiny(as I thought, to shiny) but with the weight being spot on I was hoping mayb it was just a polish coating on a nice AU example. All jewels are fully intact and the details are sharp. It a crying Shame:( but at the 4$ price after shipping I figured even if it's been over polished it would be a keeper.

That being said, a let's call it "revived coin" as iv seen some articles on coin restoration, then it's worthless:(

Edit: on the upside I have untill the 27th to return it but it's not worth the return time and fees. Do you think the coin had material added to it? If so would acetone possibly soak it away? I just think it's a shame that this coin would have been worth 4$ probably if not altered.

Great explanation okie!

I'd like to re visit this coin, I have been looking up how to spot wizzing but I don't see any tell tale signs? No cartwheel luster, no shifted metal on any of the devices etc. If this coin has been polished would an acetone soak remove the polish and show the coins true colour?

Would you guys recommend me bring these to my LCS and see what they say? They are probably better at judging this sort of thing then me. My photo quality is also an issue with asking these sorts of questions with such a "nice looking" cent. The fact that I got them both for under 4$ after shipping kind of says it all, but I'm sure people have gotten lucky before.

I want to better understand how to judge this sort of thing. I am sure many of you could look at this in hand and judge fairly easily. I'm not that good and have no authentic examples to compare to. The weirdest thing to me about the 1934 is that there appears to be a gray colour around the devices when I take a picture. the details are very sharp, I do see some contact marks etc but mayb this coin was not whizzed but just had some copper polish or something added to it. I can only speculate as again I feel I would need an authentic coin in hand to even judge, photos are inaccurate.

I want to understand more and have tried to find examples or a video etc. That shows me why this coin is whizzed? I understand what to look for on whizzed coins and have looked under my scope several times and still don't see anything and in hand there is no cartwheel luster.

Maybe this is just something for me that I will have to learn by seeing coins. The only ones I ever see are the ones I have and I don't have multiples or authenticated coin. A few coin shows will maybe teach me something. I also have plans to visit the mint for a tour if possible next spring. I'm finally getting my license and in laws have a car for us so me and the fiance are taking a road trip to cape Breton to visit some family, going to make a stop in Ottawa for a day and I'll hopefully be able to get a tour at the time.

Edit: the mint trip won't help me to identify this sort of thing properly but it will be a fun educational visit I hope, visual knowledge is the best way for me to learn.

Edit: mint not mind

I continued to read and continue to research and it seams the defining factor is color over surface texture etc. Even the articles on here every whizzed coin I look at (including modern) has less detail then this for the age.

Coin in hand is the best judgment and the colour does not seem super off and no signed of obviously being whizzed. The fact that most if not all jewels are pretty visible makes me think polished over whizzed.

Reading more into this is not going to help as I have been reading about it online and looking for examples for well over a week.

Here is my earliest full red Canadian small cent, sorry, it is a 1959 Elizabeth II but showing it in two different lightings to show off its full red status, and to showcase some of its cartwheel luster (I have the complete Canadian small cent collection, but the early ones are not in full red at all).


I hope this helps a bit! , PS, I grade this personally as a MS-66.

I gave this cent a long acetone soak and nothing really changed.... I don't get what to look for on wizzed coins as everything online and on the forum that I have read about wizzed coins does not show here. I'm still not saying anyone is wrong as you are the experts and I am just a collector. I have gotten definitive answers with no clear explanation of what makes this a whizzed and polished or altered coin. I see no scratch marks under my scope going in one direction or another, just the contact marks on the coin. Cartwheel luster I heard was a bad thing but not from a reliable source. I continue to see large cents with the same luster sell for a fair amount on ebay. The MS examples I look at silver or copper/bronze have the same look. For 4$ it is not a huge loss but I feel like I'm being shunned on the candian sidd of this forum.... It's not like I'm not doing research but there is only so much I can do from looking at photos on my phone.

From the start I said it has to be to good to be true for the condition. I just want to know what you are seeing that I am not, considering I have the coin in hand.

If acetone won't do the trick to show how the coin is altered what would? I posted several photos from different lighting and you guys seem sure. So how can I be sure I don't make the same mistake again? Or as I posted before should I bring it to my LCS and see what they think? Maybe they can teach me something with visual comparisons?