1881-H Farthing. Cleaned?

Cheers, Molydeii,

It was only when I was tilting it in the light that these striations caught my eye.

I agree more stunning bronze from you Kipster. You are putting miles on that time machine - just make sure some opportunistic 19th century Dickensian character does not hitch a ride.

I agree with the above, that coin is not cleaned, its BU and what I thought was wear on her helmet (Britannias!) and the centre of the shield is a weak strike. This is just a coin that was not struck with much care back in 1881 and despite that its looking still good now.

Give the poor coin some credit, it would be hard for anything to remain that shiny after 140 years! A great piece. Most of my farthings from the era are VF - EF and they definitely have more wear and less lustre than this. I do have some badly cleaned ones from the 1910s when they did the dull finishes and they have an unnatural all over bright pink brown lustre that lacks depth. And its harder to tell as the coins themselves are not worn - but mostly EF examples!

The dots are the metal starting to darken slightly, any doubts about wear are quashed when you look at the Queen. The hair detail and her face is clear of the usual wear you see. My guess is you live in a cool climate and this can delay the darkening (Unlike where I am - my English coins gain a Polynesian like appearance very quickly like their owner!)

Your coin's lustre has that depth.

Nice original coin. MS-63RB.