Late Die State, Die Polishing And Luster?

When the dies deteriorate, die flow lines begin to appear and grow as more coins are struck. Die flow lines, creating ultra fine texture on the metal surfaces, actually increase luster. That is because the light has more slanted surface area to bounce off and project the light to your eyes.

With this in mind, some series come strong in luster and some weak. Some late die state capped bust halves with heavy flow lines can have a tad bit of luster even in mid to low VF grades. On the other hand, you can find uncleaned Trade dollars in AU-53 without luster.

Perfectly DMPL Morgan dollars have no luster in the field because they have been polished smooth and can't reflect any light up toward your eyes. But about a couple hundred strikes later, the PL quality has nearly disappeared. With a collar-less striking setup (pre 1836), that effect lasts even shorter because the outward force is greater and not retained. For example, I believe the PL quality on Capped Bust half dollars last about 12-20 strikes until it goes almost unnoticed.

Here is a PL bust half in which the dies were recently polished, but the polishing machine could not reach the depths of the warp in the field. Visually, you can compare the polished (less luster) surface next to the textured (lustrous) surface.

*Couldn't post photo will try tomorrow

I will echo what jacrispies said, and add a few of my own learnings. Luster is scattered light. As JA said, the rivulets of die flow from Die Deterioration will produce a coin with a very pleasing glow. I have particularly noticed this with nickels. A War Nickel with sufficient die flow produces a warm, luminous photo.

In contrast, a highly polished and flat field—embodied by a proof strike—will produce a harsh glare. A perfect proof field is like a mirror. It doesn't produce scatter, it just bounces the light precisely at the original angle, according to geometry. A DCAM proof is judged on two aspects: how cleanly the fields bounce the light, and how much frosty luster is demonstrated by the devices. Photographed at a right angle, with light coming from a shallow angle, the fields will look black (because they do not scatter any light towards the camera) and the devices will look silvery white (because their luster scatters a ton of light towards the camera).

I believe cartwheel has more to do with flat reflectiveness than with luster. But I am not as sure about that. Maybe Zurie, rpmsrpms, or some of the photography pros can shed some light on that aspect.

I would say that this coin has good luster. The radial flow from Die Deterioration is evident. Possibly also some die abrasion in random directions.

Jacrispies, wow, great photos of the coin! Thanks for posting.