What are the parallel striations showing through on the face of this 1851 gold dollar? The lines appear to the left of Liberty's face but they also show faintly on her cheek and hair. Is that a lamination?
These lines to the left of Liberty's face are in a region that appears lower than the surface of the coin. They don't look imprinted in some gunk or crust on the coin's surface.
The discoloration in the same area tends to make me agree with biokemist's observation. That may be a separate issue - gold being as soft as it is, I think that whatever it was glued to gradually impressed itself upon the coin.
I am not seeing any lines outside of the discolored area which leads me to believe that the textured pattern is only on the glue and not the coin. Glue has a bad habit of creating optical illusions on coins, people think they have all kinds of odd things going on like latent patterns or extra metal. Start by soaking the coin in water. If the glue is water soluble, it will come right off. If water does not work, then the use of an organic solvent such as acetone should take care of it. Acetone is flammable but can be safely used with a few precautions(away from all ignition sources, well ventilated area) and it will not harm the coin at all.
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