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CoinTalk > Coin Forums > US Coins Forum Learning to grade

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LinkBack Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes 10-24-2005, 02:58 AM   #1 (permalink) arl95 Junior Member     Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 25 Learning to grade This is a picture of an 1885-S $10 DOLLAR GOLD LIBERTY. It has been cleaned. My question is, can you guys tell that it has been cleaned just by looking at this picture and if so how? Attached Thumbnails     10-24-2005, 04:12 AM   #2 (permalink) Metalman Senior Member     Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: New Mexico Posts: 492 Hi I ran the coin thru the color spectrum,,I do not see any hair lines ,,if the coin was cleaned ,,what method or chemical was used ? I went ahead and enlarged the pic, The coin looks a bit pitted, with XF details in my opinion, if the coin was chemically dipped , I would say it was over dipped by quite a bit . Rick Attached Thumbnails   Last edited by Metalman; 10-24-2005 at 04:23 AM.   10-24-2005, 07:42 AM   #3 (permalink) SilverDollarMan Collecting Fool     Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati,O Posts: 641 Me 2...just pitted. Can't tell about cleaning. __________________ Thx Alot Just Learning! Gary Lawson   10-24-2005, 10:58 AM   #4 (permalink) satootoko Retired   Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 5,822 In a non-gold coin it's just about impossible to tell whether pitting is a chemical reaction to some kind of dip - or overdip - or some other form of environmental damage. Since gold doesn't ordinarily suffer environmental damage - even acid rain lacks the strength and combination of acids forming aqua regia - the pitting is an indication of some kind of physical abuse. Polishing or cleaning with a brush or cloth, etc., is doubtful IMHO due to lack of hairlines, and color identity for the open fields, the interior of letters in the legends, and the legend and design elements themselves. Which leaves ??????? __________________ Roy   10-24-2005, 02:16 PM   #5 (permalink) sylvester Coin Collector     Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: England Posts: 1,095 Well it won't be aqua regia! If it was you'd have no coin left. Salt water? Don't coins from wrecks sometimes come out a bit pitted and waterworn? I can't think of much that would do that much to gold, aqqua regia is one and mercury is the other and to be frank it's neither. __________________ To reiterate Roy's words , 'a £0.01 coin is a penny, and not a cent, the UK have never issued cents'   10-24-2005, 03:18 PM   #6 (permalink) rick Coin Collector     Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Mount Vernon, WA Posts: 1,241 My Mood: Blog Entries: 1 maybe excessive contact from loose storage? Is it possible that it was a dug coin that was rinsed and soaked instead of scrubbed?   10-24-2005, 03:53 PM   #7 (permalink) arl95 Junior Member     Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 25 Thanks much to everyone. I don't know the method of cleaning. It is advertised as AU-58 Cleaned for $240.00. As Roy said, there is a lack of hairlines so I was trying to figure out how it was cleaned. With the enlarged pic, now I see the pitting. I was thinking bag marks at first. I learn something new everyday. Thanks again.   10-24-2005, 09:41 PM   #8 (permalink) GDJMSP Numismatist     Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: PA Posts: 24,646 Can you post a pic of the other side of the coin please - something about it just doesn't look right __________________ knowledge ..... share it   10-25-2005, 04:23 AM   #9 (permalink) arl95 Junior Member     Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 25 no this is the only pic. it's from an internet site i had found. Page 5 from a search on google. Only posting the one pic and not both sides made me very suspicious so i was thinking the reverse is the side with the cleaning damage. Either way, definetly not go to buy this one just going to use it to help spot the ones that have been cleaned and are not advertised as such.   10-25-2005, 06:32 AM   #10 (permalink) sylvester Coin Collector     Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: England Posts: 1,095 You think it could be fake GD? __________________ To reiterate Roy's words , 'a £0.01 coin is a penny, and not a cent, the UK have never issued cents'   10-25-2005, 08:26 AM   #11 (permalink) Speedy Researching Coins     Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 11,790 My Mood: GDJMSP... Are you thinking a cast copy?? my first look at it and that is what poped into my mind...the air holes that show up under the metal look funny....and to me the face looks funny.... Speedy __________________ Coin collecting is the only hobby in the world that you can spend all the money in the world and still have some left over   10-25-2005, 09:51 PM   #12 (permalink) GDJMSP Numismatist     Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: PA Posts: 24,646 Quote: Originally Posted by Speedy GDJMSP... Are you thinking a cast copy?? Speedy Yup - but it could be the pic __________________ knowledge ..... share it   Bookmarks Digg del.icio.us StumbleUpon Google Would you like to support CoinTalk? Coin Talk Code of Honor 1. Post unto others as you would have them post unto you. 2. Keep it clean, like a 1950s family television show. 3. If you don't like the coin, don't trash the person. « A wacky Ebay auction -- coin toner | Same die morgan? 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