I bought this coin as a business strike about 20 years ago and have ever since thought it was instead a satin finish proof, basically an early strike from non-polished dies. It has a satiny finish with underlying reflectivity, and has flat edges, but not wide and flat rims. It's raw, and photographed through a scratched Kointain. Curious what you all think...
You posted this on the PCGS forums and I guess you didn't get the answer you were looking for. It's a well-struck business strike, a very nice one. But it is no way, shape or form a proof. You even got a picture of the closest thing to a 1950 satin proof there is, courtesy of WingedLiberty1957.
Thats a nice looking slightly toned penny. That is wort quite a bit just being a proof nice grade coin. But im not sure about it being a Satin Proof.
In Ray's defense, posting a coin or a question on more than one forum doesn't mean that a person didn't get the opinion they were hoping for. Besides, the PCGS forum (last I checked) wasn't the international court of numismatics, all of whose "decisions" are final and undisputed. I think the coin that Ray posted is probably one of the earliest die state wheaties i have ever seen. It's an indisputably beautiful coin. Now that atrocity you posted is surprisingly even gradable at PCGS. To me it looks like it has environmental damage.
I don't disagree that it's an absolutely stunning wheatie, but it isn't a proof. It doesn't have the squared off rims or strong enough of a strike to be a proof. You can see remnants of planchet chatter on the shoulder, above the jaw, and in the front of the hair. As far as what forum has more experts and individuals that know their stuff, PCGS is a cut above any other forum out there. If the overwhelming majority of individuals on the PCGS forums say it's not a proof, then I would easily bet a substantial sum of money that they're correct. With that said, you are correct, and it was wrong of me to say that he didn't get the opinion he wanted. I myself have cross-posted coins between the two forums looking for more information or opinions. My apologies to the OP.
That is an MS coin. A very nice one, but MS. You should never ever have planchet marks left on a proof coin.
You should understand the characteristics of a proof and business strike. Proofs will have squared rim and edge, while business strikes are rounded. Yours is a business strike, a well struck one and nice looking wheatie.
I have to disagree with the mob concensus, this coin IS a proof. In 1950 some of the proofs had a satin look....look how frosted the date is. I find it hard to believe a 1950 biz strike is going to have that look. These aren't like the early 1900's MPLs with perfectly square rims. I'd send it to PCGS ASAP.
Check out the shoulder on these: http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=1139&lotNo=2860#54095409057 http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=1175&lotNo=7642#Photo
True, but you also have to remember that all dies give off "frosty" impressions in the very early stages. The only reason why we don't see that many on Lincoln cents is because there were so many minted each year! (hence a very very small fraction having somewhat "frosty" devices) I think the coin was just an exceptionally early impression of the die; something we don't see very often. I do think that if submitted, it will gain at least 1/2 to a full point boost for the exceptional eye appeal, assuming the coin looks in hand as it does in the picture.
1950 has 2 strike MS + Proof This one is a MS but maybe one that just has 1 very good strike from a new reworked die @Philly. my2c
IMHO this coin was one of the very first struck that year. It has been struck from not just one brand new die but from two seemingly previously unused dies. Both have the frost that you would normally associate with brand-new dies. This is an unusual occurrence when both obverse and reverse dies are changed at the same time, so I would theorize that it was amongst the earliest production runs at least for that particular press.
Reverse dies were typically not changed year over year... the design was the same. This coin just happened to be one of the first ones struck off a pair of fresh dies.
Yes, I do understand, but this coin has some characteristics of both biz and proof, which is why I thought it worthy of discussion. The edges are square and shiny, like a proof, but the rims are not struck up flat, sharp and square. It has underlying proof-like reflectivity below the satin finish, but the satin finish and planchet chatter on the high points make it look like an early biz strike.
No worries, I have posted this coin to 4 forums (first to LCR, then to CU, then to both CT and CS) not looking for a particular answer, but the correct one. I'm still stumped by this coin, and if I look over the responses from the various forumites the responses are mixed, with more favoring biz strike but a few that are quite sure this is a proof. Now, only I have the advantage of having the coin in-hand, and I understand that it's difficult to judge from single pics. I can attempt some edge shots if that might add to the discussion...
I'm gonna jump on the business strike side of the fence. I have owned quite a few 50 proof sets over the years and I definitely agree that they have a different look to them. I however feel from the pics provided its just a monster business strike. Either way having PCGS take a look at it would probably be worth it as I can't conclusively say its definitely a business strike from just one set of pics.
