My gut instinct tells me this thing has been cleaned/restored (e.g., removal of verdigris), and retoned using a sulphur product like Dellar's Darkener. The colours don't look right, and some of the leaves on the reverse are almost too dark... I thought it might be interesting to get the input of some of the US collectors, with their experience in US large cents and how fussy NGC/PCGS can be...
I've got one in worse shape than yours, yet, it doesn't appear to have a quarter of the scratches yours has. The scratches I see under magnification, do not go across the surface of the coin in the same direction, like yours do. Yes, at the bottom or the reverse it looks like verdigris had been removed from yours. I doubt that it was retoned. Sorry about the dust, I took it out of an old holder...
The absence of any debris whatsoever between the denticles suggests it's been dipped and scrubbed. Re-toned, I don't know. But many Canadian Large Cents are quite dark. edited The George V pieces are almost always lighter than the Victorias, condition for condition.
Anything's possible, but the coin looks natural to me. Will it grade ? I don't know Canadian but I wouldn't send it in to even find out. That said, the scratches on the rev may stop it from grading.
(I live in Canada, I don't need to buy worn Canadian cents from the US. I also do not have to pay shipping for worn Canadian cents. I can just pick them up from the local coin dealers. The listing clearly states US only shipping.) doug444, do you have a photo with the other side of these coins available for comparison, as it relates to the topic?
