Fun Show images #1

Nope, there can be no die polish lines on the devices. Care to try again ?

And I'm not being a wise guy, just trying to stimulate something educational.

 

I'm going to say MS66, and I'm going to guess the striations are from an "improper alloy".

But I think PCGS doesnt like these woody coins and said MS64+.

 

Sorry Doug, but I differ on the subject of polishing lines in recessed portions of a die.

Polishing a die requires considerable elbow grease, and that means downward pressure to be effective. Thus, dependent upon the width of the "valley" for lack of a better description, the abrasive can indeed scratch the details in the recesses of the die.

If the valley is very deep and narrow, this is improbable, but if wide and / or shallow, it is quite possible, and does occasionally happen. This is obviously more prevalent on some designs than others.

This can be confirmed by examining such a coin with intense magnification to confirm that those lines are, in fact, raised up off of the surface.

One other thing to note is that the tools used to clean / polish the die have a great deal to do with the end result. For instance, if a metal file, grinding wheel, emery board or sanding block is used, it likely traverses only the flat fields of the die, and does not reach into the recesses. Conversely, using a rag or brush permits entry into the recesses, and may produce a very different result.

Back to the OP's coin . . . My eyes and past experience tell me the lines we see in the photos are related only to toning, and are neither raised above, nor scratched into the surface of the coin, as designed.

I'd enjoy hearing back from the OP on exactly what he sees under magnification.

- Mike

 

Yep.

 

Disagree if you like, but if marks, scratches, gouges, whatever are caused by by a worker using tools, rags or whatever on the die, then those marks are not die polishing marks are they ?

Dies are polished by machines, and only by machines. And the polishing surface is flat and much larger than the die so no part of the polisher can reach into or even touch the recesses of the die. That's why die polish marks always, always, always, stop at the edge of the devices.

When you see a coin like this Ike, and the same lines continue across the devices and pick up on the other side, those lines were not caused by die polishing because it is impossible for it to happen.

 

Let me ask a question, and I'm not knocking your coin Larry. If you were looking to buy an Ike and you had 2 Ikes side by side and they were exactly the same in every way, except, 1 had the roller marks on it and the other did not - which one would you buy and which one do you think would be deserving of a higher grade ?

Then ask yourself the same question about a coin with die cracks, or a planchet flaw.