Just picked this up from an auction. It went cheap, but after receiving it, I am a bit concerned. It's a beautiful color, with a fair bit of shine. My concern is that it shouldn't be. It's only a partial (almost full) liberty, but the rest of the coin has little to know wear. Sharp details on about everything. The fact that it isn't full liberty leads me to believe it can't have this finish without cleaning... Any opinions? Pictures are the best I can get without pulling it out of the 2x2. I can do that if needbe.
It's too hard to tell with the photos, the issue is the lighting, not whether you pull it from the 2x2. If you aren't already, you should use a tripod to assist with camera stability. Best to use a light source (or better yet, two) that you can move around until the camera gets the best shot. To help the best I can without the detailed photo, can you read the entire Liberty? If not, it's most likely been cleaned.
*sigh* It's not gonna work. The only SLR camera I have requires film. I have a stand that I take stuff with my phone, but this actually comes up looking like an average brown indian on the phone regardless of of light source. It looks nothing like it does in person.
Yeah. Just took about another 10 shots. They all come up looking dull brown. In person it's got about the shine of about a 2012 lightly circulated penny, but it's a deep reddish brown. The face has a bit less shine than the rest and really seems to be the only spot worn. I need to get a DSLR...
No... you don't need a DSLR in order to take an acceptable coin image. A camera is a tool, and as with any tool, is only as useful as the person using it. If you take the time to learn your present camera, and throw a little more light upon the coin, the results will could be night and day. With that said, the coin does appear to have an unnatural sheen, at least in the iffy photos.
Copper almost never stays red, even in UNC. That's why red's are in demand but they will tone eventually. Just look at a handful of change and tell me how many red worn pennies you see
While still less than ideal (an improvement is an improvement though), the coin most certainly looks to have been polished. Value-wise you're looking at well under a buck as it is now non-collectible beyond as a novelty.
Alright, well thanks for the input. I am well aware of what it's worth. Just looking for someone to confirm my suspicions. I got the thing off of Listia for the equivalent of about 2 bucks, so it's no great loss. Could barely even see the coin in the auction picture... figured I'd take a gamble. Anyway. Thanks and happy hunting.