1854 Seated Quarter Opinions

what do you think this one would grade? This will be going in with my order to NGC in a few weeks.

I bought it guessing it was a 53/55. Looks to have original surfaces.

What do you think?

 

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Believe it or not, the TPG's are pretty tough on these. Maybe it's just the pics, but the luster looks almost gone, even around the stars and other devices. The eagle feathers are there, but fairly weak to make it as a mid-AU. I like the coin but I think it will come back XF45 or AU50.

 

I'm with CBD on this one, looks to be about a 45

 

Maybe the luster will be more apparent after an acetone bath.

 

Doesn't look to have original surfaces to me.

 

I love the obverse clash but can't see the coin as having original surfaces.
I'm not seeing any luster.

 

Any better?

 

Same coin, different lighting.

 

I'm also in the XF camp. Amazing what lighting does! I also think this coin has been dipped in the past, so no original surfaces. Does it show any signs of hairlines? In your own photos, it appears to have them on both sides.

 

I agree.

 

I was thinking they were circulation marks. I guess this will be a good test when I submit it to see if I have any idea what I'm doing! HA

 

It might get AU details, IMO, but I am seeing what appear to be striations in the fields on the right side of the obverse and in the left field above the eagle on the reverse that are synonymous with a wiping or in NGC's terms "Improper cleaning" Of course pictures can only say so much, but these are saying cleaned, retoned to me.

 

So if this was yours you wouldn't submit it?

 

Also, how can you tell these are wipe marks? What do you look at to know its been wiped?

 

Looks like a clash in the right field.

 

If it was mine I would think very carefully before submitting it. I would try and examine it as dispassionately as possible under multiple light sources and consider both the good and bad points of the coin. I do this with every coin I submit and some still come back disappointing me with a details grade. I'm not saying I am positive because I am not examining the coin in hand, just from photos...and even good photos can be deceiving. You will have to make the determination, or if you know another experienced collector show them without telling them what you suspect or are looking for and see what they come up with.

Wiping a coin, which is often done with a soft cloth, or after a dipping sometimes with a paper towel will leave very fine scratches (hairlines) on the coin that all go in the same direction as the wipe. Don't confuse these with radial flow lines, which are raised off the coin and radiate outward from the design to the edge of the coin. These little scratches can be indicative of several things (i.e. abrasive cleaning, wiping, and in some cases whizzing), but in every case they are usually an indicator of a coin that has been mishandled by someone...i.e. problem coin. I myself have a "improperly cleaned" unc details barber quarter that I don't care that someone fiddled with in the past...it has a lot of eye appeal and I like it..but the TPG did not.

 

This section of parallel lines down the right side of the field in this picture

 

Nice coin High XF grade, I'm think luster was lost in circulation . I do see some lines but could be from the clash obverse? I didn't see any lines on reverse.

 

Yup. Tried to look up clashes for this coin but all that popped up was the 1854-O

Any idea what the clash was with?

 

I'll take a look and see if I can get good pics of the fields.