1899 Indian Head with "what in the world happened?"

i need to get a weight on it too. it looks thicker than a regular indian head.

 

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People do alot of weird things to coins - why not glaze a coin and throw it into a kiln just to see what happens?

 

true true.

 

No, they didn't glaze it first.

However they made it with whatever metal, it does this when exposed to weather long enough.

 

That is so weird....

 

this came from a bag of about 400 Indian heads i bought sometime earlier this year. found some decent copper nickel dates and a civil war token along with this 1899.

 

Yeah - I give up. Crazy looking coin. Maybe see what it weighs and go from there.

 

I don't believe it's a glaze on it and will as far to say, I don't it's a human altered coin even..... I really think this is a Mint error, those channels like as if they are actually in the coin, not in a "clearcoat coating" of sorts over it.

I say take it to PCGS and tell them to set the day aside.

 

I was thinking that if it were die cracks then the lines would be raised - not indented into the surface - strange indeed!

 

Yes that's my other thought, I've yet to see where a die crack isn't raised.... perhaps a deteriorating die?

 

But what would make the collar die do that also?

 

I really can't say what may have caused this. It could have been anything, but most of the time, the simplest answer is usually the best. I'm almost 99.99999999999%positive that it could not have been produced at the Mint. Therefore, it must be PMD!

Chris

 

Another good point

 

Don't bother submitting it... it'll be nothing more than a waste of your time and money. I don't know for certain what the cause is, but it didn't happen at the mint. The "anomalies" (for lack of a better term) appear quite rough in texture, so could it be that at one time there was "something" on the coin that cracks in that general fashion, giving access to certain areas of the coin's surface, and perhaps allowing for some sort of corrosion/corrosive process to take place? Again, I don't know, but there must be some reasonable explanation for it, and one that doesn't waste the OP'S money.

 

A prolonged acetone bath wouldn't do it any harm (...OK, OK, xylene if you are freaky about acetone) and would eliminate the possibility of a coating.

 

Excuse me, but I told you all what happened to that coin. But, of course, you can discuss it forever, getting nowhere.

 

i am doing the acetone bath as we speak! i will let you all know the results in a bit with pics.

 

its been in the bath for about an hour now, i rubbed it with a soft cloth and still looks about the same....