I am passing along this information that I received from another copper collector. This 1856 half cent was sold back in 2015 via heritage as a PCGS 64 red. It is now listed as 64+ red with a CAC sticker on ebay for twice the price, but has had two carbon spots removed, the ones by stars 5/6/7. Not sure how they were removed, but i have never seen carbon spots removed with any normal conservation method so I assume some kind of mechanical cleaning that also removed some metal. It should not be in a clean holder let alone an upgraded one with a CAC sticker. First sale in Heritage: http://coins.ha.com/itm/half-cents/.../1227-3500.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515 Now on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1856-1-2C-B...198372?hash=item41aad8a2a4:g:eSYAAOSw~oFXOMfI One more example of why it's still buyer beware even with the third party graders.
That's just another assumption being made. No one is aware of every conservation method out there or what people are able to do. People that have figured things like that out can make a lot of money doing so even if it is only successful most of the time. Needless to say they aren't sharing that information or posting on forums what they do or how to do it.
The thing is still VERY SPOTTY. I'm not sure the spots were removed totally, but apparently Mr. Leo Frese knows how to "safely" touch up old copper.
"Touched up" is the appropriate term; not nearly all of what we're thinking is "carbon spots" was removed. In fact, I wonder - aside the spot between the D-S on the reverse - if what *was* removed was not cuprous oxide but something less-intrusive methods were capable of removing. Indeed, a closer look at the coin indicates the spot removed between stars 6 & 7 revealed a gouge or planchet defect (pro tip: Look closely at the specific places where "carbon spots" have formed on your coin, if you have one) which might have been a greater visual detriment than the spot staying there. Heck, the owner could have cracked the coin and rubbed it off with a fingernail. I can't say the coin was improved, with so many other spots in prominent places (the ones at the top of the head are the first which grab my eye, and from a technical standpoint would have been easier to hide than something plain in the fields) and the spot between D-S should have been a bit of a red flag to the second grader upon close examination. The discoloration unlike any of the rest of the coin is noticeable. I doubt the coin received that close examination, though.
I'm not entirely sure that the spot isn't still there without seeing it in hand. The pcgs pictures on their website show almost all the same spots but they appear much lighter, as does the whole coin, than the HA pictures. The ebay pictures have definitely been processed so it's hard to tell by those pictures.
Ok, this was to be a "trap" for @cpm9ball for his fiction story about NGC getting robbed in China but he did not take the bait. I did not touch the coin. @SuperDave covered this one pretty good. Not much was none to this coin to improve it. IMO, most of the change is due to lighting. However, it appears that the high points were lightened. Most of the major spots were not touched. The spot between star 6 & 7 was abrasively removed leaving a bright mark. The spot under the ear was lightened nicely. IMO, the only way to remove these spots (besides a laser) is using an abrasive along w/chems. If not carefully done under high magnification it will show like the "orange" spot between the stars.
I will actually bounce back and forth with Heritage to see if I can find the coin in a different grade or even in the same holder. As far as I am concerned it was ugly to start with and is just as ugly now(my personal opinion only. This why I do not like the original red copper(well on a few lincolns it is okay) but not on anything older. I like brown to red/brown much better. I kind of agree with your original assessment - but not having the coin in hand I can not say it should be in a details holder. I wonder how they would respond if someone asked them if it was the same coin in the two auctions.
