Well, Kentucky, I'm at the baby stage...not yet a full blown addic...errr...collector. There's hope for me, right? Thanks to all who issued a Will Robinson warning to me about the SBA coin. Slowly backing away from the TPG cliff.
You’ve gone the length and effort to add a profile photo to your account. I think you’re here for the long run
Dear Teachers, After reading this link on coin luster, https://www.cointalk.com/threads/luster-a-guide-for-beginners.58435/ I took out my SBA and examined it closely. I want to take out my bike with training wheels for a brief ride and you guys are jogging along behind me holding the seat. Please indulge me and allow me to play a bit. If you would see the photos of the SBA posted on page 1, it appears to have a high luster--called booming. To me, it appears not to be either matte, stain, nor creamy. Question: How would you define the SBA's luster? I have a follow-up question, but will post in a separate post.
Follow-up question: How come a SBA's luster differs from a Drummer Boy quarter's luster even if they are cladded in silver and copper? (looked at them side-by-side) Is it because of the following possible factors: 1. Quality of silver 2. Production year 3. Mint production site 4. Coin design Thanks for your infinite patience with these questions! And playing with me.
I would advise a tone that supports camaraderie @CoinCorgi @SensibleSal66. I have a beginner's mind and am here to learn. So, there will be all kinds of questions to better understand, and re-learn, the world of numismatics as I go along. In fact, I'm now about 1/4 through the Red Book. Thanks, CoinMagic
The minute flow lines in the metal create luster. When that metal is distributed differently across a coin’s surface (by being struck into distinctly different designs), you get different reflections of the light and therefore different luster patterns. The luster of a Peace dollar’s more contoured fields will always display different luster than the flatter, open fields of a Morgan dollar, for example. And it can differ between coins that have the same design, too, though this is less often the case. You ask intelligent questions. Welcome.
You probably have noticed that if the mint is specifically going to sell them , they are using cleaned and burnished dies for coins , it is for "Special" versions $$$$ of the coins. They do not really care for any new coins from the bank or old ones through Walmart chains, its just money, so all of the great looking coins are just lucky survivors or special minted. Sure, keep the great common ones but spend the others, there are billions of them, IMO, Jim
@CoinMagic - As of this posting, there’s still a little time left to enter my July giveaway, if you are so inclined. C’mon over.
@lordmarcovan, your detailed explanation of luster effects: When that metal is distributed differently across a coin’s surface (by being struck into distinctly different designs), you get different reflections of the light and therefore different luster patterns. has hit home for me in understanding much more clearly the "what" of the impact the flow lines has on the luster aspect. While I was utterly fascinated with physics fan's various scientific explanations on the chemical composition of the die strike's impact on the coin's surface, it seemed not really fully address the "what" of the luster's shine on particular coins. Based on what you've described, lordmarcovan, it seems to come down to the coin's specific design that impacts the flow lines and luster level. How I envisioned this particular process in my mind is a bunch of nano-sized liquid silver pebbles scattering all across the planchet's surface and going "bump" over the design elements such as rays, head, arrows, etc. that affects their flow lines' direction on both the obverse and reverse sides for circulated coins. @desertgem I visited both the U.S. Mint and Royal Mint websites to study their Proof coins and commemorative coins. One can clearly see that their luster surfaces and alloy composition impacts the price levels for each coin. The Star Wars coin is so cool that I was highly tempted to buy it. But need to remind myself "patience is a virtue" when it comes to taking the plunge as a coin buyer. So, lordmarcovan, I'll be staying away from your giveaways at this time. Thanks for the kind offer!
I've been reading the Red Book and am now almost half-way through it. Now in the quarters section. There are some numbers that puzzled me and I tried to do some further research on this site for resources. The only one that I saw is this link: Numismatic Acronyms (Cited from: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/numismatic-acronyms.1559/page-3) There were several instances of numbers that are listed in the Red Book that were a bit puzzling to me: 1871CC 18410 18600 I know that letters S, P, D, and W signify the mint location. What does "O" stand for? What is "CC"? Are these letters shown somewhere on the planchet? I did not see any such examples from the photos in the book. Could someone please elaborate on these particular letters? Thanks!
Being here to learn is fine and commendable, but not everyone here is soft and fuzzy. Please don't take it personally and "go with the flow"
Absolutely, The CC denotes the Carson City mint and most of these coins are somewhat hard to find. The O is for New Orleans and is just another mint that existed for awhile...O silver dollars are not particularly valuable. Let me add a D on gold coins before the Denver mint was established, this stands for Dahlonega, GA which had a mint for awhile and C for Carson City NV I think for some gold.
Luster is tricky stuff. I was looking for @GDJMSP (to call up a member, use the @ and the member's "name") and his illustration as to how when a coin is struck that the metal flows from the center and leaves little "channels" which reflect the light from their sides so that when you wobble the coin under a single source light you see an "hourglass" that rotates around the coin.