I'm going to try to post one coin each day about something fun. Feel free to add to the thread with something related. This thread is about the importance of hairlines. I'm sure you folks hear that grading proofs from images is tough or impossible. It's true. Proofs are really delicate. One little rub can damage the surfaces. When you image them it's easy to show or hide any hairlines. All it takes is a tiny change in the direction or angle of the lighting. PCGS gave this a 64. Without the hairlines, it would be an easy 65. The difference is about a $1000 in value. I'm posting two sets of images to show how easy it is to hide the hairlines.
Man that proof is gorgeous. In the past I never really appreciated Barber coinage until after I had finally seen a proof of one in person.
Very instructive. The hairlines on the cheek almot disappear in the 2nd photo. Great looking coin,too.
No, I don't roll that way, if I did I would have given up golf a long time ago . It's nice to be able to look at great coins and even with the hairline (which is barely noticeable) that half of yours is outstanding. The favorite coin in my collection is a 1794 liberty cap large cent, problem free coin with a lot of honest wear on it but with a fairly strong date and major design outlines visible. I'm guessing somewhere between a 12 and a 20 grade. It was my first large cent, and when I started examining it I discovered the edge lettering! I felt like it was a treasure, and being in circulated condition, and given the proximity to when the mint first began producing, it makes me speculate just WHO could have touched that coin. That's what keeps me going and always striving to better my collection.
Beautiful coin. So true about grading proofs from pictures. Sometimes even holding it in hand you can't see the hairlines then you use a loupe and instantly realize "oh, that's why it's a PR62" when the hairlines magically appear.