Hi All, still learning in this forum. How do you know if coins are cleaned? Is it if it's "extra" shiny? I read about scratches that indicate cleaning, but still not really sure how to determine it. Any thoughts on these coins? Also on a separate note, how can you tell proof coins? Are they always "frosted" in appearance? The edges are supposedly sharp, but some of the old Japanese coins seem to have that sharp edge on normal coins. Super confusing. (Sorry my camera phone always seem to go out of focus on lower right edge of the camera phone.)
Both are real. The first one is not cleaned. Second one has been polished to the maximum. Lack of luster and dull mirrorlike surfaces = cleaned. There is no "universal" way to tell if a coin is a proof. It depends on the series, and sometimes even the date.
Signs of cleaning...wow...parallel scratches, overall tiny scratches in all directions on coins with a "mirror" finish (usually visible with a magnifying glass and tilting the coin), unusual "halos" around devices on the coins... Sometimes just a gut feeling that something is not right. Sorry, I know all that is kind of nebulous.
You guys really think the second Morgan was 'polished'? Frankly, from those photogs, I really can't tell. Wouldn't all those little chattery things in the 'fields' be gone if it were polished? Welcome to the forum and 'the mix'..........
Mirrored fields and frosty devices on modern coins. It becomes a bit more 'murky' with Classics, but suffice to say 'proof' is a form of manufacture and the end result is ultimately a coin with an exceptional high profile strike. Squared off rims with knife like demure are essential.......
Thank you everyone! Of course, that's not say I'm more clear on things, but the fog is starting to dissipate... just a little LOL.
It'll take along time. So much to learn but worth it. Alot of coins are works of art, if u look at them in that light. Sometimes the imperfect ones are the most beautiful
Think of it this way, the '21 Morgan was used in the real world (or carried as a pocket piece) so it spent time rubbing and tumbling against other coins. What happens? Why the highest and most exposed spots get worn... the hair at the temple, the cap, the breast of the eagle. If you've ever had a pocket piece, you rub your fingers along the fields - so the circulate grime tends to accumulate where you don't rub (around the letters stars for example, where your finger skates over the surface). While the '96 is dinged up everywhere. OK, bag marks happen, but what then causes it to be polished all over, high spots, low spots, exposed spots, protected spots... yeah - nothing good.
Also, look at where you got the coin from. The ones I get from the bin at the store all have chatter marks, scratches, discoloring, and some original luster to varying degrees. These are probably all uncleaned coins. Then I get some supposedly "hi grade" "MS+++" Morgan's on eBay that looked nice in the pics. But once in hand they have not a single dirt or discolored spot. Shine without luster, and lots of hairlines. You don't have to be an expert PCGS grader to figure out what's going on there.
