Hi Everyone. The front of this Peace Dollar looks weird to me. How the hair lays on her cheek. Especially when looking through a magnifying glass. It doesn't look like random damage. Having said that, I doubt I would even be able to tell the difference. Though I must admit the back of the coin just looks like a chip. I took a third picture of what all of the Peace Dollars I have look like. Thanks for any help. New to all of this, hope the pictures are clear enough.
Welcome to CT!!! It is hard to to be certain from your photos. When I try to zoom in on the obverse it becomes to blurry. Having said that my guess would be a planchet flaw or a detached Lamination error. This looks like what is going on on the reverse as well. @paddyman98 what do you think?
Looks like dried glue to me. But my eyes can't tell if the substance is raised (foreign substance) or sunken, in which case its some sort of damage. If damage, it could be from the mint (lamination errors for example), or it might be Post-Mint Damage AKA PMD, such as intentional or accidental damage due to handling after it left the mint and was in the wild. Is there a way to hold the camera / phone exactly parallel to the coin surface? Do you have a little tripod, or some way to hold the camera so its not in your hands?
@Dnna Since people are going to be throwing around acronyms like crazy, keep the below linked thread handy by bookmarking it. I suspect you will need to refer to it quite often for the first few months. CoinTalk Acronym Glossary
I think the first coin has either damage or some kind of crud stuck to it. A soak in acetone should remove any crud or glue residue. If that’s the case otherwise it’s some sort of damage after it was made
If it above the surface of the coin, it's glue or some other kind of gunk. If it is INTO the coin, it's post mint damage or, less likely, planchant laminations. Those result when air or some foreign substance is trapped in the planchet which causes a chunk of metal to detactch from the piece.
Like @johnmilton suggests, is that area in question "sitting" up on the surface of the coin or is there a gouge down into the coins surface?
As soon as I saw the photo of the obverse I thought it was a detached lamination. Just below the area on her cheek that you're talking about there is a thin strip that goes down to her neck line. That's a very common form of a lamination error. I tried to enlarge the picture but it becomes blurry so I cannot determine for sure. However, upon closer inspection and noticing on the right side of her cheek in the hair is a smaller spot that looks to be the same as on her cheek. This makes me think it's damage but need clear photos and a close-up of that area to determine such. Please post a few clear photos of that area, one being a close-up. You mentioned a chip on the reverse but I'm not seeing it. A die chip would create a raised area on the coin. If you're referring to that dark spot, it looks more like a stain. Is it raised or below the coins surface? Please include a close-up of the area you're talking about.
I would be more concerned if the obv & rev damage were lined up. But it appears to have 2 issues. Obv might be delamination and the Rev might be where someone tested for PM verification.
It's definitely sunken. My husband says it looks like someone took a tool to it when he was looking thru the magnifier. But he admits that's his unqualified opinion when it comes to coins. And I've been trying all day to get a better picture. I've got one I'm going post right now. All I could manage with my iPhone was to use the camera features to enlarge it. The other 2 features I used were sharpness and definition. They seemed to be the safest when the point is to identify the difference. I was afraid any other feature might enhance deceptively when what I want is clarification. I don't have a tripod but I think I know what you mean by parallel picture. I'm going to try that after I post this other one. Thanks again to everyone for looking at this for me.
Okay. I hope this didn't make things worse. I did not want to use any feature on my phone that would give a false enhancement of what the coin actually looks like. And this picture honestly DOES look better than the coin does before I used the sharpness, and definition features. Oh, I almost forgot, I also used brightness. I was trying to do everything I could to make it easier for all of you to see. As for mentioned above. It's sunken. Also it's definitely not dirt or glue. Okay. Thanks again everyone.
Yes. Thank you for that handy link. I'm very confused. But at the same time impressed. I never in a million years would have thought that this is something I would someday be talking about.
Yes it looks like a dark spot in the photo. But it is below the surface and feels like a gouge and looks like a gouge or chip
Yes I would say they do. I'm unfamiliar with the right terminology but they have a chiseled look. Parts of mine are reflective the way silver might look that's chiseled. Deliberate sort of.
