I was wondering if any one could help me. I have a 1973 proof set and on the Ike dollar there is a what looks like a scratch on the upper left hand side of the face. Is this normal? Thanks for the help.
I agree with you Mike. If I remember correctly, the 73 and 74 proof sets had horrible packaging. I know the 73 definitely did.
If you look at that scratch between 10 and 11 o'clock, it actually extends past the rim of the coin, therefore its probably just a crack in the plastic and the coin is unharmed. Without having to unpack my 73 proof set, I believe that these were packed differently than other proof sets.
When I look at the enlarged image it looks like it is the coin and not the plastics? I am just trying to find out if this normal for the coin.
If it's on the coin (which I believe it is) it's not normal. But it's nothing special either, cracks are considered damage. But since it looks like contaminants got to the coin near the crack it could be in the plastic.
the simplest way to tell if this is on the coin or the package is to move the packaging and see if the line moves along the surface of the coin as your angle changes. Proof coins mirror most of the light shone on them, and so it may look like it is on the coin, however, if you rotate the coin in the light, the line should move as well, showing that this damage is to the packaging and not a die crack. A die crack of this size on a proof coin would be quite unusual, however not worth a premium
From what I can tell it looks to be a lin in the coin. When I look at it on an angle to looks like it actually is a little higher on the small area and then drops a little for the rest of the coin.
I was asking bhaas, don't be so grumpy. His answer wasn't clear as to whether the crack was in the plastic or not. Now it seems the plastic is not cracked.
