Impressions of this 20 Cent piece?

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A bit dark but nice.

 

I like it. It's a nice-looking coin. I would grade it EF-40. The dark toning is attractive but I detect some hairlines in the obverse field to the right of Liberty. I also like that reverse die crack around the outside of the letters from 3:00 to 5:30.

 

It is a former NGC AU-53. These are a little tricky to grade though.

 

Yes, they are tough to grade. I see a lot more wear on Liberty's legs than AU but what do I know?

 

Thats not wear. Those are shin splints. Why do you think she is sitting down?

 

I think it looks very nice. It's hard to grade with a photo because of the toning IMHO. It's hard to tell what is wear on the high points because the toning masks the luster breaks. But, I love the coin.

 

The die crack makes it interesting.
The toning makes it problematic.
The lines in the field to the right of Liberty makes it questionable.

The dark toning could be hiding problems, problems that are hinted at by the lines in the field.

I had an 1894 Morgan with the same type toning, maybe even darker.
Sent it in for slabbing and got it back body bagged.
Basically the reason was that the coin couldn't be properly evaluated because of the toning.

 

i like the dark toning

 

Another red flag for me is the darker toning around the devices on the obverse.
Often an indication of "mechanical" cleaning (wiping, brushing, etc.)

 

Amazing how subjective coin collecting is. Although not the most valuable, this is probably my favorite coin in my Dansco 7070. It is an original and problem free crackout from an NGC slab. I love the way it is toned, but some prefer white coins. At any rate, just thought I would share it. I am glad I am not the only person that like the toning!

 

I don't care what anyone says, I like it!

 

I really like it too. My only complaint was the toning made it hard to grade in photos...but other than that I think it's an awesome coin. I love both the toning but I especially love the die crack on the reverse.

Based on the toning pattern, I do wonder if it was cleaned years ago and has retoned but that doesn't mean there is any problem with it. The toning is darker in the small areas around the devices indicating an old cleaning. If it was cleaned in the past and no damage was left (and NGC slabbed the coin...so damage seems minimal at the most) who cares.

 

If the darker areas you are seeing are all on the right side of the devices, then those are shadows from the light source being from the left side of the coin in the photo.

 

This speaks to the concept of the slab.
For me the slab authenticates and grades a coin, and weeds out coins that are generally considered unacceptable, i.e., cleaned, altered, etc.

Why can't I do that myself with raw coins?
Because my prime collection is a type set.
It currently consists of 80 coins of which about a third to a half are distinctly different issues.
I don't have the time to become an expert on that many issues.
I have learned general principles about intelligent selection of coins, and with a few guides in hand (like the ANA grading guide) I can do okay.
And I know how to find dealers to trust.
After that I top it off with the work of major TPGs (slabs).
Taking all these factors into account, final buying decisions rest on eye appeal and price.

If your coin were still in the NGC slab and I was looking to purchase it, that would cause me to consider it seriously.
BUT with it now no longer in the slab I resort to the general principles mentioned above.
What I would see is what I mentioned in my earlier post, and that would cause me to look elsewhere.
That could cause me to miss some nice coins BUT give me a much better chance of buying a coin I'm confident is what I want.

You have probably gathered that I'm pro-slab.
Everything I have that's worth slabbing IS in slabs.
That obviously is my personal preference.
If others wish to crack out coins, so be it. I'm not going to bash them for doing what results in a pleasurable end result for them.

And in this particular case liking toning or not is not the issue.
The issue for me was the overall impression the coin gave me.

BTW the 20-cent coin in my type set is about the same grade as yours (AU-55) and darkly toned, but not quite as much as yours.

 

Kanga - some of that I expect to do whether the coin is slabbed or not slabbed. That includes grading, toning, strike and eye appeal. Just because some slapped a piece of plastic around it does not make it so.

Now personally I like the details I see, but because of the dark toning I would want to see it in hand. I probably would not buy it off ebay because I could not be certain what might be hiding behind the toning. While I would not crack it out, I don't blame the OP. I bet that coin looks great in a 7070 Album. Now match the coins around it to that - and wow!!!

 

There appears to be darkening around the devises completely. The right side is stronger and the shadowing would account for that...but it appears that they are surrounded by a darker toning.

This indicates that the coin may have been cleaned at one time. Cleaning was very common back in the old days. Toning like this was considered undesirable and the coin was cleaned...either by mechanical cleaning or dipping. Good collectors knew how to remove the toning without damaging the coin...just like they do today. So, saying this coin may have been cleaned at one time is no knock to the coin. You have it in hand and say that it is undamaged and NGC felt the same way. So, I take you at your word that it is not a damaged coin.

I personally love this coin. I have no knock against it...I'm just speculating about it's history over the last 130+ years based on the evidence I see on the coin.

 

No argument with this.
I'm just saying the "piece of plastic" makes it more "so" than I would feel confident about on my own.

Cracking out coins among the type set collectors seems more prevalent than most other collectors.
It appears the 7070 album has become quite popular, and that's the only way one can fill it.
Again, I have no problems with that.
I just elected to stay slabbed.

As I understand it, a high percentage of coins from the 19th century have had a cleaning in the distant past.
It appears the major TPGs recognize this and as long as the cleaning wasn't really distructive they will slab the coin.

But on the other hand I've had crack-outs that were body bagged.
I'm not sure whether this was because the TPG's policies varied with time or if was the standards of individual graders.

 

And just for GPs, here's my 20-cent coin:

 

This is basically what I was trying to say. That would explain both the toning and the slabbing to me.