So I got this 1832 bust half dime. I tried getting the best pictures I could of it since the thing is massively tiny. In hand these surfaces don't look cleaned to me. Just want others thoughts on this. It is in an ntc slab. I know they are known for bad grading and straight grading cleaned coins. My pictures aren't the best but to me in hand this coin looks straight. But I haven't seen too many cleaned ones in hand to know. I didn't buy it for the grade. I actually paid well under what it was graded at. Took a chance on blurry pictures and a no return policy even. So without showing their grade first, let's see how close you think they were.
Almost looks like it had varnish. "Mottled" looking toning with crackling. However I have no idea how much of this could be from plastic of slab, photography, etc.
Yea i think some of that is the photography. It seems very difficult to photograph this tiny coin with my cell.
I don't have any materials to reference, but the reverse should be easily attributable. I don't know about the surfaces, either. It would be nice to see in-hand. I would put it in the MS40-MS45 range as a straight grade.
I paid roughly xf40 price. In hand I can see traces of luster above the cap and between the stars and edge in places. The reverse really looks nice. I been sitting here about 2 hours trying to get a picture that shows it properly but I can't quite get one. I think I'm going to run it by the LCS later.
That's best. The toning makes it hard to see much from a photo. XF40 is fair...assuming original surfaces...(imo). Nice strike!
Much better photographs OP. I like these a lot. I loved picking up AU issues 30 years ago. Really nice ones dated 1829-1835 seemed pretty commonly available. I have a 32 that I am pretty sure would grade BU, maybe 64+ nowadays.
Numistrust calls it AU55, the sellers pictures were horrible. I just lucked out. Set a price, bid at the last second. Barely won it, but won it. It actually looks more silver in hand than toned tbh. I think the slab color is playing reflection or something.
Sorry, but it has been cleaned at some point. It's got the fine scratches that tell me it's been gone over with something like baking soda back in the day. That used to be a standard coin cleaner back in the 1960s.
I agree with the old cleaning idea, but baking soda is dissolved in hot water first, so I doubt it's that.
I line a dish with aluminum foil, place a silver coin in the dish (in contact with the aluminum, then cover the coin with baking soda dissolved in boiling water. That removes the tarnish and leaves the silver.
This is the LM-5, R-1 and relatively late die state. Yes, the obverse and reverse are both clashed. I agree that it has been cleaned but has re-toned nicely and the cleaning scratches are not the worst I've seen. I was going to give it an AU-55 Details but you beat me to the punch because I had to spend the morning driving 30 miles into town to buy my wife the area's best cheesecake for her birthday. I hope she appreciates my sacrifice. Oh wait - this is supposed to be her day.
I'd say going the extra mile for the cheesecake more than makes up for time frittered away on a coin forum, Publius2. The coin looks overly bright from a cleaning and the second set of photos shows the fine hairlines. Toning is clearly secondary. Not a bad look and I have some that look the same. Like my avatar. CBHDs are cool little coins and I like this one.
It is if dissolved with the "baking soda and aluminum foil method you described in post #17, but another cleaning method, and one much more commonly used, was to make a paste with water and baking soda and rub the coin with it. The undissolved baking soda acted as an abrasive to "clean" the surfaces.
