Coin Doctoring at it's worst.

I think oval_man has unlocked this mystery. I'm not thinking this coin has been center holed at all. I now believe that the hole was in the E of liberty tho I can't see any disturbance in the field around the letter the bottom of the E does not match up with the die pairing. I have spent about 20 minutes this morning looking at several different coins from this die pairing and they all have the long E bottom. It also appears to have 2-4 of the denticles recut just towards the edge from the E. It's going to be really hard to get a pic of it but I'll try. This hole would correspond just to the viewers right of the tailfeathers. Whoever did this was a pro because the surfaces look undisturbed and the overall look of the coin is that of a one-looker coin. WOW this coin is nasty good.

 

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Look at the ear on this one and compare it to the plugged one.

This one is more horizontal than the plugged one.

 

Great thread -- I've learned a few things but am still confused. Matt, please let us know if you ever get a definite identification of the location of the plug. Looks like a good candidate for a coin grading class.

 

Look at the 4 denticles to the northeast of the E. I am certain this is the spot. Let me shoot the back too.

 

Here is the reverse shot. I think I see the hole.


Here is what I see.


On the Obverse.

 

I was thinking the same thing. But there is definitely something wrong with the E, because the bottom bar, as well as being too short, is clearly too thick.

 

and the middle of the coin. The obverse looks strange... but it could be attributed to a die bulge or something. The reverse looks correct to me.

 

That area on the reverse towards the edge corresponds with the area marked on the obverse. Maybe the hole was larger on the obverse and tapered as it went through the coin... I would bet my left leg that's where it is. I mean the E clearly doesn't match... so we either have a new variety.... very unlikely... or the E was altered in some way.

 

Either way this is one of the scariest coins I have seen in a while. The repairs are good... but to me at least are somewhat detectable. The color on the other hand... this coin looks to have 200 years worth of grit & grime. I've been doing this for a while now and i never thought someone could get the surfaces to look SO good.

 

Ok,

Here is more evidence to support my thoughts.

This coin minus the E is the B-19 "AMERICAI" vareity. This is the only variety with the widely recut last A in AMERICA on the reverse.

This is Liberty of the B-19 courtesy of Heritage. Note that the base of the E is different. The hole has to be there. The rest of the spacing in LIBERTY is correct in regards to the other letters and also with the stars.

 

Is it possible you have 2 repairs?, in the pic above of the ear you see a square shaped repair, and on the rim by the E you may have a repaired rim nick, and possibly a gouge thru the E?

 

I don't rule that out completely.

 

Looking at the coin with my glass what appears to be a square on the obverse is what looks like a planchet flaw (left side of square) and the top of the "square" is a strand of hair. The bottom appears to be a very light wispy scratch that I can hardly see with the glass.

 

Just that general area. I would have highlighted the E as well but since we were already talking about the base of the E I didn't see a need to highlight it. I would say that the area from the base of the E to the rim is suspect to me.