Hi, I am more of a beginner coin collector. I am attempting to put together a set of lincoln wheat cents. I have a box of wheat cent rolls that my grandfather had left for me. I have finished going through the box (no major dates, but a nice mix) and am filling the holes in my dansco album. I have found a couple from the 30's that seem to be in au/ borderline ms with luster. Is this possible from coins which i believe he took from change? Is there a way to tell if certain questionable coins have been cleaned? The coin in question (not a rare date, just asking for my knowledge in collecting) is a 1936. It appears to have mint luster around the numbers and border (but most of the coin is not that normal darker brown that you ssee with old circulated wheats). the features of the coin are still strong such as the hair, ear, words, date, and the wheat on the back still has the lines clearly visible etc. Is it possible it is uncirculated or likely cleaned? Im assuming he had these stored away for years. I can upload a pic if needed. If this has been asked before im sorry, ive searched and cannot find an answer. Thankyou
Hard to tell ya, but it certainly is possible it was a circulation find from back in the day. I pull cherry red 1960's cents out of boxes about once every $20 searched, and red wheaties once every $500 or so... so yeah, it's definitely possible.
that looks like an AU coin to my eye and I dont think it was cleaned (but I admit I am not a grading expert) ... i think that cleaned coins show a pattern opposite of this coin (cleaned coins are brighter in open fields and darker around lettering) ... your coin is brighter around the lettering ... looks natural fantastic find in pocket change it's clear that coin didnt circulate very long ... must have been sitting in a jar somewhere for decades and then spent recently
Those are basically the protected area's of the coin. Just around any of the raised areas have recieved less contact with dirty fingers and such...
That 1936 Wheat cent is EF45 in my humble opinion. The obverse pics are very hard to judge anything. The reverse is XF also. I recommend you wear cotton gloves too. Copper is very sensitive to skin oils and copper cents are very dirty. You'll do justice to both your coins and your hands. Two good coin supply places are wizard coin supply, and JPsCorner.com
