Here is an interesting coin from my collection: an 1854 Large Cent. Please give me your opinions of the grade. Also, do you think it has been cleaned. I suspect a prior owner gave this coin a frequent bath to maintain its original copper color. The green tarnish is more vibrant in person, but the reverse gives a better representation of the true color. For those new to numismatics the Large Cent minted from 1793 to 1857 is the same size as our current $1 golden Sacagawea. Big copper! Delawarejones
I think it would grade XF, too much wear to get an AU. The color looks funny, but I don't know a lot about detecting lightly cleaned coins, the fields look ok to me, except for the dings on the right obverse.
What features give this away as cleaned? I can [sometimes] detect cleaning on silver coins, but I'm not at all sure about copper. Thanks.
It's cleaned, at least for me, because there has been wear on the coin, and I think it's XF too. With wear the coin loses its red luster and turns brown. It does not take much handling for this to occur. with the bright red original copper showing it's a give away. However what attracted me to the coin was the green tarnish on the obverse and reverse. I suspect whatever cleaner a prior owner used caused the chemical reaction on the coin, which adds to its beauty. Thanks for the grades so far, keep them coming. Delawarejones
XF details, cleaned, net VF is the ANACS grade. VF 30 sharpness, cleaned and retoned, Net F, Average is the EAC grade. You can tell the coin has been cleaned because there's "red" showing on a circulated coin which should be "brown" in coloration. The blue-green hue also suggests the cleaning. All IMHO...Mike
I would say the coin has been very harshly cleaned at one point. It has xf-45 details IMO. I would not recommend submitting it for grading anywhere but NCS or ANACS
There is something else that is to me easier to see. Look at the red areas, see how they shine and reflect the light - there is no luster. If the coin were original red, there would be luster. But if the coin were lightly polished with a cloth to reveal the red color then there is no luster. I also agree with the XF45 details.
Even though it has been cleaned it is still a fine example for any ones collection, I would be more than happy if it had come my way De Orc :thumb:
Hey, SKM06: Thanks for your comparison pic. I agree with the XF for grading. You have a great coin, too. Delawarejones
