Hi everyone, I just received a quarter in the mail today that I had been waiting for. It looks pretty nice and has amazing shine/mirror effect (maybe can't tell from pics). I grazed the back of my finger over the film and all the high points are very very high. When looking at it out of the light it has a sort of blueish hue which is really cool. My question is: What are all these nicks all over it ? (especially the obverse) I don't think it's a result from cleaning. I noticed some other coins like this, with a sort of "freezing-over" effect where it looks like my car windshield on a cold morning, all frosted over. It was hard to capture the extent of the little nicks with the camera. Sorry. Anyone got anything for me ? Thanks !
That was my first thought too. I just wasn't sure if it had something to do with toning or some oxidation/chemical stuff.
Okay great...that's good to know. Thanks for the thoughts. You reckon there are too many scratches to reach a grade of MS ?
I do not know. ask the guys/girls that collect Canadian coins. they could tell you more about the grade. they might need better lighted photos to determine the grade.
Looks to me like a combination of bag damage and maybe some circulation hits . Bag damage no matter the # of hits will not take a coin out of MS status . Your coin also looks like it might be proof like as that would account for the shiny surface . PL coins also tend to show bag marks more than non PL coins . I'd say PL 61 for the grade . Actually it would be MS-61 PL .
Actually I wonder if they could be SP coins as they did make them for that year . But not being too proficient in Canadian coins I can't tell if they are .
Oh okay cool. I actually looked online and via my Canadian coin book; there seems to be no "PL" for this year of Canadian quarters. Is that odd ? I only see "SP" Also Rusty, what is MS-61 PL ? I thought MS and PL were completely separate. Thanks guys for the help
MS means Mint State it's what the tpgs and most collectors put in font of the grade if the coin is Unc. PL means Proof Like very different than Proof which is a method of manufacture with specially prepared planchets and struck with polished dies under greater pressure . PL coins mimic proof coins as they have highly reflective surfaces usually from being struck with new or repolished dies .
I forgot to mention, Nice quarter! There's a little write-up on striking style (near bottom of page) here: http://www.calgarycoin.com/modern/canada.htm#grading
Business strike, slightly baggy, struck fairly early with fresh dies, hence the weak cameo finishes. The whitish marks you are seeing can be two possible things. 1. an early phase of toning, or 2. you sometimes get those marks on coins inherited from the how the planchets themselves were handled - modern loon dollars show this especially so.
