The seller says it's been cleaned, and looking at the edges of the field by each character and design element, who am I to call him a liar? What he doesn't mention, are the coarse and grainy surface and the mushy detail of the dragon scales, etc. - typical characteristics of sand cast coins. The interesting thing is, that for Meiji 6 (1873), there are two recognized varieties, and this one is a copy of a Type I Y#24 20 sen, the significantly less expensive version. The Type II is missing the top line in the character at 8 o'clock, and books at up to $650, while the Type I tops out at $65 in the 19th Century Krause 3rd Ed. Guess which country west of Korea the private auction seller is located in.
I liked the one you got at the Long Beach Show a lot better. LOL Very educational thread, sir. Thanks.
