Steve: If it were not in an ANACS new holder, I would have guessed cleaned, but since the 'experts' say not, then I'd say AU-55 or AU-58.
i wish i could tell...this is one aspect of the hobby that has not changed in the years i was away from collecting. almost every time a coin is posted, someone will say cleaned. slabbed or not. experts who slabbed say no...other experts say yes....all are extremely knowledgeable with the hobby and have excellent credentials. they all know the coins and both can give valid reasons for the position... i just simply expect to hear it on some coins and listen to reasons for both. when i buy a coin, i simply use all the available knowledge i have and decide.. do I like it?? if the answer is yes, well thats who makes the final decsion. chances are, if i like it, someone else will like it in the future..(or i can just find a slab buyer!!)
Almost every coin from the 1800's and early 1900's has been cleaned at some point in time---and grading companies will slab cleaned coins as long as the cleaning isn't harsh. Years ago cleaning a coin was a good think and lots of people did it---it has been said that 90% of all Silver Dollars have been dipped at some point in time. So where someone might say that a coin is cleaned, and maybe rightly so, the guys at the grading company says that the coin is still at a point to where it would be accepted in the "market". For what its worth---I call this coin cleaned and here is why. See around the stars, and letters, and date the dark area? that is where the cleaning stuff or whatevery they were rubbing it with couldn't get. Take a Cent that you find in change sometimes that is dark...take a coin cleaner and put it on a rag and rub the coin...after that you will see that around the date/letters/etc there will still be some darkness or dirt. I have little knowledge on gold coins, if any, so don't take my word for it. Now then---the coin is still pretty nice---and it is GOLD!!!!! Speedy
i absolutely don't contest the opinions regarding cleaning. i've heard the stories of bathtubs full of morgans getting dipped. in the early american copper collector journals, they used to give recipes for cleaning the copper coins!!! i just wan't to enhance my knowledge. learning is a lifetime experience and i have no problem admitting i don't know. this also is another purchase of "bullion" for me. i have one more which i will post tomorrow. i got these for close to melt and they were slabbed from a reputable dealer so i felt safe knowing they were genuine. there is certainly a difference between cleaning and harshly cleaned or luster impaired, ect...these postings help us all as we can analyze the photo and point out criteria from either point of view. thanks for the info and response!..steve
also...this means that ancs is 0 for 2 regarding cleaning, or there is a certain criteria to say how much cleaned denotes making it a details coin or to bb it. and i readily admit, i know less regarding this subject than the moderators or the professional graders!! not trying to be a "forum monkey"!!!
Let's just go with AU-50 again......and I agree with everything Speedy said about old cleaning and market acceptance.
Yes and no---its more of a thing you learn over time IMHO---its a call each grader must make. Now in some cases it is plain---if you find an old Large Cent that would grade VG and it has been cleaned so that it shows a bright RED and not the normal brown then yes that would be BB'ed in a sec. but in some cases it isn't all that easy. The Mod's are just like you and everyone else on the forum---we still learn new things each and every day! Speedy
they graded this one at xf 40....have one more to post...at the indiana state show there was a dealer who hd a lot of these on his table...he had a big pile of raw half eagles also (literally...probably close to 100...a lot to me) which he had for sale at $160...i went ahead and purchased the slabbed stuff for just a little more ($161.50- $170) as i wanted bullion but felt safer with them already authenticated . i trusted the dealer but guess i just wanted a little security blanket...thanks for looking and for your input!....steve
