I purchased a 1921-S Walker last year on the bay. It has a whitish appearance (dull luster) with small scratches on the reverse. It is difficult for me to grade but I've decided on F-12. I bought it for $44 and currently value it $70. What are your thoughts?
It looks like it has been improperly cleaned, and I'm wondering if it that greenish tint on the sun isn't from PVC contamination. Chris
Difficult call; without a monochromatic background I can't tell if White Balance and therefore the coin's color is correct so no accurate conclusions about surface preservation are possible. I think you're pretty close on technical grade, and even if cleaned at Fine Details you're below actual value at $70; F12 is a $125-$150 coin in a slab.
Maybe I'm not looking at a clear photo. I cab barely see that there is a mint mark, not what it is. It certainly not get a Fine rating: Fair 2 is more like it.
The S is pretty clear at about 7:30 on the reverse. It is possible that the coin was improperly cleaned and probably has some PVC damage on the obverse and light scratches on the reverse. I would rate it as an F-12 (damaged and/or improperly cleaned). I think a fair-2 would be too pessimistic for this coin.
I'm not sure what people are seeing that leads them to believe it was cleaned, unless it's that swipe across the gown of liberty. It has the appearance of many coins I have bought that spent decades in the old style pouch type envelopes. They take on a grey, almost granular surface that some people like and some don't . I don't prefer them that way but it certainly isn't going to hurt it much anyway. As to grade it's a strong F15. Fine bid in the CDN is $160. The breast is close to being full the whole way across which is necessary for VF but the reverse doesn't seem to have enough detail. Hard to tell from the pics but if you could get it in a holder at VF you would have an $600 coin.
Thanks David; I appreciate your comments. I'm not sure if it is cleaned either but the scratches on the reverse lead me to think that a grading company would give it a damaged rating. As I only paid $40 for the coin and believe it is probably only worth $70 to the right bidder, I'm thinking that it is not a coin to send to NGC or PCGS. Have a happy New Years!
Thanks, The pic of the reverse is too out of focus for me to see scratches. Let me know when it's up for bid.
The 2nd set of pics makes it more clear that the coin would never get a straight grade. Harshly scratched reverse.
Unfortunately, your second set of pictures show the problems of this coin much more clearly. There are three major problems: 1. Green gunk (its either PVC or some other form of corrosion) on the sun, speckled on the obverse, and in places on the reverse. 2. Very harsh cleaning hairlines on both sides (I'm guessing someone saw the corrosion and tried to clean it off). 3. Deep scrapes/gouges on the reverse. The coin itself has Fine-15+ details (maybe even VF), and without the problems would probably be worth maybe $250-$300. With the problems, somewhere around $70 is probably a good estimate (coins like this are hard to value, because they are often hard to find a buyer - you have to strongly discount the coin to make a sale. This coin has a lot of serious problems, hence the serious discount).
