The obverse has definitely been polished. I think the reverse has too, but it has since corroded. The shininess of the obverse is a clear indicator that this coin has been mistreated. I would grade it EF details, polished.
Wouldnt polishing remove the bands on the torch. both sides have the same look in the field and the details. what do you mean by corroded? some different Lighting? Maybe?
From what I can see of your photos. The obverse has been polished the reverse has PVC Damage or (Corrosion) as noted by the greenish tints. This coin IMO could have made a low grade AU prior to the cleaning and polishing. At this point the damage cause by the cleaning and polishing would also make me to grade this EF (Details). Yes polishing could destroy the Middle (Bands) along with other details (features), fortunately someone stopped short of that .. as a good descriptor of Details is think of it added to the grade is a short way to describe a cleaned, polished or any abnormal wear experienced by the coin.
I would say AU - Details. Some folks have offered opinions on exactly what was done to the coin. I can't speculate, but I can say *something* has been done to it to alter the surface. Hence, details. It's unfortunate, too, because otherwise it would grade quite nicely.
Thanks Ya all for the input. The obv was extremely hard to get the glare out of the photo, I had thought that it had been polished but the surfaces all looked the same. I only gave a few bucks for it. Thanks again for the education.
polishing with a jeweler's emery cloth would not wear away enough metal to remove torch lines or other details but but would make the coin very reflective.
