Trade Dollar Question

I'm not that familiar with trade dollars and how lenient the TPGs are with them, but my impression is it looks cleaned. It should have more luster I'd think with AU details. The fields look dull. But this is not to say the coins isn't impressive. I just looked at common dates in g and Vg and prices were a tad over a hundred. But I've never seen them for sale on ebay at these prices, even the details ones.

 

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The pictures I posted are not great. They were in bad light and with a cell phone. I am going to attempt good pictures tomorrow. Sorry about that.

From my observations, the coin does have good luster, the fields aren't dull, and is actually silver in color instead of the yellow/orange tint in the pictures.

What makes you think it looks cleaned? I don't see any signs of cleaning in person, but I am a novice.

 

Showing luster in photos is largely a matter of lighting. These photos are simply not going to show a cleaning unless it's really bad. Getting it out of the 2x2 and properly lighting it will produce a better photo where you can possibly see these things.

 

No problem. Lighting is key. I was just giving my initial impression. If there's cleaning (dipped or otherwise) it seems lightly done because the coin looks good even in those pics.

 

Well, I put together a very crude studio space to take these pictures. I used several different white balance settings, including custom white balance. The pictures still don't show how the luster of the coin appears in person. You can see alot more detail looking on a computer screen than on a mobIle phone screen.

I did notice there is something going on when you zoom into the "S" of States on the reverse of the coin. If you look at the bottom of the "S", it almost looks like there is a double strike, but Im really not sure.

Anyway, let me know what yall think!

 

A few more.

 

I'm seeing an XF45 or AU50 in your future. I'd give her an acetone bath before submission though, since it looks like there might be some crud that could potentially come off.

 

I couldn't tell if that was the beginning of toning or crud on it. The acetone bath won't bode bad for me when I submit it to be graded?

 

Nope. Acetone won't do anything but take off any crud that's there. It doesn't look too bad as is, but I think you might see some improvement from removing the crud.

 

Good deal. I'll swing by the hardware store tomorrow and pick some up. I sure hope the coin gets the AU grade.

So in your opinion, do you see any signs of cleaning?

Out of curiosity, what would you think this coin is worth?

 

I didn't really see any signs of cleaning. I see light circulation, and potentially some luster remaining around the devices.

Oh, and FYI, you don't have to get the acetone from the hardware store, if you don't want to handle and store larger quantities. Nail polish remover that says 100% acetone on it is good enough.

I'm not really familiar enough with Trade Dollars and chop marks to say what it might be worth, but I think it's a nice coin.

 

Awesome, thank you for the help!

 

One last thing, if you go for the nail polish remover stuff, make sure it says 100% acetone. It might contain this stuff, but don't worry about that. It's just a bittering agent and is in such minute quantities that it won't affect anything. There's no need to rinse it either.

 

First it's real. Second I'd call it au. But I'm thinking that areas of the fields have been cleaned. It really looks like something going on above her arm I see hairlines that don't really look like die polish and the color and luster in spots looks unnatural without seeing in hand that can be impossible to tell tho and it appears to have rim damage at 2 o clock

 

The damage above and on her arm is from one of the chop marks on the reverse. Same with the rim, it's slightly bent from a chop mark.

While the second set of pictures are better than the first, they still don't accurately represent the color and luster of the coin. I may try my hand at another set of pictures in daylight and see if that helps.

I sure hope it isn't cleaning.

 

IMO, leave the coin alone. You have an attractive chopped coin. Acetone will remove any film on it and the hairlines will stand out.

 

My first impression from the new pictures is that the coin has been cleaned. The fields have the dull, shiny silver look that I associate with cleaned coins. I don't think a different lighting setup would change my opinion.

 

I haven't done the bath yet, and you bring up a very good point. I think I'll just leave her as is now.

 

If you suspect a coin has been cleaned, is it worth it to send it in to a TPG and risk a details slab?

 

Here is the problem and I hope this does not confuse you and others:

Depending on the coin series, we can say that every coin under MS-63 has been cleaned, most have been cleaned, or some have been cleaned. That being the case, the TPGS's walk a line called "market acceptability." They will usually tolerate more "unoriginality" on a 17th Century Seated Dollar than on a Peace dollar. So, no telling (without the coin in hand) for sure what they would do on any given day by any given grading team!

Concerning you coin, I believe the discoloration at the rims is more detracting than any hairlines on it. Since it is going into a "Chopmarked" holder they may ignore this. From the photos, IMO, your coin is NOT cleaned enough to mention. The cleaning that is not tolerated changes the color of the surface or can be seen as continuous parallel hairlines that destroy the original surface. I have found that on this site and others, members are quick to call EVERYTHING cleaned.

Is there a reason you want it slabbed? A coin like yours can be passed around to feel its "heft" and enjoy holding a piece of American/China history. I should save the money and buy more coins.