I am looking for a 1914d Lincoln cent in a VF grade. I saw several at a show. One I saw was in a blue PCGS holder and looked good, but I saw some green at the 9 of the date. I was wondering if that was oxidation or possibly environmental damage. Any thoughts? Possibly a warning to punt?
Punt. The green could be corrosion, or it could PVC that was on the coin from storage in a PVC flip. The green stuff might be just sitting on the surface and easily removed, but you have to break the slab to do it. You can send it to PCGS to do that, but it will cost you money. At the worst it could permanent damage.
Pass. Any coin with even the smallest green speck gets a no from me, even raw coins. In fact, I was just looking at a nice MS64 German pfennig. Then I saw two small green spots in the close up photos and quickly passed. With slabbed coins, if they aren't stored properly, the coins can still turn. Most metals by nature, especially copper, are reactive. That's why guarantees on RD designations have a time limit. I wouldn't think the grading service would straight grade them with the green spots, so I bet the coin was stored improperly.
But the grading services will seal them in slabs, with straight grades, with PVC on them. I have seen that more than a few times. It would be service to customer if they would remove the PVC, which not that hard or time consuming, but they don’t.
Could be any number of things, some bad and some nothing to worry about. If you’re worried about the integrity of a coin even in top tier TPG plastic I would suggest seeking a coin that is approved by CAC.
CAC is good, but it’s not perfect. It can save you from making a mistake, provided you don’t way over pay, perhaps 98% of the time.
I feel the same way and have always "stuck to my guns" on this one. I'm think dimedude made the right decison to punt.
Being sealed in the slab, I'd take a fast pass. No matter the type of residue, it will only get worse, so unless you are willing to send it in for conservation and re-slabbing, find another.
So I kept looking for a VF20 14D in a slab, and was unsuccessful. I thought I found one, but at the end I saw the evil green spot. I have a lot of learning on finding the right one. Again, I generally do not collect copper coins, and after this experience you really need to make sure the coin does not have the PVC and oxidation issue.
Yep, this will bea challenge finding a nice certified VF with no green gunk on it. I really gained a lot of respect to copper collectors after this experience.
Keep looking would be the best thing but be sure to watch for altered 1944D cents. The first 4 is ground down to look like a 1 but that leaves a bigger space between the 9 and the 1 and should be easy to spot.