I have a couple coins that I just received that appear to have polishing lines on the reverse...at least one. The other looks as if someone may have wiped it with a cloth as at least one of the lines covers the whole length of the reverse and some are not going the same direction. The other appears to be all the same direction but I don't want "hairlines" designations and waste the money. Hard to take pics of the lines but can sure see them with a loop under the light so I have to assume the graders would too.
Here's some pics I decided to try taking up extremely close. I think these have to go back as they would not pass scrutiny with the graders but all opinions welcome!!
There is a difference between "polishing lines" - raised lines on the coin from lines into the die made when it was polished; and lines into the surface of the coin that are an impairment due to cleaning or mishandling. Which do you have? Hairlines on Proofs are one of the major characteristics that influence the grade. EDIT: Photo helped. It appears your coin has both. Look for any that go OVER the relief. They are the bad ones. Additional EDIT: The spots lower the grade also. I suggest you do not send them in to be graded.
It all boils down to this..........If the lines bother you, then you will NEVER be happy with the coin. Send it back! Chris
I don't think they have been cleaned but it appears the reverse may have been wiped at sometime when I look at the closeups. Some of the spotting is just dust as I was in a hurry taking the closeups. I have had a few coins come back with the hairlines designation and even one I didn't think warranted it. I mean does it really matter if you can't see them with the naked eye in a slab? But, yes, these will go back only because most of it appears to be scratches from wiping, especially on the one coin. The other looks more like polishing with a few wipe marks over it. I am not going to stick my fingernails onto the coins to see if I can feel ridges or anything.
What does the coin look like JUST in hand? Bear in mind that TPG's grade most coins with just the un-aided eye. If they think they see something they grab their 3x loupe (maybe sometimes a 5x loupe). Your images are MUCH more magnified than that. Use enough magnification and you'll always find something wrong.
IMO, a piece with that amount of "scratches" would show up without magnification three feet away in good light! And yes, I've also heard that many coins are graded at TPGS's without using magnification. No matter how a grader examines a coin, the main requirement is both accuracy and speed.
Those don't look like die polish lines to me, they look like hairline scratches... And even if they are die polish lines, those coins are struck from pretty poorly prepared dies so I would return them.
Can you show us a picture of the whole coin? If they are die polish lines (which, there is a good chance they are) getting another example has a very high chance of having the same effect. As a mint made effect, die polish should have no effect on the grade. The coin appears to have Im'haraq (Amharic) script on it. Is it Ethiopian? The standards at the Addis Ababa mint are a bit lower than some other mints...
