I never thought of this coin as being cleaned but now I believe it was. Something about the color looks off. Please share your thoughts. PCI PR-63 RB PCGS UNC Details Cleaned
Looks nice to me, but I have never seen a matte proofin person before. Reverse looks a little stripped, but I would have chalked that up to the "matte" part of matte proof.
But this is the thing, Larry. Is it missing luster? Are there obvious breaks, obvious dead spots? Are there scratches, hairlines? Describe them. Put our noses in it. Do it, let's see it. That's what I'd tell my kids. They're 7, 8, 9, 10, early teens. Let's see it. Forget "cleaned." That's bullship. And bullship don't get nobody nowhere. Now to this coin. Well bully for you, PCGS, but we don't grade coins based on our feelings. You can, that's your business. You can't articulate this beyond "cleaned," that's your speed? I know 13-year-olds who can teach you something. End of rant. Before I really get pissed off. EDIT: If I'm seeing anything, I'm seeing depth compromised on this one. And I've seen it on these matte proofs, before.
The matte finish looks good with the exception of Lincoln's face. The toning is not uniform to the rest of the coin. The reverse appears to be starting to corrode slightly. I would not pass it up, it is a very nice coin.
I downloaded the 6000x3000 size TrueView and I don’t see any hairlines anywhere that would be evidence of cleaning. Even if the lighting position was hiding the lines some would still be seen……..I don’t see any. Looks good to me. Edited to say I’m a little concerned by the rims though.. I would expect them to be sharper than they are. In some areas they actually look beveled instead of razor sharp
Color on forehead and cheek is signs of re-toning after a dip. The rest of the coin looks too bright with a pinkish hue. Crack it out and let it re-tone brown.
My thoughts they think the color a bit off. Possibly an ancient dip. I often struggle with determining natural color on copper though
Many years ago there was a seller at the local coin shows who had lots of raw Lincolns for sale. They were mostly the same bright coppery color as the OP coin. I remember asking some other dealers at the time, and they said the seller dipped all his coins. Not sure what he used.
The PCI image was taken with the coin in the holder. The PCGS image was taken with the coin raw, out of the holder.
I'm just unfamiliar with any "dip" for copper. That is to say, one that doesn't turn them pink, like ketchup.
It's the ageing in the right environment that brings them back to acceptable tones. We can't deny that they try it. Just like dipping silver, it takes the high point luster when the surfaces are stripped.