At first I thought it might have been cleaned but then google offered up another possible option, planchet striations. I found several references to these lines on 1880 Carson City dollars, but nothing for the San Fran dollars. The lines cover most of the field on the reverse, and are mostly absent from the obverse. The more prominent line on the left is in the plastic, not the coin. Are these lines just a characteristic of the coin or is this cleaning/damage? The coin is graded. 1880 S at MS64, another reason I'm thinking its not cleaned/damaged as it seems like a rather obvious thing to miss if it were. Thanks for your help.
Yup. Heavy die polish lines! I love em. I want it! Dont feel bad. Many casual Morgan collectors confuse them with being abrasivly cleaned coins. Planchet situations are all in one direction and typically show up on both sides matching the exact pattern and trajectory of the other side.
Aren't die polish lines raised while cleaning scratches are recessed? That should be an easy way for new collectors to tell them apart
It can be very hard to ditinguish that. The best way for those not familiar with the subtlely different looks is to see if the lines go over the devices or stop at the devices edges.
Yeah that's what a lot of people think. However, die polish lines produce raised and recessed lines on the die - and then subsequently on the coin as well. And, scratches from a harsh cleaning produce raised and recessed lines on the coin. That said, die polish lines can be distinguished from harsh cleaning scratches if one has the experience and knowledge to do so. And while the lines stopping at the edges of the devices can be an indicator, it is not a definitive indicator. That is because scratches from a harsh cleaning can also stop at the edges of the devices. The thing that is a definitive indicator is when the lines do cross the devices - that cannot be caused by die polishing. The OP's coin, yes, in this case those are die polish lines.
The lines are plentiful but quite faint. You have to get the light to reflect at the right angle to get them to appear. Raised vs. recessed lined would be difficult to differentiate with the coin in the slab. I am not able to see any of the lines continuing over the devices. They all appear to stop right at the edge as if the raised devices were placed on top of the lines. Since the raised areas of the coin would have been recessed on the die, I guess it makes sense that they would not have polish marks in them. Thanks for the info!
