Hello, I've had the 1900 Quarter pictured below for quite a while, possibly 20 years. I don't remember exactly what I paid for it, where I bought it or even precisely when (I was pretty young then and I do keep better records now). I do know that I put the coin in an air-tite not too long after I purchased it and I haven't removed it since. Recently, I've noticed a bluish-green hue creeping around Liberty's mouth, in her ear and around the bottom of the coin from approximately 4 - 6 o'clock. I wondered if it was just toning or something else? Since I recently purchased one of those awesome Plugable USB scopes, I decided to check out the coin at the micro level. This revealed another surprise, namely, lots of tiny scratches on the obverse, none of which are visible in hand. Did someone whizz this piece long ago? The reverse shows no such marks anywhere, nor any of the bluish-green blobs of the obverse. I'm curious about the opinions of others who know far more than I do. Thank you!
Hi, it looks as if your coin was cleaned a long time ago (when people did it for fun) and there is some residual toning left from after. The lines look like hairlines which are left over after cleaning.
Possibly residue from the previous cleaning wasn't completely removed and it is retoning. Probably would have happened a lot sooner if it wasn't in an airtight holder. It doesn't look whizzed. Maybe somebody used a little baking soda or toothpaste to originally clean it (my choices for conserving coins when I was a kid in the early 70's )
I almost wish I hadn't put the coin under the scope. But one must face reality. I was almost sure the scratches came from an old cleaning, but I wanted to make sure. Interesting nuance on the method - whizzing would probably leave visible crevices whereas a more subtle method such as mentioned by @Oldhoopster, baking soda or toothpaste, may not appear obvious in hand. Now I always carry a loupe to shows to detect such things before buying. The toning also makes sense and the cleaning likely explains why new toning has appeared in a strange and seemingly random fashion. The quarter does look like a decent XF until one reveals its micro-world. I'm guessing this would simply grade as "details." Luckily it's not a great rarity nor do I think I overpaid for it all those years ago before I knew better. So be it. Life. What can you do?
