Walking Liberty question

My son bought these Walking Liberty half dollars and we noticed a problem with the obverse. Any ideas what it might be, and if anything can or should be done about it?

 

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Are you talking about the line down the middle? If so, that is just wear, and is a common place since that is one of the higher points on the design.

 

Yep, that is the wear pattern, so it gets any dirt or tarnish worn off.

 

The high spots on thecoins wear and collect dirt first. It's wear and dirt.

 

Soak them in Acetone. it may help color. Read safety instrutions First.

 

True about wear. The other problem, is if the books, with the plastic slide cover. If they are moved much, in and out.The covers will scrub the surfaces of the coins.

 

Thanks, all. My first thought was it was worn because it is the highest point on the coin. I guess that's something you have to live with with these coins. My son paid $55 for both coins.

 

First one maybe VF, the second one could be AU.
These are common date Walkers.
Coin guide link: https://www.usacoinbook.com/coins/half-dollars/walking-liberty/

 

Sorry but I feel he overpaid.

 

Well, consider that tuition at the school of hard numismatics. Those are attractive coins, but they are well circulated. They are worth about half what he paid.

 

$55 is far too much. That black line is natural on the WLHs, it's where the dirt collects from wear the most.

 

I've seen something similar when coins have been exposed to rubber bands.

 

I will let him know. I don't know how much he paid for each. He hadn't planned on spending that much anyway, but the dealer was a good talker and that probably influenced him. The dealer is the one who made him the two-fer offer. Plus my son didn't have a good grasp of their worth.

 

Hopefully he does now. A good lesson learned is worth it.

 

The first is worth about $7-8 and the second maybe $10-12. If your son is very young I'd go speak to the dealer. Any price above $25 for these, especially to a young numismatist, is extremely dishonest and does a disservice to the hobby.

 

Thanks for the info. No, my son is 28 years old, it's just that he's a newbie, like me. Another thing is that the marks aren't as apparent in hand. He should have at least looked at it with a magnifying glass. Live and learn.

 

Ok not as bad then, however, realize it's not the marks that are the problem. It's the level of circulation wear that makes the value here. The marks are par for the course with that level of wear and are neither unusual nor problematic.

For his age, I'd consider it a lesson then. The most important lesson with numismatics is to know the coin before you buy it. If you buy material you aren't familiar with and don't know the market value of you can get burned.

 

I had many coins on those old PVC flips, rubberbanded together.

Every place those rubber bands were I had dark black bands - diameter, tightness etc would seem to impact how much and intensity of black marks per say.

 

Would it do any good to try to clean them? And what would be the best way to do it?

 

NO, do not clean them. That will reduce their value further.

These marks are not from rubber bands. These are common on Walking Liberty Half dollars. The center vertical part of the design is the "high point" of the coin, and is where wear (and dirt - like on your coin) is most apparent. Completely normal for a circulated WLH.