Opinions/Grade my 1878 CC Morgan

I bought this coin knowing it was cleaned but I got a "good" price. I'm going to update the post with close up pictures. What's your details grade?

Comparing wear to my 1880-S MS 64 the CC has more detail in the hair above the ear and I can make out individual feathers in each of the groups on the chest of the eagle. Residual luster around devices even after cleaning. Would this coin have been a MS64 or higher? So sad ha but what do you guys think?

 

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Impossible to say. Cleaning has completely obscured what the coin looked like before the cleaning.

 

You never really know... by the look of the dark areas that remain I’d guess it had some sort of dark toning going on. Someone then scrubbed the living daylights out of it trying to make it shiny again.

 

I was going to research the VAM but the die chip on the nostril said its absolute of 2A so I'm done already ha.

@CircCam yea theres some tone in the obverse 10 O'clock that wasnt rubbed off. I would think thats what they did. The coin is so nice otherwise so I dont know what they were trying to do :/

 

Who knows, I used to sneak in and play with my great grandfathers Morgan collection when my folks were out. I could have easily been dumb enough to grab an SOS pad and scrub one with dark toning just out of sheer ignorance.

 

What ever happened to the word "gently" ?

 

I feel this was gentle but abrasive.

 

To me, those two words are opposites.

 

Not a lot of force but a rough material was used.

 

I've learned here on Coin Talk !! that one of the best ways to clean coins is soaking the coin in distilled water, then using a toothpick or wooden matchstick, which is also wet, to push any gunk or debris off of the coin.
The wet and softened toothpick won't scratch the metal at all but it is still strong enough to remove gunk.

There are several threads here that discuss cleaning coins. It's a shame that your coin was cleaned like that.

 

Someone obliterated that coin. Without zooming in, I was gonna say AU53 details, but I see what you're saying... all the detail is there for a possible UNC, but you can't really say due to all the luster having been scrubbed off of it. Since luster is a major part of the MS grade, it's likely to come back AU details harshly cleaned.

 

I think this is the perfect way of putting it. I was thinking if this coin was not cleaned it would be an easy MS, but in this current condition it is AU.
@Hookman Huge, shame. The reason I made this was post was to dream about what could have been!

 

Nothing gentle about it. It was harshly cleaned. Those lines are cut into the coin. What a shame.

 

In my mind the difference between gentle and forceful is the depth of the hairlines. There are a lot here but they aren't deep. I picture hairlines as being gentle and scratches as aggressive.

 

I mean, we're only working with the pics we have, but it really looks like steel wool was used.

 

Understandable. I'll take another and post it.

 

I understand. I dream a lot also.
Other than the cleaning, I think it's a really great coin. I've read some members here talking about carrying a scratched coin in their pocket for a while and it will soften the scratches. I've never done that but I'm sure others will have thoughts on it.

 

Without heavy lighting on the coin you can see the cleaning isn't so harsh. There are no real scratches, just hairlines everywhere!

 

Sorry, but now we can say for sure that it was cleaned to death. It appears to have no remaining mint luster.

 

Oh I definitely agree with you! This poor coin is destroyed lol

I'm trying to show that the hairlines look very harsh in my first picture but there are no/little scratches. The only remnant of luster is in between the letters of E. Pluribus Unum and the rim. And that is weak unfortunately.