Looks too perfect, but yet can't see anything that tells me it was applied after striking. I am 51% leaning genuine. Can't yet take photos of the rims. Any thoughts?
I seen it on eBay it does look like the strip runs over the edge a bit. It’s too bad that they don’t give you more details. I’d like to see the rim too.
I like it. Looks genuine. I have seen similiar issues in the past. Who is the seller? That will help in determination.
Well, I've been waiting for just the right thread to use my 35,000th post, and this will be about as close as I can get. I have my doubts about this being a strikethrough because the line along which the two colors meet just seems to be too perfectly matched, but there are a couple of spots that I think gives this away and those are the area along the jaw and another area next to the ear. If you look closely at the jaw, there are a few "dings" grouped together and just below them is an area which reminds me of paint "bleeding" beneath a strip of tape, as you might see when someone is painting a wall along a different color. Note that the copper color at this spot appears faded or lighter than the rest. Also, the "inverted vee-shape" (^) to the right of the ear appears to be lighter in color at the apex of the vee, and I don't think this would happen if this were a real strikethrough of a strip of copper. Joe, if you are the person who bought this coin, I will be anxious to see the photos of the edge. Perhaps they will give us an idea about what caused this anomaly. Chris
At first I thought it was a marker that some kid drew on the coin But I know joe has gone through quite a few errors and seems good at determining. At that price. I would like to be able to send it back if it was a fake a little pricey for me. Congratulations on the 35,000 post!!! @cpm9ball !
I can't tell from the photo what it is and what caused it. Although it 'looks' good, I don't believe we can tell for sure just from that photo of the obv.
Congratulations, Chris, @cpm9ball, on your 35,000th post, and your contributions to CT and the general field of numismatics. You are the first person I ever PMed on CT. Glad to see you actively posting after your hiatus.
Just out of curiosity, I had to look up that old PM. It was December 18, 2015. I'm glad that you have decided to stick around and participate in these forums. Chris
Congrats on the post, @cpm9ball! I was assured if sent back from a TPG that it was altered I would be refunded by the seller. I will say that the strip actually appears to be formed completely around the raised lettering that's affected, including the walls of each letter (the relief) and not just what is on the surface. It it were a tape-like substance (like plumber's tape) that adhered to it, it would not be embedded into the coin and would be able to be scraped off like a sticker. I have to say I am now in the 75% camp that it is genuine. When I get it in-hand, I will post close-ups as usual (at least someone on this forum posts his follow-ups, unlike many who claim to have found copper-nickel war nickels or a genuine 1943 copper cent and are never heard from again!) Also, here is a close up and HD photo of what I think is my gold-flake strike through I posted previously (scanned as 1.1% gold on a Fischerscope. Although, I will not be disappointed if it is unmelted zinc/tin for an intrinsic metallic inclusion either. Those are super rare as well)
Thanks, Joe! I'm anxious to see your photos of the nickel. Personally, I hope it is legit and I'd love to see really super close-ups of every bit of it from one end to the other, including the edges. Chris
@cpm9ball Congrats sts on the 35,000 post. I've only seen this once a long time ago. I believe it was done after the coin left the Mint. As @ken454 mentioned, it's the stain from a rubber band. It is on the surface not in the metal. It goes on the field of the coin as well as over letters. It's in low spots like bag marks and in the crevices in Jefferson's hair. It's been almost 40 years since I saw a similar one and as best as I can recall it looked just like this coin.
hmmm. how would the rubber band be touching the walls of the raised letters, and tucked under Jefferson's chin? Would it only be areas it touched directly?
The only areas the rubber would affect the metal is where the rubber band was touching the coin. Rubber is soft and stretchy but over time when exposed to the air it hardens. By the time they happens the damage is done.
I have seen examples of rubber bands ruining silver coins. But I have never seen them damaged clad coins, not saying it can't happen.
It's nickel not clad but I know what you mean. The only one I've seen was on a Morgan. My dealer had it big kept it as he thought it was neat and he used it for educational purposes.