1875 20 Cent - damage or error?

I picked up a lovely 1875 20 cent piece in an ICG holder. It was slabbed as "MS60 Details, damaged".

The reverse has two crescents in the lower left quadrant that don't look like damage to me. I think they might have been caused by a strikethrough or some problem with the planchet. Any error experts care to weigh in?

 

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My first reaction upon seeing the obverse was ‘polished’.
I know that doesn’t answer your query...

 

I'm sure you are doing your best with the photos, but they are not clear enough for me to say anything with a degree of certainty. IF the edges of those marks are raised, then it's damage. A strike through or planchet defect would have flat edges.
perhaps forum member Insider, who works for ICG, could comment (maybe he has inspected the coin, for that matter).

 

@Insider

 

It looks like a strike thru.

Image one with the piece in, later with it out.

 

The holder is rather scruffy, which is making it hard to take clean pics, but the reverse here looks almost mirrored in the fields. I'm not seeing any raised edges on the crescents, which is why I suspect this was a planchet flaw or other production error.

I would post s short video, but can't seem to upload mp4 files here.

 

Which grading service does the best / not insanely overpriced error slabbing?

I've never submitted an error coin, so I'd appreciate any feedbak from thise who have.

 

I couldn't see enough from the pics in the 1st post, but the pics in post #6 look like there is some raised metal on the bottom parts of the areas in question. If you can see raised metal when examining the piece in hand, then it is more than likely damaged.

 

The coin has two big gouges on the reverse. Those marks are definitely post mint damage and would make the coin a no grade. The coin has been dipped or cleaned. The dark area at the bottom of the largest gouge is still there because the dip or cleaning did not remove it. This is a problem coin, and putting more grading money into it makes no sense.

I had an 1876 Twenty Cent Piece that was like this when I was in high school. It had two significant marks on the rim. The dealer graded it “VF.” It had AU sharpness and was bright white from dipping with AU luster.

Given the low mintage, a fair number of 1875-P double dies have P-L or semi P-L surfaces. That is not unusual.

 

The first pictures were inconclusive, but the last two pictures of the rev have me convinced the marks are the result of post strike damage.

 

Looks like damaged to me.

 

Damaged and polished but a keeper

 

Only in-hand can really tell, but it appears (from the photos) to be PMD. Something struck the coin after it left the mint. JMHO

 

Well, opinions are like... belly buttons [we've all got one].

After looking at this in-hand under magnification, I see no raised metal. So, I'm inclined to think it is a mint error (&, if it turns out not to be, well, i paid AU53 pricing on an MS60 details coin). My question still stands - how do the grading companies rank in terms of handling error coins?

 

Yep. You're right about opinions. LOL
I've never dealt with TPGers so can't give you any advice there. I hope it is a mint error. Insider seemed to think so. Good luck.

 

Any error collectors care to weigh in?

 

It still looks damaged to me.

 

You received opinions from at least 2 very experienced numismatists @johnmilton and @Conder101 after you posted better pics. Both of them agree with the consensus of the other comments indicating PMD.

You can continue to solicate comments until you find some that are in agreement with your opinion, but IMO it's a waste of time

 

Rather than give "likes" for the correct answer, I should have posted that I was wrong and the new image confirmed the marks are damage!

 

GeorgeM, you might consider posting photos of your coin on the Collectors Universe US coins forum, and ask for an opinion from Fred Weinberg, the pre-eminent expert and dealer in US mint errors.