Here is a recent find. 1945 MS full luster with a very nice golden yellow toning. Some light purple toning on Abe's face. At the bottom from the date to the back of lapel it has a random grayish streak that is in the coin metal. I would call this Improperly Mixed Alloy. Like what most would call a Woody. But I wonder if it may be an Intrinsic Metal Inclusion due to the pattern and color difference of the unmixed metal. Has anyone seen this kind of thing before. Any thought or ideas would be helpful.
Looks like aluminum foil residue to me. Some people used to preserve coins by wrapping them in aluminum foil. IMO
My Grandfather did and he told me some of his collector friends did,also. The thought was it protected the coins from damage and also kept them 'shiny', his words.
Very common about 75 plus years ago. The foil was supposed to protect the coins and keep them from tarnishing or getting dull.
It may be a blank from the WW II repurposed shell casings..... Like some of the 1944 wheat cents were stamped out of.
Am I really that old? When I was about seven, my GF would walk me to the kitchen and we would thoroughly wash our hands, then go to the living room where he would open a chest filled almost to the top and carefully unwrap a few old Morgan's. I was allowed to hold them, but only on the reeded edge and only for a moment. If I only knew what I was seeing at that tender age. My wife says: "Vita va vanti", Italian for life goes on.
My dad was simple. He didn't have a large collection but he liked what he had. I could look but never touch. I was fascinated and it stuck with me all these years.
I bought a old box of coins from some older couple at a yard sale and the guy has a ms 1880 o morgan in tin foil. Along with some ms silver quarters from the 50s in tin foil. Didnt know it was common for people to do that.
I agree that it is likely some type of metallic inclusion die to improper alloying. It would be interesting to see some XRF analysis of the rest of the coin due to the golden color
I wouldn't want to mess with such a nice coin, but have you tried to "remove" the color? Like with a toothpick or lightly soaked Q-tip in acetone? Just curious as it looks like a stain to me.
