Did I get taken to the cleaners on this penny?

I just got this in the mail. Any guess as to grade? I paid 34 dollars for it.

Another question....Is that rim bump enough to get it body bagged?

Nightowl

 

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Nice find. I'd say you did pretty good.

 

Everything from my hundred dollar camera appears to have been harshly cleaned...but this one's original. No doubt in my mind about the surfaces...just the bump.

I really hope the rim bump isn't cause for instant dismissal. I'll probably just stick it in my type set. Thing is....I'm trying to put togther 4 or 5 coins to submit on my initial submission with either NGC or PCGS, and I don't want to send stuff that's going to get canned or a "genuine" slab.

Nightowl

 

The details are at least EF, and from your pics, I could make a case for AU. But I agree with Doug, about it looking cleaned.

If you're worried about the rim bump, then don't include it in your first submission, but wait until you have more experience with the TPGs.

 

P.S.--If you're correct and it is original, it was a steal for $34.

 

I'd say that it was the coin, not you, that got taken to the cleaner's. The color is not natural, its to "even," and there are no spots of carbon; this is evidence that the coin has had a layer removed from it.

We all make mistakes, though. I'm sure the next time you buy a copper nickel coin, you'll recognize the difference between non-original and original surfaces.

 

If you held this coin in your hand....and weren't looking at a Kodak Easy share picture, you'd have a totally different opinion. This came out of an old type set, and has not been cleaned. I'll try some different backgrounds and lighting and see if I can get better pictures. This is not a cleaned coin. It's a bad picture. I've tried flourescent lighting, incandescent and natural...and it's overcast here today, and the pictures all suck. Maybe a different color background will do the trick.

Nightowl

 

I'd pay it.

I'd pay it.

 

I too would have paid the price but it has been cleaned somewhere down the road.

 

Here's the best I can do. Color representation is still not right, but I'm working within the confines of what can be done with a cheap camera. It's not quite as "gold" looking in hand.

Nightowl

 

This confirms my suspicions. The "matte" look of the surfaces prove that the coin has, at one time, been cleaned. While the cleaning may be 50 or 60 years old, its still a cleaning and must be priced accordingly. For the price you payed, however, I wouldn't worry.

 

Although I like the coin I wonder how on the reverse the flat surfaces around the letters seem clean, yet are recessed, compared to the lettering which is raised. Is this another indication of a coin that has been cleaned outside the color?

 

cleaned or not, i'd buy a hundred of these coins at $34 each.

 

These pictures just prove that I need a higher grade camera. It just looks like a normal, but lightly circulated coin in hand. No hairlines at all, and glossier surfaces than my camera will allow me to display.

Makes no difference, really. 3 out of 4 people said that the seated dollar I had slabbed was cleaned too, judging from Kodak pictures and I knew better. It came back from NGC AU58 with no mention of cleaning.

I'll keep this in my type set...not because I'm afraid that it's been cleaned, but because of the rim bruise. I'm afraid they'd give it the axe for that little feature. It's a nice representative for the type.

Nightowl

 

Its normal for a circulated coin to have darker areas in the field in protected areas around the devices.

One of the reasons the flying eagle cent was discontinued was because the relief of the reverse was too high, and they didn't strike up properly or stack right.

Nightowl

 

i bought a 1857 flying eagle in xf for 45 dollars. you got a better deal :headbang:

 

Looks to me like someone took a pencil eraser to it not an acid cleaning.
An eraser will clean the flat areas but not good around the raised areas.
It’s a nice looking coin and a keeper.

 

I know what coins cleaned with pencil erasers look like. This isn't one.

Nightowl

 

Why are you so insistent this coin hasn't been cleaned? It is possible; as with any coin. Anyone can be fooled! Even if the coin has been cleaned, it is still worth the 34 dollars you paid. It was a good buy, cleaned or not cleaned. It won't slab, though, IMHO.

That brings me to my motto: Slabbed? Who cares!