1795 Large Cent - Heritage Auction - Could use your insight

Browsing the June Heritage Auction, and I came across this 1795 Large Cent (Plain Edge - S-78).

NGC graded this AU, but then has "OBV Tooled". I've stared at this image for quite awhile and I'm just not seeing where the tooling is.

My best guess is the hair details? Did someone try to sharpen the hair?

I'd love your input. Maybe I'm missing something really obvious.

Thanks for the input!

1795 - OBV by BostonCoins posted May 27, 2021 at 4:50 PM

1795 - REV by BostonCoins posted May 27, 2021 at 4:50 PM

 

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Long ago, it was not unusual to old large cents like this that had had some or all of the hair detail restored via tooling. I don’t think that is the case here. I think that the fields may have been smoothed.

It is not unusual to see corrosion on these coins. The reddish areas in the fields are suspicious.

 

I dont think the hair has been tooled. It looks about like it should. The fields, however, are unusually clean, suspiciously clean. I would say the fields have been spooned flat. If we could see super closeups next to the devices, we might see more direct evidence.

 

It looks like it was just wiped a little. You can see what looks like streaks crawling up her neck. The reverse doesn't have that. It's too bad you just can't call NGC and ask them. I like it, for what that's worth.

 

https://coins.ha.com/itm/large-cent.../a/1331-7016.s?ic4=ListView-Thumbnail-071515#
If you go to Heritage and enlarge the image, I think you can see vertical lines in the right obv field (and possibly on the neck of Liberty) indicating some smoothing.

 

Yeah, that's all I'm seeing. I don't know where they got "tooled" from.

 

My eye was immediately drawn the the left obverse field, where there is a sudden transition of colors behind her neck below the bow.

If you cannot view the coin in hand (which is obviously preferred), you can contact a Heritage representative to give you a deeper description of the lot. Heritage Sales reps are really good at describing lots, and will give you honest opinions of the item.

 

This is not one of the better descriptions from Heritage. But I have to say if it is tooled, it's the best job I've seen. And if you submitted it ten times, I suspect it wouldn't come back tooled half the time.

Here is a Tooled Coin which would deserve the label:



But I still love the coin. Primarily because I can afford it because of the problems. I'm much more forgiving of damage on a coin with nice detail than the market. But I want the market discount since it's there.

I also wonder how many freckled planchets there are like this one.

 

I wish I could view it in hand. I wonder about the eye and forehead.

 

Even if it is tooled, I wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating crackers. I think it's a nice coin, and I would be happy to own it, as almost all affordable examples from that era are going to be details coins anyway.