1921 Peace Dollar New Purchase input

Just purchased this ‘21 Peace and was hoping for grade or VAM input. These are sellers photos but they are pretty good. I’ll post more once the coin arrives. I’d imagine the coin has been cleaned at some point but was wondering where you think it falls on the AU/UNC spectrum
Thanks!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Can't tell a whole lot from the photos, unfortunately. Could be high AU, could be Unc. The highest probability, for a raw AU/UNC '21 Peace at the present time of frothy market frenzy, is that it has been cleaned or polished or otherwise monkeyed with. I do see some scratches on the cheekbone. Please let us know how it looks when it arrives.

 

Photos inadequate for any accuracy in grading. Who told you that they are good photographs??? What I can see, from the bottom photos looks AU details to me. The coin has been buffed, or polished. Tell-tale cleaning marks on the obverse.

 

I like it, but I am not the purist that the two previous posters are.

My spreadsheet tells me that I paid $106 and $73 for my two, and neither of them look this good, even if it was polished or had other tell-tale cleaning marks.

 

It appears better-struck than many UNC examples I've seen, but the surface texture doesn't look right. I'd study this one very carefully in-hand.

 

Yup. It has been cleaned or polished. The cleaning marks are circled. It is very obvious.

 

I'm not sure I'm seeing the same thing you are. In most of the areas you circled, I see hits of one sort or another, but I can't make out anything that looks like rub -- the resolution isn't high enough, and I think the image compression overwhelms details like that.

What common characteristic do you see in the areas you circled? I'd like to learn to see it myself...

 

Areas where the surfaces are literally scrubbed away. There is no natural texture remaining. When an area is scrubbed so heavily as to eliminate texture altogether, it has been buffed, polished, and scrubbed. It is a circulated coin that has been polished in the critical areas to make it look uncirculated.


Compare these two photos. The one on the top is the OP’s coin. The one on the bottom is a randomly selected picture of an AU 58 coin. Please compare the surfaces of the two coins. One has texture, and normal contact marks. The other does not, as they have been polished away:

 

Got it. To me, the areas you circled look like they've received the same treatment as the rest of the coin -- again, I can't tell more from these photos. But I agree that it looks like it's been polished or buffed. Or scrubbed. Or all three.

 

I added pictures of his coin, and an AU 58 for comparison purposes.

 

That coin has been whizzed. One little catch is right next to the devices. Built up metal where the whizzing tool could not reach.
I can say that those surfaces aren't original.

 

Looking forward to getting the coin in hand and posting some more representative photos. Like I said in the original post, I assume it has been cleaned but is otherwise a very nice example with tremendous surviving detail. The eagle feathers on the reverse are fantastic. I love these high relief peace dollars for just this reason…unfortunately they wear so quickly due to the high relief.

 

The images make it tough to make a judgement, but from a closer look I agree its been whizzed.

 

I think that the surfaces can look very different depending on lighting, which is why I am cautious in my assessment. I do think that the coin looks overly bright on the 2nd image from the top. For comparison let me post 2 Peace dollars I own first an AU58 and then a MS details (bought years ago raw before I knew how to spot things like the fine scratches behind the bust!)

 

The difference in the pictures is extremely obvious, despite the lighting. The certified coin in your picture has not been polished or cleaned, as it has normal surface textures. The raw coin is obviously harshly cleaned or polished.

 

This is just one of the many threads on whizzed coins here on CT.
Paul @Lehigh96 shows a very good example, about halfway down the page.
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/how-to-tell-a-coin-have-been-whizzed.60475/

 

Let me dredge up one more AU example (raw); I am certain this one has not been cleaned or messed with. With regard to the OP coin, whizzing is certainly possible but I'm not able to see the telltale signs, myself. I think polished is the most likely diagnosis but await better photos.

 

That looks like original surfaces to me, with some light circulation wear. Probably around AU 50-53.

 

Those marked areas looked photoshopped as opposed to cleaned IMO - that is the "averaging" or smoothing which occurs.
IMO it is cleaned however with a good strike. Also IMO I am thinking "58"ish but obviously best seen in-hand.

 

I'm not a Peace dollar person, but at first glance, my gut told me something just doesn't look right about the coin. I'll just chalk it up to being inexperienced, and/or the photo.