Hey, just wondering what your opinion may be on this grade. I’m around XF personally. Obverse is tricky though. Reverse looks AU, obverse more questionable.
To me it looks like it's been cleaned so I doubt it would straight grade. I'd place this more in Fine grade but I'd also pass on it due to the circulation damage. Welcome to CT.
Sometimes a cleaning looks worse in a photo than in hand. Sometimes a pic can really bring out the hairlines.
I noticed that this evening. The pictures never turned out quite right which let me down! I think I should focus on a series instead of jumping around.
Sadly, sometimes the only way to learn is to make some mistakes. It's the painful way, but it definitely sticks. I've bought a few cleaned or problem coins over the years that, in retrospect, seemed priced suspiciously low. One I didn't know was cleaned until I put it under a scope years later. I've learned slowly and painfully, but I've learned.
AU details-cleaned. I'm no expert but on looking a little closer IMO it looks like it could be a counterfeit.
I wouldn't mind seeing a couple more pictures with different lighting, might get you some more opinions.
Ok, I’ll take some more pictures tomorrow during the day. This is from the same auction house, a separate 1833 Bust Dime. Im sure it was cleaned too, but are they counterfeit? I appreciate the input, even if it’s depressing! I felt this may have been VF/XF too (if not counterfeit)
Thanks for the input. I’m sure I’ll eventually figure out the cleaning thing! Just have to pay more attention to it.
Yes it takes study and practice. Practice rotating and tilting a coin under a good light (like a desk lamp with an incandescent bulb) to look for hairlines. Learn what is acceptable as circulation marks vs. cleaning scratches. Coins like we are looking at here, with age and circulation on them, should generally have a "skin" on them, and some dirt and gunk in the recesses, not super clean or shiny surfaces.
Nah, just learn from this and look at a few examples that you know are nice before you buy one. Do some research before you buy the coin, and you’ll make fewer mistakes. Notice that I said fewer. Everyone makes mistakes, especially in this hobby.
The 1833 Bust dime looks better. Maybe it's the photos of the Half Dime that made it look funny to me. I'm Not an expert on counterfeits. Contact @Jack D. Young for his opinion. He's an expert in this area.