1899 Indian Head with "what in the world happened?"

after an hour in the bath....

 

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also, i am starting to wonder if this thing is copper nickel rather than bronze. it just doesn't look like regular copper. highly unlikely, as in 1 in 10 million but wouldn't that be awesome! pcgs just recently certified a dime struck on a nail. how the hell did that happen? i suspect some fellows screwing around at the mint!

 

I still say submit it.... it just doesn't make sense...

 

pcgs or ngc? also, what should i ask them to look at?

 

No, excuse us... please.

Guess it's time to shut the thread down, fellas... we have our answer, with the irrefutable evidence this gentleman has so kindly provided. How could we be so rude, inconsiderate, and foolish to continue discussing a coin on a coin discussion forum?

 

Please, don't waste your money.

 

I've seen a somewhat similar effect on coins that had been recovered from being in sewers. Kind of looked like the ground in a dry environment where it cracks in squarish segments.

 

We see this damage on "fire coins"

 

Please post tracer's opinion in a few words..

 

Too lazy to read are you?

 

I didn't see a link...Neat coin...wish it were mine! Anyway, 100% PMD. Don't waste your money.

 

It would be much quicker and easier for you to simply scan the two other pages, sir, than it would be for one of us to either rewrite or scan them ourselves then quote, copy, paste, and repost the earlier comments.

 

Thanks! I'm not a Sir...Just an old fart hyped up on coffee. I'll do as you say.

 

LOL, I'm just learning about page #1, #2, and the rest. When I opened this thread while surfing, it dumped me on to the photo at the top of page three - Sorry.

 

My opinion:

The strike

 

Hey books, thanks for the tip. I learned a new word: Craquelure.

This coin still looks like fire damage. I have several in silver but no copper. One very outside chance: It could be possible that the coin was buried but I highly doubt it. The chemicals in the ground would then attack weak areas of the coin's surface. Early silver coins 1700's - 1800's can be found with what the ANACS (in DC) authenticators named "Selective Corrosion." This effect left the surface of the piece (most pressure from the die) pretty much intact while the letters were visible (where the should be) yet corroded away flat. In fifty years of active collecting I have never seen the cracked surface on the 1C except for fire damage.

 

IMHO this coin has obvious PMD. The lines are incuse and therefore could not have been imparted by the die. The only exception is a hub-through, and this is most obviously not a hub-through. The black soot has been cleaned off of the coin for the most part, and in my opinion exhibits some very obvious fire damage. As if it were pulled from a fire pit or a burned building. Certainly nice to dream on how these lines could have been created at the mint, but they were not.

 

I'd say PCGS

 

Trust me, they'll know... and it will look great in a slab with a "Details" label. As for me, I should take the money I saved and look for/buy another neat coin. If you do have it slabbed. Ask them to use the white insert that will show the cracks on the edge. Hummm, maybe they use that now for every coin.

 

Why? You're recommending the costliest option yet not saying what you think they're going to do for him. PCGS, upon receiving the coin, isn't going to set some "research team" to work or stop at nothing to give the OP a definitive answer, but at best will simply to code it and send back, costing a ridiculous amount of money for nothing.