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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;RonSanderson, post: 2748558, member: 77413&quot;]Case Study 4. 1918-D Standing Liberty Quarter <i>“</i><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/292058252945" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/292058252945" rel="nofollow">1918-D Standing Liberty Quarter, Choice AU Tough Date, ** Free Shipping!</a><i>”</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><b>Original Vendor Photos (joined by me for display)</b></p><p><b>[ATTACH=full]629034[/ATTACH]</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]629035[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]629036[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>This is a recent purchase from eBay. The link was still active as of today at <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/292058252945" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/292058252945" rel="nofollow">1918-D Standing Liberty Quarter, Choice AU Tough Date, ** Free Shipping!</a></p><p>This is the only silver coin I have purchased from GSC. With the reflectivity of silver, photographs need to be underexposed to avoid blowing out the highlights. I assumed this coin was shinier in hand.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Impressions</b></p><p>The coin is a bright, shiny quarter with some wear and tear and great luster. They billed it as “Choice AU”. I’m not sure what that means exactly, but I interpret that like I do “Choice BU” – as midrange AU, say an AU55. Maybe they aren’t trying to be clinical in their wording, but the pictures also look about AU55.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Analysis</b></p><p>Their photos show a reverse with no apparent damage marks. The eagle’s breast shows some feather detail, but not a lot. There is dirt in the V of the wings and the right edge of the right wing, so I deduced the coin had not been cleaned.</p><p><br /></p><p>The obverse shows a decently full head, with a visible ear hole. Liberty’s right leg has a little flatness and the top of the date is weak, but overall the strike is strong. Again, there is dirt in the crevices so the coin is not cleaned.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now about these scratches. The long red lines show the angle of one single event that scratched the coin in several places. The little red arrows point at marks visible on the original photograph. Their photo does not show a scratch above the shoulder and below the B.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]629037[/ATTACH]</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Conclusions</b></p><p>Different lighting and different angles reveal different things. That’s unescapable. Here is detail of the shoulder area at two very similar angles. These are both from my photos. I was not trying to hide this; it’s just a side effect of adjusting the angle to the camera.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]629033[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Their angle does not show this scratch. But neither did they go out of their way to hide the other damage that I marked up on their photo.</p><p><br /></p><p>In this case I see, in hand, a coin that is nicer than the photos. Yes, there are marks, but I am not a stickler for the rims – I look at the body of the coin. When I tilt the coin in hand I can see the big scratch and the nicks in the leg. I just don’t find them distracting. And it’s shiny and throws cartwheel luster when I tip it.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am OK with this purchase. A discerning eye could see the scratches in their photos and decide whether to bid. Each of you may draw different impressions based on what you like, your collecting goals, and your budget. I hope I have provided enough information for you to do that.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is what I see in hand. Please expand it to study how the two angles hide or reveal the surface marks. I find studying these animations helps me understand what I&#039;m seeing under different camera angles.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]629038[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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