Beautiful 1916 Merc. - Are these clean marks ?

I am checking out this mercury dime. I would like your opinion if the marks I see in the field (front of face) are clean marks or just lamination marks from the die. What do you think about the bands ?

 

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Man, unless I'm mistaken that dime has been harshly cleaned. Those look like nasty hairlines on the obverse. Unless I'm proven wrong, I wouldn't touch it.

Steve

 

The surfaces look odd, I'd pass if those are the only photos you can get. Like @Stevearino stated and based off the dark areas that are protected (the R and behind head on obverse, the axe hole area on reverse) the coin looks cleaned.

 

Pass for sure...who knows what this coin has seen....or been done to.

 

IMO, when it comes to eye appeal it really doesn't matter what anything is technically. If it looks like crap, then that's what it looks like.

A coin can technically be Unc. but look AU or EF because it was struck from worn dies. Does it matter what it is technically if it still looks EF?

 

I just don't like the looks of the obverse. For no particular reason, I'd pass.

Chris

 

Harshly cleaned. Pass, Pass, Pass!

 

As the idiot in the room, for $5-$7 or less, I'd buy it, just to get a closer look at it. From those pics, it does appear to be harshly cleaned on the obverse, but the scratches appear to get right up to the face without scratching the face. Nice bands, though.

 

This. Never say never, but under this lighting I'd expect those lines to plainly cross the devices as well. There's no way you could brush a coin that hard without the lines extending through the devices.

That said, lighting - especially on raised areas - can be deceptive, and I've not seen a Merc with such obvious die polishing (although generally one would expect such polishing to be north-south as seen here).

The killer pickup for me - the one that convinces me it's cleaned rather than die polishing - is the crud clinging to the R in LIBERTY. Ain't no way that one single spot gets crud when nothing else does. All the same, I'd throw a few bucks at it, to shoot my own images highlighting the cleaning and use these images as a comparative for educational purposes. I'd just know I was buying a harshly cleaned coin.

 

This is the super special, ultra-ultra rare 1916-D variety. See the sideways (doubled?) D in front of the nose/eyes?

 

Upon magnification, I see it! I see it! Upping my bid.

Steve

 

For me I would have to have the coin in hand to make a final decision.

 

I'm going to $10 now, lol.

 

Too rich for me. I, therefore, yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Steve

 

Uh oh......that sounds like a political statement.......... yield ?
Gentleman ? Well not this year for sure......you're safe lol

 

Thank you, kind sir. However, since it is crrently at $15.50, I, too, shall pass.

(watch it become a discovery piece with that D on the face, lol)

 

The last coin show I went to, people were talking about sticking coins in potatoes and the potassium from the potatoes makes them color up nice ....

 

I'd pay maybe $5-$7 because it looks like an FSB.

 

If that dime was a 'D', you guys would be all over it. Cleaned or not........

 

Cleaned. You can see the luster breaks on the nose and chin. Probably had a spot they were trying to remove