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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;brg5658, post: 2041155, member: 29751&quot;]As I mentioned before, I know this coin (and the whole series of the 20,50, and 100 Franc) very well.&nbsp; I have looked at and owned many over the previous 3-4 years.</p><p><br /></p><p>On the 100F you posted, the only place I see where some form of post-mint-damage occurred is on the obverse near the shield to the right of the bust.&nbsp; This is not a normal location for raised or mint-produced striations / die repair / die preparation lines; further, the images are quite clear that these are damage into the surface of the coin, not raised delicate striations.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb364/brg5658/Research/100f_lux_pmd_zps3eaf425b.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Now, that being said, the damage may not be from &quot;cleaning&quot; but some form of mishandling.&nbsp; To the best of my knowledge, all of these three different denominations were issued in quantities of 100,000 coins in special sets and were specially handled.&nbsp; A great number of them exist in UNC condition today, and &quot;bag marks&quot; don&#039;t really make sense as an explanation for these areas of damage based on their history.&nbsp; Many were saved more as &quot;commemoratives&quot; than as circulating coinage, as the reverse celebrates the 600th anniversary of the death of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Bohemia" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Bohemia" rel="nofollow">John the Blind</a> (also known as John of Bohemia).</p><p><br /></p><p>In the end, this coin <i><b>may</b> </i>still grade problem free at a TPG, as the damage (while it appears to be sort of deep) may not be considered substantial enough to merit a &quot;no grade.&quot; </p><p><br /></p><p>With regard to the reverse, I don&#039;t see <b><u>any</u></b> signs of cleaning.&nbsp; The area under the front hooves of the horse is present on most of the 100 F coins, but is absent on the 2,000 that were struck without the designer&#039;s name (BONNETAIN). The clear striations below the rear of the horse are also &quot;as minted,&quot; as the finishing work on these dies was as such.</p><p><br /></p><p>Both the 20F and the 50F you posted, based on the obverse images only, look quite lovely and typical for the series.&nbsp; I&#039;ll post my examples of the 20F and 50F below for comparison, in case you want to further investigate any potential areas of die markers.&nbsp; Most of these coins come with either the slightest champagne toning or with no toning at all.&nbsp; Some (based on their storage) exhibit more marked toning like my two examples below.</p><p><br /></p><p>I hope this helps.</p><p><br /></p><p>-Brandon</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb364/brg5658/Photography/1946_Luxembourg_50F_NGC_MS67_Toned_composite.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb364/brg5658/Photography/1946_Luxembourg_20F_NGC_MS67_Toned_composite.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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