I've got this new coin that I'm kind of obsessing over... I'm hoping you guys can give me some insight. This particular coin (rated an MS66 by a non PCGS/NGC company) appears to have doubling and other issues going on with it. In two areas where it appears that the coin would have displayed the date error & doubling most obviously, there is a wiped off / polished look. The polishing occurs around the letter or number on both occasions, but in neither situation eliminates the error that is visible within that same digit or letter. In essence, the polishing seems odd as it would only harm someone who was fraudulently trying to make the coin prettier. My first thought was skepticism... I thought that maybe someone was trying to cover up a ding or two, hoping to get it rated higher. The rest of the coin is very pretty though, uncirculated & in great shape. I'm guessing that fraud is still a genuine possibility. My question is whether there is an alternative possibility. Has a mint worker ever picked up a coin...noticed an error and tried to wipe it clean? Is that possible or can they only adjust the die itself?
What coin? Do you have pics? I would not expect a mint employee to do such a thing to the coin itself, but something could happen outside the mint (i.e. post mint damage or tooling or the like), and mint employees can and do modify the original dies. Basically, I can't conclude much from your description. Please provide more info.
I'll post the pics tomorrow. When you see it, it's obvious that someone intentionally wiped it..the question I'm trying to figure out is why? The coin is a Morgan from 1880 in great shape. There are almost no other marks on it except for what they did on this 2nd "8" and a letter on the reverse. The wiping goes around the letter & the number...it's not just your typical ding or bag mark. Do employees sometimes wipe them or is that always a scam situation?
Are those the only possibilities? I don't think so. Mint employees (those that operate the coin presses) inspect a sample coin every few minutes to make sure there are no problems with the coins (e.g., cracked die, improper press settings, etc.). If they find a problem they do not try to correct the problem on the individual coins (that would be a daunting task because coin presses can churn out 750 coins every minute). Instead they discard the coins in the hopper and correct the problem with the dies or coin press. Without photos we can only guess what happened to your coin. It could be that someone was practicing his hand at coin doctoring or coin alteration or artificial toning. Perhaps it was a kid playing around with the coin. Who knows? Please post good photos so we can see what you are looking at. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Pics The coin is encased in plastic, so it was a little tough to get clear pictures. This is a picture of the "O" in OF on the reverse. It starts at the first arrow and loops around the O until the last arrow. The coin is shinier in that area and shows an obvious indentation. Wouldn't a bagmark be a nick or straight line instead of looping around the letter so perfectly? These are date pics. It looks more like a scrape since it doesn't go around the number, but it has the same shiny appearance as the other. When you look at the coin from the top downward, the left side of that 2nd 8 looks squared off rather than oval. Also, to me the first 8 looks like it might be doubled in that pic. Here's a picture of the 1 which I thought looked doubled at the bottom left: Lastly, there are some letters that look funny like this L from the reverse (look at the blob like area on the top right side of it) : I was told in a different post that it has a weak strike b/c of the hair blending together, the floating leaves, etc.
You have several things going on with this coin. There is post strike damage, there is mechanical doubling, and there is a die chip. That's about it. I see nothing that has anything to do with polishing though.
How can post strike damage go around the O though? The shiny area starts at the one arrow and loops around the letter to the last arrow. I didn't know what else to call it except polishing.
Those appear to be "curious" shelves on the 8 and O but I hardly think its the result of an attempt to alter the coin. How they occured I would not know. "How can post strike damage go around the O though?" Post Strike Damage (PMD) is ANY damage which occurs to the coin after its been struck. This includes handling damage, bagging damage and direct alteration.
The O and the 8 are definitely PMD. Not sure about the top of the L, looks like it could be a die chip. The bottom of the 1 MIGHT be doubled but I can't tell from that picture.
Not everything that ever touches a coin after minting is another coin or an object with a straight edge. All it would require would be any object that was curved to hit the coin. It could even be a scratch that did not run in a straight line.
