Do Proof Coins Have Luster?

Every coin struck by dies has luster, every coin.

And before you want to disagree, what is luster ? Luster is nothing more than the refraction and reflection of light from the surface of a coin.

Where does it come from ? It comes from the metal flow that occurs when the coin is struck. And since every coin struck has metal flow, every coin has luster.

But there are many different types/kinds of luster, and each type of coin has a different type of luster. Proofs, brilliant Proofs anyway, have the highest form of luster there is.

 

Hmmmm, OK, I guess anyway. Add 1 word to my comment - every freshly struck coin has luster. Pretty sure you knew exactly what I meant, but I'll concede the clarification.

As for your questions, "dipped to death" ? Yeah, I know exactly what you mean, but it could still be open to question because it isn't perfectly clear what dipped to death means exactly. One person's definition of dipped to death could easily, and probably would, differ from another person's definition of it. And then there's the problem with the other part of your comment - "don't reflect light". Even a dipped to death coin still reflects light or you wouldn't be able to see it at all, it would be invisible. But I know what you mean. Is this starting to become clear yet ?

On a serious note, no, a dipped to death coin does not have luster because the dipping to death has stripped it away. But a dipped coin can have luster, assuming it is properly dipped.

Cartwheel luster ? Yeah, that's pretty much what it means and why the term is used. The spoking effect you speak of is nothing more than a band of light that is being reflected to your eye. The key word here being band, it is the band that you see that represents or is similar to the wooden spokes of a spinning wagon wheel. Now in a more technical sense those bands are a degree of arc, kind of like this - \/. The width of that degree of arc varies depending on the type of coin you are looking at, some are wider, some are more narrow because each type of coin has a different type of luster. Coins minted for circulation have a wider degree of arc. Proof coins have a very narrow or thin degree of arc. But light is reflected from both in degrees of arc and that is what creates the cartwheel effect.

Now the reason that a lot of people think Proof coins don't have luster is because those bands of reflected light are so thin. Nonetheless they are still there. Think of it as two wagon wheels, one with thick, wide wooden spokes, and the other with thin, narrow wire spokes. The wooden spokes are of course easier to see when the wheel is spinning, but both sets of spokes are there.

The article that you linked to is incorrect, the author even contradicts himself, but he's not aware of it. He presents the very same explanation that is found in many books. Here's the contradiction. He first says that luster is formed because of the metal flowing against the irregularities in the surface of the die. He then goes on to say that these flow lines that create the luster are radial, flowing outwards from the center towards the rim.

Now if that were true then the irregularities on the die that he speaks of would also have to radiate outwards from the cent towards the rim. But those irregularities in the surface of the die absolutely do not radiate outwards from the center. What those irregularities he talks about actually are, are die polish lines. When a die is new die polish lines are the only irregularities that are on the surface of a die. And die polish lines do not radiate outward from the center in a circle like the spokes of a wheel. They run in basically straight lines that are parallel to each other, and can be at any angle in relation to design of the coin.

Here's why people get confused, they confuse metal flow lines with die wear lines. Die wear lines are created by the metal repeatedly flowing across the surface of the die. And as more and more coins are struck those die wear lines become bigger and deeper because the metal flows in the same way, in the same places, every time. And die wear lines are much bigger than metal flow lines. This causes exaggerated irregularities in the surface of the die, and those exaggerated irregularities diminish the quality of the luster on a coin. It is uniformity, due to the nature of the reflection and refraction of light, that creates the best, the highest quality luster, not irregularity.

The proof that is that a fresh new die has no wear lines on it. And coins struck with fresh new dies are very well known for having the highest quality luster.

 

On the contrary, a DCAM Proof is always superior to a regular Proof. And a CAM Proof is superior to a regular Proof. And quality of strike has nothing to do with it. A regular Proof and a DCAM, and a Cam, can all three have equal quality of strike, or not have equal quality of strike.

The cameo effect is caused by the combination of two things, high quality mirrored fields and frosted devices, legends, and numerals. That's it, just those two things.

The difference between a Proof with the cameo effect and a regular Proof are the frosted devices, legends, and numerals. The reason that a regular Proof does not have the frost is because of significant wear to the die. And if a die is worn, then by definition it cannot be equal to let alone superior to a die that is not significantly worn.

The frost you see on a DCAM or CAM Proof, and even on some business strikes, is caused/created intentionally. The devices, legends, and numerals are all etched with acid, sandblasted, or etched with a laser. This is done specifically to create the frosted effect we see. But as the dies are used and develop wear that frost on the die is worn away by the metal of the planchets flowing against it. And eventually all frost is removed.

Almost all Proofs, with the exceptions of the satin, matte, and reverse, finishes are intended by design to have the cameo effect. Those that don't have it, don't because of die wear and the continued use of those dies after they became worn. Prior to 1973, ut was standard practice for the mint to continue to use dies even after the frost had worn away. From 1973 onward, the mint changed their practice and would make sure that only dies that did have frost were used.

Hopefully that explains things for you and answers your questions adequately.

 

Rusty -

With the exception of the matte and satin Proofs, all Proof coins have cartwheel luster. No they don't like what you see when look at a Morgan, or Peace, or a Frankie, or a Lincoln, or anything else. But none of those look like the others either. They all have their own unique kind of cartwheel luster, every type of coin does. But people think that because they (Proofs) don't look like a Morgan or whatever that they don't have cartwheel luster.

I'm going to use greatly exaggerated numbers to try and explain it. Let's say that when you look at an MS Morgan and roll it under the light that the band of light, the cartwheel effect you see is 3 inches wide. But when you roll a Proof Morgan under the light that band that you see is only 1/8 of an inch wide. But it is still there.

That's what happens with Proofs, the band of light that you see from a Proof is there but it is much, much, narrower and more focused than the band that you see from a business strike. When you roll a Proof that band looks more like just a glint, a tiny, thin reflection that just catches your eye. And that's because it is a tiny, thin band of reflection. And it is so thin because of the highly reflective surface of the coin. The higher the degree of reflection the thinner the band of light will be. But it is always there because it has to be there because the flow lines are there. But the flow lines on a Proof are much smaller, finer, thinner, and more highly reflective than those found on a business strike.

Another way to think of it is like a Mag-Light flashlight. Just about everybody is familiar with them. If you turn the head of the flashlight one way you get a wide beam of light. Turn it the other way and you get a narrow, focused beam of light. That's the because the focal point of the reflected light is changed. Same thing happens with Proof coins. The focal point of light being reflected from the surface of the coin is much narrower, thinner, than that from a business strike.