Do you see anything wrong with this specimen

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

See? You're already becoming more insightful than I gave you credit for.

 

The only die diagnostics I can see listed are the wire edge and a die polish line in the arrow... but I have a 1911-D with no wire edge, so those are not always a given. I have never seen some of the other diagnostics listed anywhere, but have noticed a few after studying pictures. I have never heard of the die polish line by the beak though.

 

Glad you took my post in the good way it was intended. Live and learn. I've been accused of namedropping here on several occasions so I will not mention who told me about the die polish from the beak and who told me about the die line near the arrow tips. I see neither of these on the coin you posted except a hint of the one at the beak.

Coin authentication is USUALLY a very simple thing. All you need is a stereo microscope, and access to enough genuine coins to learn the diagnostics present for that die. Thankfully, most major "key" coins were struck using ONLY ONE PAIR of dies. With this in mind you can usually find a diagnostic "marker" on either side of the coin that will authenticate the variety. For example, I don't even need to look at the reverse of an 1893-S dollar to know it is genuine! Same goes for a 1911-D $2 1/2 dollar as there is "unique" die polish on every example I've seen! If I "ball-parked" how many that was over several decades, I'd be accused of an exaggerated lie.

Key to this is examining actual coins. Internet photos are usually not sharp enough although they are helpful when a "marker" is large. For example, the only thing helpful on the Internet for this coin is the scalloped edge which shows nicely on the PCGS site.

NOTE TO: @howards, @SuperDave, @Jim Johns, @cpm9ball

These are examples of two other coins that can be Identified using one only side.

 

This is what the coin was in before I sent it across. And these were the ones I sent in with it, all were supposed to be varieties except the 1942. I paid the extra amount for the 3 variety plus' and none of them came back as any.

 

Is it the with lower "foot" of the R extending to the I?

 

Then we must assume that none were varieties that are recognized. Be aware that full-time professional numismatists can go their entire careers and never find even one newly discovered variety. This is not an everyday occurrence, and yet you seem to treat it as some sort of entitlement.

My advice would be to invest a few years into numismatic education before branding yourself a "marketeer".

 

No, it is probably a 1911-D that was labeled as a plain 1911

 

The two were in the Cherry Pickers guide 5th edition vol. 2 by Bill and J.T. The other one wasn't

 

I once submitted a 1951 proof quarter with the "brain tumor" variety in Tomaska's book on cameo proofs on pages 46 and 107, and to my knowledge NO TPGS firm recognizes the variety. They decide, no one else.

 

So true and the Cherry Pickers Guide has been known to take a step back now and then and delist some coins. Much to the chagrin of many who submitted certain varieties that were not so.