Time for our sometimes favorite game, "Guess the Grade!" on this 1928-D Standing Liberty Quarter - currently in a PCGS slab but I'm also curious as to any thoughts on the cause of and possible removal / conservation regarding the black speckling. Is this PVC damage? I've seen it on other coins (and own some). I love the coin, I don't love the spotting but I can live with it if need be. I bought the $99 membership deal with NGC that has $150 credit so I possibly could send it in for conservation and crossover there if it might be worthwhile. Just curious as to your informed insights on the issue. (seller's pics)
Dunno if that's PVC or not. I hope not. I'm inclined to think it's just natural scuz. What's the current PCGS grade? [Edit- oh, sorry- I overlooked the "GTG" aspect and went straight to the pics. Never mind.] Is conservation and reslabbing at NGC, with all the expenses thereby incurred, going to be worth it to you? Me, I'd sell the coin and move on. Buy another with more eye appeal. But then again, if you're not into it for too much money, and the conservation/resubmission makes financial sense, then why not? Could be worth a shot. Turn a pig back into a princess, maybe. (Not that it's a full-on pig. Sure, it has slightly negative eye appeal, but I've seen worse mottled toning than that.)
Looks like moisture got to it. Possibly a bad seal, PVC, even the enclosure around the coin looks like it's been deep sea diving, excuse the pun. Looking at the rest of the coin it could be mid MS or was. Thanks for sharing good luck.
These were my thoughts as well. A lot of coins have black “flakes” of toning. I would expect a bad dip to look different than that.
Unc details environmental damage is my guess. I'm not sure if this is something that can be conserved or is worth the fees.
I am inclined to agree about the moisture. It is common for black speckling to form on a silver coin, it is not common for it to form on the plastic insert that holds the coin. My guess is that the coin was graded MS63 and was mostly white when it was graded.
I want to call it a MS63 to MS64 but I'd have to see what the luster is at the high points. It might have a full head too... Could you please add a picture with a different lighting angle?
These are seller's pics (the coin is in the mail) and it appears it was taken on a mottled black and white background, which detracts further from the appearance in my opinion. I may be wrong, the case itself may have the same spotting and then I would agree with those guessing there was some water / humidity exposure after encapsulation and the slab was compromised. I will post photos in hand as soon as I have it.
Interesting, I don't really know much about how that looks I guess - I thought overdipping typically led to a washed out dull look. Is it typical for a bad dip to result in dark spotting? I wonder why that would be?
I'll guess MS63. It doesn't look like PVC damage to me. I will speculate that the coin was heavily tarnished, dipped, and what we see is the thicker tarnish remnant. My experience with dip residue (from being improperly rinsed/neutralized) is a patchy yellow-brownish coloration mostly around the rims and devices.
PCGS graded it MS64. I'd say that appears right in hand, though I have a hard time making the fine distinctions between close MS grades. Collecting is a learning process, that's part of the fun. My photography skills are still subpar, but here are some photos in hand and thank you all for your comments & guesses!
I was guessing 63. And could actually be nice if proper conservation went well. Still has good luster