I bought this coin raw from a trusted seller. It has nice rolling luster on both sides. I have not sent it in to be graded, as I bought it for an album. What can you tell from these photos, gimlet-eyed CoinTalkers? (the line on the cheek is very faint)
Doesn't look like it. It just doesn't display the telltale signs of cleaning. i recommend this video....
Looks good to me, as well. If it did have an old cleaning (perhaps a light dip at worst), that was long ago, and in any event, I would consider that to be "market acceptable". And I've seen other 1921 coins with this look. It also has decent luster and a good strike for a 1921. The hair over Liberty's ear is a little bit flat, but not so much as I've seen on other examples. What looks like wear there could actually be incomplete strike. As I'm sure you are aware, that was a problem area for the High Relief coins. Nice coin.
Thanks for all the comments. I bought it as an AU, with no intention to send in for grading, but to put it in the 70/70. As I examined it under the xenon bulb in my kitchen stove hood ( wish I could take that thing to coin shows, but I doubt security would let me in) I noticed a little dull grayish area on the cheek just visible at a particular angle. Under magnification I could see a little patch of hairlines on the cheek, and a few on the neck. I did another photo with the coin at an angle to the camera which shows the area a little bit better. It also made the light scratch on the cheek look horrible , it's actually barely visible. I think somebody did a little judicious rubbing to remove a spot a while back. It really doesn't bother me, and the coin might even get a straight grade if I sent it in (it would never get past CAC). I posted this to show that there are degrees of "cleaning," and sometimes it's really hard to see from standard head on photos. Sharply angled lighting from a point source (like LED) is the best way to spot this, and you really have to tilt the coin around at acute angles to the light. This is another reason I generally don't buy pricy coins uncertified!
She might have got a little rub in the direction of the scratch but if so it's nothing fatal, the luster for her age looks intact, undisturbed.
I did some experiments years ago to see what and how scratches like those would happen. The easiest way for me to make them happen would be to just rub them with my thumb. Rough calluses I guess
I think sometimes staples in flips are the debil in old coin flips when stacked together or shipped like that. I get seriously pissed off when I buy a coin and they ship it with staples.
Y'all may be correct, it's a pretty subtle patch of hairlines that may just be high point rub. What got me thinking "cleaned" is that they all seem to go in 1 direction. Either way it probably doesn't really matter as it can be considered AU.
