Help determining if a coin has been dipped by its picture

Id like to ask what everyone else looks for when determining whether or not a coin has been dipped. Im not very confident with my skills. Anyhow, this is one that I think might have been dipped. But would like to ask opinions and why one thinks what they think.
http://cgi.ebay.com/1920-P-MS-GEM-L...ryZ39456QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

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I thinks it not dipped and nice, worth the price to me no doubt. Good Luck, it will fit your collection nicely !!

 

I don't think that it has been, but I've been tricked by coppers before.

 

Is there anything specific that I should look for??? Or is it more or less something you just have to trust your instinct on???

 

Some dipped coins are hard to tell in hand. I have no idea how to tell from a picture when the camera(s) change colors so readily.

 

Like Rlm says, it hard from a pic.

It is an instinct thing for me, it just looks natural to me. Look away from the brite reflection, into the crevises in the wheat and the hair, shade side of the lettering, you see darker copper, dip will strip a coin of it's dynamics. This coin look natural. If you had not mentioned it here, we may have been bidding against each other, you came first, have at it !!!

 

Hey you can bid on it. Its a nice looking coin, but I think I want to send you my money instead of sending it to that guy. Maybe I can send you my money and you can send it to that guy

 

lol, be careful...this is not the open forum. I have my eye on a cpl of his, the 18 and the 26 already. Later folks.....pizzas here

 

I'd say not dipped

 

If the images are accurate (which is almost always a very big IF) I am of the opinion that the color on that coin is NOT natural/original. It has the wrong look/hue for an original "red" example of that era. Not that I don't expect normal color variances, even for the same date, but here is a PCGS MS65RD for comparison: http://cgi.ebay.com/1920-Lincoln-Ce...ryZ39456QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Edited to add: Buying uncertified copper coins is a minefield in which you are often fighting long odds, and is therefore not recommended.

 

Good morning Mark. I agree, copper is a minefield.
A person might get lucky but I would rather gamble on a hand of cards before doing so on an image of a raw Lincoln.
I don't know the seller but what bothers me is that most of the Lincoln's he is selling have the same look as far as color goes. He may be a great guy and the coins may be just fine but I can't tell that from an image.
Just the way I see it.

 

Hi Larry. I noticed the same thing about the seller's other copper coins/images. It could just be inaccurate images, but the odds tell me many the coins have been messed with and he that might not even be aware of it.

 

Although it is really hard to tell from the pictures, IMHO the coin is natural and has not been dipped in any kind of solution! The Seller even notes that they have tried to get the pictures (colorwise) as close to the actual color of the coin as possible! Anyone on Coin Talk that sells coins on eBay will tell you that getting the color of a coin in a picture to be exactly the same as it appears in person on the coin, is extremely difficult and at times, almost impossible. The thing that I would note in determing if the coin had been dipped is the rims and the lettering. Note how dark the rims and most of the lettering is on the coin! If the coin had been dipped, then these would be the same or nearly the same color hue as the fields and the details!


Frank

 

Keep n mind, the coin was most likely placed on white paper for the picture, and the paper has an orangish tint, which would probably make the coin appear the same orangy tint.

It is very difficult to judge based on pictures, my gut tells me this coin is ok. Could I be wrong? You bet ya.

 

Perhaps the imaging is off. But if it is, it could also be off on the areas that look natural. Either way, to me, at least, it's not worth buying coins when there is so much guesswork involved. It's not like there aren't plenty of far less risky opportunities out there.

 

I don't like the look of the coin, but I'm not much of a lincoln man.

 

I agree with GDJMSP's opinions on dipping.
Copper can do some freaky things, especially 1850's and older.
Lincolns tend to turn a weird orange or pink.

On silver coinage, if a coin is not toned, I look for the cartwheel luster.
A dipped coin will be reflective, but it won't have that halo effect.
It will have a flatter reflection that looks somewhat like a horizon line across the coin.
An original coin seems to at least have an arch-like appearance with the light reflection.
All this comes, of course, with the acetone dulling the flow lines in the metal.

 

Is acetone whats commonly used when dipping coins??? Does anyone know what seems to be a dippers favorite dip??? Myabe I will get myself some acetone and dip a few common Memorials, to get a better idea of what to look for. Maybe I can dip some of the coin in my cull bag to get a better idea of what other types look like. My cull bag is full of Buffalos, Jeffersons, Silver War Nickels, Indian Heads, Wheaties, Silver Roosies, Mercurys, Theres Copper Nickel Indians in there too. I could get an idea of what all different types of coins look like once they have been dipped. I could post some pictures on here too and maybe help out some others.

 

Sorry, but I feel compelled to point out that I believe those comments to be far too general. I say that because there are countless coins which have been dipped but still display full blazing luster and which many buyers have no idea have been dipped. On the other hand, there are a large amount of coins which haven't been dipped, yet display subdued/dull luster.

A coin which still possesses good luster hidden beneath toning, haze, etc. can be dipped and turn out fully brilliant, with little or no evidence of dipping. On the other hand, a coin which has already lost its luster other than via a previous dipping will not regain it just because it is dipped.