http://cgi.ebay.com/1850-LARGE-CENT...102203905QQcategoryZ11950QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Seller seems pretty honest about it Coin looks red, but seems to lack luster So, I guess it was a brown unc. What was done to it, that caused PCGS to say artificial ? What is it worth ? This guy looks just a bit high on grades in general, but certainly not the worst around... 99.9% positive
There are a number of ways to lighten copper, most entailing a dip of some type (although whizzing also will make a coin red again). However, the color of the coin in-hand would usually be a dead giveaway. It is difficult, but not impossible, to make a copper coin red again without it being obvious to those familiar with the end result. Take a look at heritage auction archives and search large cents for "recolored" and/or "cleaned" and you'll see lots of examples. All IMHO, and I hope this helps...Mike
I'm not too sure about the chemistry but there is such thing called copper electroplating like gold plating.
near good ? AG3.5 ??? http://cgi.ebay.com/1916-WALKING-HA...2184364QQihZ020QQcategoryZ41100QQcmdZViewItem
