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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 2950840, member: 112&quot;]Comments like this are common and you&#039;ll find them in books, articles, websites, forums - basically all over the place and about all coins. However, these kind of comments are somewhat misleading, here&#039;s why.</p><p><br /></p><p>Say you have an AU58 coin. And AU58 will typically only have very slight wear on 1 or more of the high points on the coin - but not always. What I mean very slight wear can occur anywhere on the coin, low points and even in the fields. But regardless of where the slight wear is, if you rotate an AU58 coin under a light the luster on the coin will still cartwheel all around the coin - exactly like it does on an MS coin. THAT&#039;S the problem. And the same thing is true with AU55 and even some AU53 coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>What I&#039;m trying to get across is that the luster cartwheeling around the coin doesn&#039;t really tell you if the coin is MS or not. All it tells you is that yes there is enough luster there to make it cartwheel.</p><p><br /></p><p>What you have to do to identify an MS coin is to look for breaks in the luster, and what that means is to look for spots (and by spots I mean small areas) where the luster is not there. And you do that by slowly rotating and rolling a coin under a light - an incandescent light. And that&#039;s important because incandescent light will show you breaks in the luster that you may not see under other kinds of light.</p><p><br /></p><p>So what&#039;s a break in the luster look like ? It can be dull looking, it simply won&#039;t reflect the light the same way adjacent areas do. Sometimes it may appear to be a slightly different color than adjacent areas. Other times it can even be flat and or smooth, when it&#039;s not supposed to be. But however it looks, it will look distinctly different than the adjoining areas that do have luster.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now somebody is going to say, OK, what about weak strike ? And here&#039;s the thing with weak strike, a weakly struck area will not show luster either, and it will look different than adjoining areas that do have luster. But it will also look different than wear. A spot of wear will be flat and or smooth, dull looking, a different color than areas that have luster. A spot that is weakly struck will have a texture to it, it can be a bit bumpy, or even rough looking. And it will also be a different color than luster. And in regard to color a spot that is weakly struck will be slightly lighter than a spot of wear. So yes, weak strike can be differentiated from wear - provided you take the time and care to do so.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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