To me this coin is a Details grade and looks to have at least a cleaning job done to it. There's also no visible signs of mirrored fields from the looks of it, yet there's a strong contrast between the fields and devices. Is this simply an impaired proof with a past cleaning job, or is this an MS coin made to look like a proof? Thanks in advance!
It certainly looks prooflike to me, but you'll want somebody with more specialist experience to answer this one. I take it most of the hairlines in the reverse image are actually in the plastic of a slab?
So we have the seller and an at least semi-reputable TPG saying it's proof... and the potential buyer want's what? A gut check from a photo? Not wading into that pool...
I agree. I've done well with the older PCI green label slabs. My best cherrypick of all time came in one. It was a 1904 $20 PCI green label MS 62 that I cracked, submitted to PCGS raw, and presto! PCGS MS64! That two-grade-point bump and change of plastic netted me a profit of about a grand when I sold the coin. That's a sweet proof IHC. Would it upgrade in a trip to PCGS like my $20 Lib did? Probably not, but it's a heckuva nice coin. I certainly don't think it would go RD. RB seems more likely. But so what. There's really no pressing need to change the plastic anyway, unless somebody just wanted to.
The crispness of the strike is a clear indicator that this is a true proof. A business strike will never have that sharpness. Even a prooflike business strike is never going to have that level of detail.
