Hi all Stopped by my LCS for some mylar flips and saw this in their case. Always up for filling a dansco 7070 hole for 9$ so I picked it up. After I left I noticed the front is substantially cleaner than the back - Wondering if this was cleaned, or if that can happen randomly? The face of the coin has a ton of chatter but I dont see any cleaning scratches, even under my 10X magnifier (to be fair this is literally a hole filler, as I have never liked this coin design much and didn't plan on going AU for it) so I am happy with it either way (I mean, $9) What do you think? Im still trying to learn how to detect cleaning and one side being dirty and one "clean" seems like a red flag I overlooked as I was sorta in a hurry either way. Thanks
I see what, to me, looks like cleaning marks. It was probably done with a soft cloth or something else soft, rather than a brush. You notice the dark areas around the stars, and her forehead/tiara? They cleaned in a hurry and didn't take the time to work around the stars. It looks more like a wipe/rub, rather than a typical cleaning with a brush.
I own a two cent piece that was dug up near a river. The up side of the coin is near perfect. The down side is so corroded that it is near unrecognizable. So I believe yours could be genuine surfaces. I know I own one similar.
You also get that result when two coins are stacked and tarnish. Most often they are stacked offset and there will be an arc on one side. You had the coin in hand and could have examined the surfaces. Everyone else can only describe what they have seen in the past so you are comparing apples to oranges. welcome
I agree with the last three remarks. I don't think it's been cleaned. Just stored face-up for a number of years. Besides, why would anyone clean just one side?
Thank you all for the replies. The LCD has been around for ages and ya, only cleaning one side doesn’t make sense. For grade, would this be a low VF?
That coin has been around the block plenty of times over the decades, so that could just be gunk accumulation — hard to tell from a photo. A good acetone soaking would help determine. Bottom line, I don't think it's been cleaned, mainly because...why clean one side and not the other? I think the difference between obverse and reverse is purely due to environmental factors.
@TylerH, I'm late to this party but I'll add my 2 cents. There is no question the obverse has been cleaned. As @Hookman pointed out, the gunk around the devices & date are a dead giveaway. At one time, the obverse looked exactly the same as the reverse. With coins, there's really only 2 options: cleaned or not cleaned. It's like a pregnant coin - it's either pregnant or it's not - there is no "almost" or "maybe" about it. Now, it does not appear to have been harshly cleaned (don't expect to always see scratches), but it is cleaned. And that doesn't necessarily preclude ownership (except for some "finicky" collectors). Some of us would appreciate a nice specimen like this, & I have quite a few which have been cleaned (by others, not me ) but I chose to acquire them anyway. Perhaps a previous owner cleaned it as a hole filler for an album? Or like me, just to have a sample that I don't usually collect, but want to have a specimen (the advantage is you usually get them cheap ) I'd say, for $9, you got a nice 136 yr old coin!! Congrats!
The obverse has been cleaned but not just because the reverse is a different tone. I realize I am going off of a picture but the obverse appears cleaned to the point original luster is gone. Price: I would not be averse to making it part of my collection at that price. You did well.
To that point - "Where original luster is gone" ... Would an uncleaned coin with this much handling wear (Im grading this a VF20 but some might call that generous) even have luster left?
As I said in my post, I am going off of a picture. V Nickels are particularly difficult because of the nickel material. This coin is notorious for weak or poor strikes so an uncirculated coin may at times appear circulated. This coin is obviously circulated but it is better than "VF-20 details," and yes, in my opinion it could have had luster remaining before it was cleaned.
Thank you for your thoughtful answers in this thread. I didn't realize V nickels were a poor strike coin. Im more than happy with this one in my album for 9$ - Now I need to find a CENTS added one as there is a spot for that as well
