When considering high grade liberty nickels that are not graded. is there a way to tell, with any amount of certainty, a proof coin from a high MS coin, when specifically looking at the 1883?
All the usual stuff - squared rims, extra sharp stike, crisp clean legends, but none of those are truly definitive nor easy to recognize for all. The mirrored fields are the give away. But toning can sometimes obscure the mirrors enough to make even that difficult for some. But if you add 'em all up and the coin has it all, odds are it's a Proof.
So in other words the same subjective hocus pocus, black magic that applies to other hard to identify coins. Some people just have the gift.
True. However, almost always all that "subjective" stuff adds up to a definitive answer. A solid call. Perhaps 'tis a good time to recall the term "proof" refers to the coin's method of manufacture, not it's current condition. I love proofs. For me, the bottom line is always eye appeal. Not all proofs are superior to biz strikes of the same numerical grade, though most are. If I'm shopping for a proof, and with a given coin I can't tell for sure it's a proof, why bother ? Certainly don't pay a premium for such a piece. Also true. An idea worthy of a thread of its own !
There are some issues that have distinctive diagnostics whereby a Proof can be definitively differentiated from the business strike. But not that many of them. And of course to be able to do this with all coins you have to pretty much be an expert on all of the various varieties for all denominations. And quite honestly, I don't know of a single person who meets that qualification. And it's not a gift at all, it's just the acquisition of knowledge.
I meant the term loosely. It really takes a lot of study to learn a series inside and out, and even I haven't mastered one yet even though I dabble in 15 to 20 series. I know naught of 19th century proof issues, because I honestly never thought I'd run into any. But here I am contemplating several, several either frosty MS pieces or Proofs. So off the TPG they may have to go to discover for certain.
