Matte or Proof?

I bought these off the 'bay for under melt the other day and received them today.
According to NGC, there is a 1973 Matte and a 1973 Proof. The Matte having a 20,000 mintage and the proof having a mintage of 181,000. Which do you think it is?
I've provided pictures of the 1973 in question as well as a 1974 Proof that I got at the same time. Thanks for your input!

 

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For what it's worth, my instinct says an impaired (i.e. handled) proof. I'd like to see a matte issue for comparison though.

 

Yeah I was thinking the same too. I can't find an image of a matte issue though. I was thinking maybe the 73 was just cloudy in the fields. The edges are different as well. White vs brights, same as the coins.

 

In my opinion, the 1973 appears to be an impaired proof.

 

Have you considered using some MS70 on it?

Chris

 

I've never used it before. What do you think would happen if I did?

 

The 73 has some serious haze on it (very common on these types of coins from this era). If you were to remove the haze, I'm fairly certain it would look a lot like the 74.

 

What would be the best way to remove that haze? The MS70 like @cpm9ball said?

 

I don't know exactly what the haze is from. Often, it is from the plastic the holder was made of. I might personally try acetone first, but MS70 is widely recognized as safe for silver coins if used conservatively. Make sure you dilute it and use according to the instructions.

 

I have looked at getting some acetone for awhile. But I can only find the big containers. I don't need that much, nor do I want to keep that stuff in my house.

 

How big are one of those containers you don't want?

 

The HomeDepot near me has a 1gal container. That's way too much for me.

 

Oh yeah, that's pretty large. If you stop by a Walmart, they might have it there in a smaller size.

 

I'll check it out. Thanks.

 

It's quite common to find it in quarts. If you have any small, local, non-chain hardware stores left, try those. If not, Walmart might come through.

 

I wish there were more local non-chain stores left near me. The nearest "ace" (closet I can get) is over 10 miles away.

 

I don't think the acetone is gonna work on the haze, but I like the piece.....Man-o-war bird

Infiltrator......

 

Definately the proof and not the matte. This is "my" series of coins....

 

Thanks. Do you have an example of what the matte looks like?

 

I got a small can at Walmart. I think it was the paint dept.