I paid $10 over melt for this 1897 $5.00 Half Eagle. Pretty coin probably in low AU condition I would guess maybe high XF? My main questions would be if it's cleaned? For $308 dollars I would guess it doesn't matter too much. One of my goals is to get better on catching cleaned coins. Thank you in advance for your thoughts, opinions and advice.
I don't see any obvious signs of cleaning. Some of the damage and discoloration on the reverse is a bit distracting and may hold it to a details grade, but at the price you paid, you did just fine.
One of the things that I learned atleast from silver coins is looking at what I think is called "halo" around certain areas of the coin. Like around the stars on this one it shows a diffrent color or tone. I forget the correct term. Hard to explain, the luster looks diffrent.
Pictures are not the best, but if I was bidding based on those pictures, I would guess cleaned, almost polished (obverse).
I'm thinking this coin might have been in a bezel or a locket, but I see no obvious signs of cleaning.
What makes it appear cleaned?? Thats why I only buy these coins for a bigger premium when I now for sure and when they are in great shape. I didn't know on this one, so I just paid $10.00 over to a dealer buddy I occasionally do business with. He was happy and so was I.
It might just be the pictures, but the obverse has a very shiny look to it, that does not look natural. Might be the lighting though. I do not see what a few are seeing that makes it look ex-jewelry, but it does look cleaned probably. Take a few different pictures in different lighting though, and see if that helps. Nice pick up though for that price!
Just on a hunch, examine the coin and tell us if it has coin alignment (one side inverted with respect to the other) or the much less-common medallic alignment, both sides right side up with respect to each other. If by chance the latter, that explains the two shiny spots at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., that's where some kind of clamp or prong held the coin (front and back) in place in a piece of jewelry, protecting the coin from wear and loss of luster. I will be VERY surprised if it's medallic alignment, but had to ask.
I can take pictures as good as I can understand calculus. By the way whats calculus?? I need to get out my good camera. I have a DSLR that just sits. I need to learn how to use it too, I suppose. Here are two other pictures on a black background.
I still have no idea why they think it might be a jewelry piece.. just because you see 2 spots of luster? Those pictures make it look less cleaned/polished than the first pictures.
Well, here's two of a number of points. At the top of the obverse, there are two prominent rim nicks typical of fold-over prong-type restraints. The presence of two high-luster spots suggests that those spots were protected from wear and from re-coloration over the years. I asked about the coin's alignment because if medallic, the "shiny" spots are in the same position obverse and reverse, it's a strong indicator that something grasped the coin, as in jewelry. If coin alignment, however, it does not disprove the jewelry theory, it just eliminates a strong indicator. The shiny spots may simply be an artifact of the camera's flash, although that normally doesn't occur in two separate locations. Also, if that's a "true" black background, the camera is automatically adjusting the hue significantly.
I still don't see the rim nicks you speak of, and the shiny parts appear to be the luster, which is on a lot of coins, not just jewelry.
The hairlines on the reverse, which show a semi-circular pattern make it look as if it were cleaned. Gold is a soft metal, which marks easily with nicks and scratches, but these look in a swirl pattern on the reverse (which is a better picture than the obverse). That would support the coin having been cleaned.
And it's actually immaterial whether the coin was jewelry or not, that was just a side observation, and we'll never know for sure. Yes, I would have bought the coin too!
Son of a gun, my pictures aren't any better with my DSLR. I guess I need to learn to take better pictures before I start figuring out if a gold coin has been cleaned or not. As far as being ex jewelry, I truly doubt it. It is the lighting. These were taken with my DSLR. I'll keep practicing.
