The 1864 MS65RD two cent piece in the link below is on Heritage's website for their Jan 2017 auction. What happened to the last two digits in the date? Struck through something? Maybe just scratches on the slab? Or?? No lot number has been assigned yet, so the link may change. It's in a PCGS holder. There is a companion piece of the same grade without the problem. Cal https://coins.ha.com/itm/two-cent-p...1251-44150.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515
Nah, that's just scratches on the slab. Someone tried to obliterate the date by scratching the plastic, thereby hoping for a higher auction price........ I'll go stand in the corner..........
It has to be scratches. I found the Cert # in this registry and there is no mention of issues with the date.
Zoom @ 100% on HA.com shows as scratches clearly on slab, not on coin. You can tell by the fogginess of the area. No idea why someone would intentionally scratch it like that. Maybe they got some glue or something stuck on it and tried to clean with acetone, thereby compromising the plastic.
The slab was stacked in a double row box and spent a lot of time rubbing against other slabs. When it wasn't in said box, it was being thrown across dirty glass tabletops. Some PlastX and elbow grease will take care of it. I don't know why Heritage doesn't reholder slabs that are beat up like this. This isn't the worst example I've seen, and perhaps having copper in a 5+ year old holder is more desirable than having it in a new one, but I've seen stuff listed by them with 5-6 figure price tags in slabs that look like absolute crap.
I'm not sure how ANY of that would create the damage to the slab as shown. It's in a recessed area. I still contend there was gunk there and someone tried to take it off with acetone or medium grit (400) sandpaper. Anyway, maybe it will help keep the price down and someone will get a nice piece for a lower price. As for a reholder, that might result in a downgrade to RB.
I don't think a simple reholder would affect the grade, unlike a crack-out, regrade or reconsideration. The label would be changed only if there was a serious mistake like wrong year, mint, denomination, etc. I doubt that any grader sees the coin for a simple reholder request. Cal
Not to mention a downgrade would leave them on the hook for grade guarantee (64 is half the price of 65), although they won't cover a color designation downgrade.
Nope. That's a high point of the slab, even with the stacking tabs. Another possibility is that it was stacked with stapled 2x2s or in someone's pocket with their keys. I see this all the time on PCGS slabs. Fortunately, they're not hard to polish. I think it's actually already been reholdered. Note the 7-digit (leading 0) serial number.