On the reverse of this Lynchburg half dollar that I recently bought, there is a patch of vertically-running die polish lines located underneath Lady Liberty's outstretched arm and above the 'E PLURIBUS UNUM' My questions are as follows: 1) how do die polish lines affect the eye appeal of a coin? 2) how can die polish lines affect a coin's grade? 2) do you think the die polish marks make this coin less attractive? It's my coin, so I'm biased, of course, but I still find it to be a fairly attractive coin with its nice satiny lustre and original surfaces).Maybe others are drawn to the tell tale patch of die polish lines that stick out because they have a different color, though? Thanks for your answers/opinions.
I have some coins with die polish lines that are readily visible and they do take away from the eye appeal. I suspect that grading is very subjective, but I have never received one back that was over MS65. I suspect it may also depend on the size of the coin. Cents seem to be larger problems IMO. I think some guides say that "hairlines" lessen the grade of the coin, but some use the term hairlines for incluse lines and others for both. Jim
I personally am a big fan of die polish lines on some coins. They add intrigue and character to a coin. For much more about die polish, see the entry on my Registry here: Why I Like Die Polish Lines
Die polish lines are very different from and don't typically affect a coin's grade like hairlines do. And, for example, I have seen classic type coins graded MS68 and Proof 68 with die polish lines.
So what is the difference between die polish lines and hairlines. I know hairlines are post mint. What exactly are die polish lines and how can you tell them apart from hairlines?
See here: http://en.mimi.hu/numismatic/die_polish.html One way to distinguish them from hairlines is that they stop at, instead of crossing over design elements (stars, letters, devices, etc.) of a coin.
Die polish lines are made when mint workers use tools to polish the surface of the dies. It's quite similar to the cause of 'hairlines', only the exact opposite -- here the lines have been applied at the mint rather than by an overzealous coin cleaner. Because the die has been 'hairlined' rather than the coin itself, die polish marks show up as raised marks, rather than incuse lines. At this scale, though, it's awfully hard to tell the difference without a decent magnifier. There's another good indicator to tell you that you're looking at die polish rather than hairlines, though. Usually, hairlines will show up most heavily on the design high points and the fields, and the little nooks and crannies of the coin (like around lettering) will appear clean. With die polish the opposite is true: the high features of the coin will be largely clear of marks, and the fields (including areas around lettering) will be marked. That Franklin half is a great example of heavy die polish: the devices are clean and heavy, parallel striations are seen that extend right through lettering as if it wasn't even there. Personally, I love the look.
I have a cool 21 Peace $ that has die polish lines across the obverse and reverse. Why is it cool ? Because it was struck from the proof dies. No more than 30 proof examples exist. The dies were then taken, polished and used to strike some of the first business strikes. Not sure if this makes the coin more rare, but it does make it more interesting to own. IMHO die polish lines tell a story...
