Let’s see a mark that melts your heart

airplanenut

@kiyote has a thread for Mark’s that break your heart. But they need not all be bad. Show one you’re glad a coin has. This coin has an old staple scratch on the neck. It’s toned in with the rest of the coin and overall isn’t distracting. The coin is beautiful. Without that scratch it would easily be at least a 65 and I never would have been able to buy it on my high school budget. But with that scratch, it’s an otherwise clean, lustrous, and colorful coin in a 63 holder. Affordable and one I still love nearly two decades after buying it.

BryceM

Nice coin, and the mark is pretty well hidden. Let me see what I can find.......

BryceM

Well, this is a nice coin either way, but the little mark in the hair curl is pretty well hidden. I'm pretty sure it's a hit, but it could have been the aborted attempt at making a hole or even a planchet defect. For certain coins, like this, I think it's just part of the coin's history and no reason to keep it out of a holder. Apparently our host and JA agree.

jesbroken

I loved this coin and so sad it was deformed. It was a first Conder coin that I bought and liked it even with the problem, but finally sold it and bought a 2 pence Brittania.
Jim

TomB

kaz

I bought this at least a decade ago on eBay, it is in an ANACS small OWH details-graffiti holder. The graffiti is a letter M scratched into the rev. below the right wing next to AM. Hard to see even in hand. But the price was right.

fastfreddie

This coin is perfect sans for a small scratch off Liberty's knee. Staple scratch? I still love it though.

P53 no CAC attempt.
Photo credit Todd (blue62vette)

joeykoins

Does this one count?

Super Die Clash

2020p

Mr_Spud

This coin I got from Legend with a CAC sticker on it has an upside down A scratched into it right in front of Liberty’s neck. I think the coin has great eye appeal and I was really happy to have won it in an auction. It fits right in with my circulated type set and it probably would have been outside my budget if that A wasn’t there.

This seated half probably would have been outside my budget if it didn’t have the black marks on its reverse. I think the coin looks great in my circulated type set and I have no complaints about the black marks.

This Bechtler dollar would be way outside my budget if it wasn’t so damaged. But I actually like how it looks, the damage gives it character and I don’t think people desire Bechtler gold coins because of their looks anyway. There isn’t any artful designs on Bechtler gold, purely functional. Much better than the usual cleaned ones that are also affordable.

The big triangle shaped chunk missing on the reverse of this large cent is very well camouflaged by the letter A. This made this great looking coin more affordable and is a great fit for my circulated type set. Had it been anywhere else the eye appeal would have been ruined. It too is a welcome addition to my collection.

asheland

Below the E on the reverse.
It adds character to me.

fastfreddie

@asheland said:

Below the E on the reverse.
It adds character to me.

I take it that was straight garded!

fastfreddie

Holed! Or is it Plugged?

Walkerfan

@asheland said:

Below the E on the reverse.
It adds character to me.

Perfectly acceptable IMHO and my eyes weren't drawn immediately to it.

BryceM

@asheland said:

Below the E on the reverse.
It adds character to me.

Well, the strange mark that looks like a capital "C" above 2-1/2 adds character in my book, and yes, my eyes were drawn immediately to it.

winesteven

While this coin may not “melt my heart”, it has an interesting ending.

I tossed and turned trying to decide if I should buy the below high grade MS64RD with CAC Classic Head Half Cent with an obvious distraction on the obverse. Since the red was very rich and deep, with a great strike, and the luster of the coin in hand was outstanding, I decided to pull the trigger. I call this my “Ash Wednesday” Half Cent, lol.

In hand I liked it so much I decided to send it back to PCGS for “Reconsideration”. Apparently they liked it too, and they added a “+”, so now it’s a MS64+RD, and for $3, CAC automatically reapplied their sticker (current CAC price to re-sticker is $5). The “+” added significant value to the coin, as the prior PCGS Pop as a 64RD was 34, but as a 64+RD it’s pop is only 2, with only 7 finer.

Steve

asheland

@fastfreddie said:

@asheland said:

Below the E on the reverse.
It adds character to me.

I take it that was straight garded!

XF45 I believe it’s an old planchet flaw. Or possibly a dig, old whatever it is.

HoledandCreative

SmEagle1795

A mark on this coin made me pass on it before but ultimately pulled the trigger earlier this year and I couldn't be happier. Yes, I'd still prefer one without it, but a) there isn't one which ticks the rest of the boxes and b) if there were, it'd cost probably 4-5x as much and this is already an expensive coin.

In the "Pros" column:

• Style (this obverse portrait is significantly more dramatic than the lower-relief/more common variety)
• Rarity (this is one of five in private hands, 11 known in total including museums)
• 100+ year Pedigree (Ex. de Guermantes, Ex. Jameson, Ex. Grand Duke Alexander Michailovitch, the latter of which is particularly meaningful as the coin's originating region is part of Russia today)
• Centering and Luster (atypically nice for the issue)

Cons:

• A scrape (I lotviewed the coin in 2016 and passed then because of it)

Ultimately, the scrape isn't the coin's fault and could have very easily happened some time in the coin's collected history (perhaps the Grand Duke accidentally dropped it at one point).

PerryHall

@SmEagle1795 Is it possible that is a test mark on your coin?

fastfreddie

@SmEagle1795 said:
A mark on this coin made me pass on it before but ultimately pulled the trigger earlier this year and I couldn't be happier. Yes, I'd still prefer one without it, but a) there isn't one which ticks the rest of the boxes and b) if there were, it'd cost probably 4-5x as much and this is already an expensive coin.

In the "Pros" column:

• Style (this obverse portrait is significantly more dramatic than the lower-relief/more common variety)
• Rarity (this is one of five in private hands, 11 known in total including museums)
• 100+ year Pedigree (Ex. de Guermantes, Ex. Jameson, Ex. Grand Duke Alexander Michailovitch, the latter of which is particularly meaningful as the coin's originating region is part of Russia today)
• Centering and Luster (atypically nice for the issue)

Cons:

• A scrape (I lotviewed the coin in 2016 and passed then because of it)

Ultimately, the scrape isn't the coin's fault and could have very easily happened some time in the coin's collected history (perhaps the Grand Duke accidentally dropped it at one point).

That is an awesome ancient!! Can you tell us exactly what it is. Great look! Those marks shouldn't bother you at all as it looks fantastic!

rip_f

The nicest circulated example of this date I've ever found at a show.
Then I flipped it over.
Heart melted a bit, but I still bought it. It's definitely a condition rarity.

airplanenut

@SmEagle1795 said:
A mark on this coin made me pass on it before but ultimately pulled the trigger earlier this year and I couldn't be happier. Yes, I'd still prefer one without it, but a) there isn't one which ticks the rest of the boxes and b) if there were, it'd cost probably 4-5x as much and this is already an expensive coin.

In the "Pros" column:

• Style (this obverse portrait is significantly more dramatic than the lower-relief/more common variety)
• Rarity (this is one of five in private hands, 11 known in total including museums)
• 100+ year Pedigree (Ex. de Guermantes, Ex. Jameson, Ex. Grand Duke Alexander Michailovitch, the latter of which is particularly meaningful as the coin's originating region is part of Russia today)
• Centering and Luster (atypically nice for the issue)

Cons:

• A scrape (I lotviewed the coin in 2016 and passed then because of it)

Ultimately, the scrape isn't the coin's fault and could have very easily happened some time in the coin's collected history (perhaps the Grand Duke accidentally dropped it at one point).

Considering how that mark looks at least partly like it could be as made (even if it’s not) and it’s as out of the prime focal area as possible (the whole design draws your eye to the left) that wouldn’t bother me at all given all the other things you said (and perhaps even without those notes). Awesome design and awesome coin.

asheland

emeraldATV

SmEagle1795

@fastfreddie said:

That is an awesome ancient!! Can you tell us exactly what it is. Great look! Those marks shouldn't bother you at all as it looks fantastic!

Thanks! It's a gold stater from the Greek city-state of Pantikapaion, dating back to 380 BC. The obverse is the head of the god Pan (a pun on the name of the city) and the reverse depicts the mythological griffin who was the guardian of the city's gold mines.

@PerryHall said:
@SmEagle1795 Is it possible that is a test mark on your coin?

It is indeed possible, as the scrape is deep enough that it could have been a file mark to see if the coin was solid gold. If so, I want to build a time machine to bring an XRF scanner back to prevent such travesties.

@airplanenut said:

Considering how that mark looks at least partly like it could be as made (even if it’s not) and it’s as out of the prime focal area as possible (the whole design draws your eye to the left) that wouldn’t bother me at all given all the other things you said (and perhaps even without those notes). Awesome design and awesome coin.

Thanks, I appreciate the comments. Coming from US collecting where perfection is crucial, it took me a while to be okay with the prospect of a mark but I'm glad I talked myself into it!

pmh1nic

@airplanenut said:
@kiyote has a thread for Mark’s that break your heart. But they need not all be bad. Show one you’re glad a coin has. This coin has an old staple scratch on the neck. It’s toned in with the rest of the coin and overall isn’t distracting. The coin is beautiful. Without that scratch it would easily be at least a 65 and I never would have been able to buy it on my high school budget. But with that scratch, it’s an otherwise clean, lustrous, and colorful coin in a 63 holder. Affordable and one I still love nearly two decades after buying it.

Yea, that one hurts. The coin is a beauty. The color, fields, cheek and other focal areas are excellent. At least a 65 without that scratch.