Eagle Eye seal?

Flash

What was Rick Snow thinking??

Pushkin

My guess is the "wear" is smudging on the slab.

The seller probably had a PB & J sandwich for lunch and forgot to wash his fingers before placing the slab on his scanner.

Clankeye

That seller is selling a proof Cam 66 Lincoln cent that has some of the same look on the back. Pushkin might be right. Maybe he was eating when he was taking the pictures.

tjkillian

I would write the seller and ask "What's up?" Perhaps on the plastic?

Tom

cointagious

come on, now. you've got to admit that is a very nice '64. someone got a print on it but it's still nice.

chiefbob

Does look like it's on the outside surface of the slab.

BTW, what exactly is a PCGS Eagle Eye Photo Seal? This is the first time I've seen this (still a newbie).

KlectorKid

i might be wrong but i think its almost like NGC's *

Pushkin

The Eagle Eye Photo Seal is Eagle Eye Rare Coins' (Rick Snow's) additional grading of the coin. It has nothing to do with PCGS per se, he also will put it on NGC and IGC coins. Its basically Rick's lending his expertise to the grading - meaning he agrees that the coin is an "upper end" MS-64, for example.

More info at Eagle_Eye

lathmach

That's on the slab, not the coin.

Ray

Flash

That's on the slab, not the coin

I certainly hope so! If thats the case, then the seller should definitely look at the scans before posting them on eBay.

coinguy1

At the risk of being a very lonely minority of one, I think that what you see might very well be on the coin, not the holder. And, to cement my lonely position even further - if it is on the coin (which would mean it is a stain, discoloration or fingerprint), I still think the grade is fine as a 64RD. Without that, to me, the coin looks like a lock 65RD or better.

IrishMike

I agree Mark, the spots above the feathers lead me to believe that is on the coin. Its difficult for many of us to accept a fingerprinted coin can be graded. I would never intentionally own one, but I have a beautiful washington that developed a huge print not long after I bought it.

Outhaul

I'm waiting for an e-mail reply from him...TBC...

Pushkin

Mike, Mark,

One of the reasons I believe it is on the slab is tha the slab itself has similiar coloring at about 2:30 - 3:00 o'clock. I copied the picture over to PhotoShop and blew it up as far as I could and still maintain resolution. The slab coloring and the the coloring on the coin appear identical to me - and the coloring is precisely where a continuation of it would be if it were on the slab. Also, between the E and the S in UNITED STATES, the coloration appears to continue "beyond the coin" on to the slab, but you need to blow the picture up to see this. Just my opinion.

I would have to see the coin in person before grading it anything above a MS-64. However, Rick says he only gives the Photo Seal to coins that are "high end" for the grade - also meaning coins not just "high end" but also undergraded - so he may have very well thought it is a MS-65, as you do.

As for fingerprints, I have a PCGS MS-64 RD IHC with the nicest fingerprint you could imagine - I assume PCGS was "conserving" history - the fingerprint looks like it is in dried blood! From a 120 year old crime scene?

shylock

I agree with Mark that this is an otherwise MS66RD that got knocked down due to the oxidation of human contact. But I would bet it doesn't look quite as severe in person. I've found that digital imaging can really accentuate prints like this under intense light, almost the same way a blacklight does for detectives. I owned an MS66 copper-nickel that only showed a very faint print on the lower reverse after I imaged it. Really made me do a double take:

Lakesammman

Looked even more prominent after I bought it....darn it.....