A nice coin missing one thing - Luster

tjkillian

Here's a very nice 1853 Dime with arrows in a PCGS MS-63 slab. It has most things going for it: Great Strike, minimal marks, & eye appealing. The one thing it is missing is blazing luster, hence the MS-63 grade.

The reason I'm posting this is to show perhaps why a coin will only make a MS-63, even though it might look nice in a picture. Can anyone show another coin, missing something other than luster and hence get a lower than expected grade?

Tom

dorkkarl

heck, it looks overgraded to me. i'd call it ms-60

K S

tjkillian

K.S. - Ok, that is fine, now tell me WHY you think it is overgraded? We'll never learn unless we get different opinions.

Tom

dorkkarl

hey tjkillian, it's blast white, maybe cleaned guesing by the zillion hairlines all over the coin. just looks cleaned to me.

sorry, wasn't trying to knock the coin, just doesn't look very original from the digi-pic. may be just fine in person though.

take my opinion w/ a grain of salt!

K S

mdwoods

I agree Tom. Earlier on, I wondered why some of the coins I had were graded lower than some that were less well struck, or had marks. I finally figured out the luster thing after repeatedly reading about it here on the boards. Based on the strike and the marks I see, I would have thought the dime to be an MS65 at least. mdwoods

DK, are those hairlines or die polish lines?

tjkillian

On this coin, there are no hairlines at all. What you are seeing are flow lines creating what little luster there is. I'm sure there is some die polishing in there as well.

Tom

DHeath

Nice coin, and I would have said AU63 based on strike and light rub. From a wear standpoint, it's certainly 63 or better, but there is light rub. I would have assumed the hairlines were die-polish around the date and head, but the forearms indicates otherwise. Looks like it was wiped at some point. I like the discussion of luster though, and fully agree. I wouldn't call the light discoloration on the devices and in the left field wear, but they detract from the grade, as do the hairlines. It's still a beautiful coin. I'd say it was a fair net grade. JMO

dorkkarl

if those are die-polish, then you are A-OK! i'd have to go by what your saying. other'n that, the coin does indeed look like an average unc

btw, i don't think the coin has a "Great Strike", the strike is very average for a seated-lib dime. if it were a half-dollar or dollar, then it might qualify as a great strike. i also think you'd need a better strike for a higher-than-choice unc grade

K S

JxnBoy

In this case, also similar to others, how does one tell the difference between die polish lines and lines created from cleaning?

DHeath

Jnxboy,

Die polish lines stop at the devices and appear to travel under them. When dies are polished, the recessed areas (the coin design) are not affected. Die polish lines are raised lines on the surface of the coin, and scratches are recessed into the surface. Below is a picture of die polish that will help.

DHeath

Notice the lettering is seemingly unaffected on the enlargement of the JFK. It those lines were scratches, they'd travel across the surface of the letters. The 53 dime has what appear to be scratches on the forearm holding the staff. That is an indicator to me that perhaps the hairlines on that coin aren't die-polish lines, at least all of them are not. I'd be more comfortable deciding with coin in hand.

tjkillian

Dorkkarl - You say that this is not a great strike? Interesting. I've seen many late date Seated Liberty Dimes with very poor strikes and I've not seen any one with a better stike. I guess I need to see a lot more dimes. In any event, it is not a poor strike by any means.

Anyone have a coin with everything but a good strike that only grades MS-63? How about one with lots of marks, yet nice strike and luster?

Tom

EVillageProwler

Tom,

From the image, it seems that you have a very lusterous coin. The extreme die polishing imparts a different type of luster -- one that I very much enjoy because it has a cameo effect.

As for the strike, I think it is only slightly above average. Basically, I am in agreement with Karl. The reverse of this series tends to have a greater degree of weakness, particularly at the ends of the wreath.

EVP