So, is this orange peel surface? (fun pics inside)

mgoodm3 · December 13, 2004 9:20AM

I was taking these pics for fun yesterday and thought that they turned out well. Could only get part of the coin on there because of the glare. I like the color. I presume that the texture of the fields is what is called "orange peel"? Inquiring minds want to know.

ibzman350 · December 13, 2004 9:28AM

Nice pics

Now, you said something about oranges, have I told you "nice pics' yet???

Herb

Bochiman · December 13, 2004 9:29AM

Damn buddy,

You take some GREAT pics!

thebeav · December 13, 2004 9:29AM

That sure looks like an 'orange peel' surface to me. Nice photos !!

Paul

FC57Coins · December 13, 2004 9:34AM

Yes great pics - I've seen a helluvalot worse on Kennedies

techeff · December 13, 2004 9:45AM

Great pics!

IrishMike · December 13, 2004 9:50AM

Nice photos, here is what orange peel affect looks like on gold coins.

michael · December 13, 2004 2:27PM

great thread and incredible photos better than any auction company

michael

saintguru · December 13, 2004 9:54PM

It looks like toning...not "orange peel". Orange peel is actually on the planchet....here is "orange peel".

BigGreek · December 13, 2004 9:58PM

Amazing pictures.

I have a couple of Peace $s with this sort of surface. It actually
looks like bag marks unless you look closely and see that it is
a uniform texture in the luster.

Anyone knows what causes this? Is it a problem with the dies?

IrishMike · December 13, 2004 10:10PM

An explanation.

Orange Peel fields. A real joy to behold is a gem early die state proof. These will have deep mirrors, frosted devices, and orange peel fields. When the dies are first made the steel is soft so that the design and date can easily be impressed into it. While the dies are in this soft state they are given a very fine polishing. After the die is hardened, the steel contracts slightly creating a wavy look on the polished fields. It looks like orange peels! After a small striking period the die may be reground and the orange peel will be wiped away. These later proofs will not have the deep mirror cameo appearance of the earlier die state pieces. It should be an automatic buy signal when you see Orange peel fields in my inventory listing.

Link

CarlWohlforth · December 13, 2004 10:30PM

I had a Jefferson nickel produced with very worn dies. The fields had a wavy look. I posted a picture here asking if it were "orange peel". The traditional definition is that orange peel refers to some proof gold as mentioned above. However the worn dies did cause the Jeff to look like an orange peel.

MrEureka · December 13, 2004 11:09PM

After the die is hardened, the steel contracts slightly creating a wavy look on the polished fields.

That's the key point. The only coin in this thread that exhibits true orange peel surfaces is the Indian Cent in the initial post.

By comparison, Carl's Jefferson cent exhibits die erosion, not orange peel. The easiest way to tell if a coin struck from eroded dies is that the fields have soft grooves caused by the stretching (erosion) of the steel die. It the exact opposite of orange peel, which is caused by the contraction of the steel die.

BTW, because it's a common misconception, I'll also point out that "orange peel" has nothing to do with the color of the coin. It refers to the surface texture.

Stuart · December 13, 2004 11:13PM

Mark: Excellent photos as always. You do a great job photographing coins as an art form!!

Saintguru: That 1928 Saint is a real beauty!! That's what a Saint is supposed to look like!!

littlejohn · December 13, 2004 11:20PM

orange peel surface?
good or bad?????????????????

littlejohn

Stuart · December 13, 2004 11:21PM

Fire Bad

Orange Peel Good!

ANACONDA · December 13, 2004 11:22PM

Great photos of that Indian Head Cent and also of that Saint. Not bad shots on the one dollar gold, especially considering it's a really small coin.

(A little bit of die rust can sometimes look a wee bit like orange peel to the novice.)

adrian
(novice)

littlejohn · December 13, 2004 11:25PM

Fire Bad ?????????????????????????????????????

mgoodm3 · December 13, 2004 11:56PM

I'm glad this stirred up some discussion. My only encounter with the term Orange Peel is with early die state proof Indian cents. I had never caught that texture on pics before. I'll have to look at my other ones and see if it's there on any others.

EagleEye · December 14, 2004 12:08AM

Orange peel is seen mostly on 19th century proofs. I figure the dies were polished (obliterating the orange peel) after about 100-200 pieces were struck, so if an Indian Cent has a mintage of 2,000, has 2 die pairs known, there will be 200-400 or 10% to 20% with orange peel. Of course, many of the coins did not survive in gem condition, so a gem full red orange-peeler is a real find.

On proof coins with lower mintages, such as gold, orange peel will be easier to find. The technicians who remove hairlines from proof gold hate orange peel because their work is very easy to detect. Therefore a gold proof with orange peel has a good chance of not being messed with.

Orange peel is not used for non-proof coinage.

mgoodm3 · December 14, 2004 12:21AM

Thanks for posting Rick. I was hoping you would chime in on it. I've learned some new stuff now.

ziggy29 · December 14, 2004 12:22AM

Wow. Good stuff, Rick. Thanks for the educational session.

EagleEye · December 14, 2004 12:27AM

Hey, no problem. Mr. Eureka also gave much of the info too. I loved those pics. Great toning too.

FinallyHere · December 14, 2004 12:28AM

Great pics Mark!!!!

Regulated · December 14, 2004 12:57AM

So if you found a branch mint Half Eagle with full-on cameo contrast and orange peel, what would you think?

Stuart · December 14, 2004 1:29AM

Andy: Is the term "Orange Peel" luster incorrectly applied when commonly used for $20 Saints with that beautiful Orangy colored skin (like the 1928 illustrated in this thread)??

I've seen many Morgans (like 1886-P) with rough alligator-like field surfaces which resemble the pebbled look of an orange peel. These seem to be later die state coins. I'm not sure what the cause is for this specific phenonenon.

saintguru · December 14, 2004 2:56AM

What's the matter Mike?? You don't like MY picture??

coinlieutenant · December 14, 2004 3:09AM

You can see it a bit on this coin...upper obv and rev.

ormandh · December 14, 2004 3:19AM

Nice pics!! -Dan

mgoodm3 · December 14, 2004 3:56AM

Mmmm. proof gold.

MrEureka · December 14, 2004 4:18AM

Stuart - In both cases, the coins would be misdescribed as having "orange peel" surfaces.

FinallyHere · December 14, 2004 4:34AM

JB....Yeah I like your picture......how'd ya take it?? Do tell.....

IrishMike · December 14, 2004 4:41AM

<< <i>Stuart - In both cases, the coins would be misdescribed as having "orange peel" surfaces. >>

Are you saying dealers misdescribe coins they have for sale?

mgoodm3 · December 14, 2004 4:44AM

<< <i>JB....Yeah I like your picture......how'd ya take it?? Do tell.....

>>

Nice shot.

EagleEye · December 14, 2004 5:56AM

Earlier I posted:

Orange peel is not used for non-proof coinage.

Let me clarify:

The term "Orange peel" is used on proof coins. There are always exceptions, since many tiimes proof dies were used for regular coinage, and MS branch mint dies could have been polished like proof dies as well. So the term applies to "proof-ish" coins. Not late die state coins, not gold coins with luster. In fact if you see cartwheel luster, there is probably no orange peel. Possibly a Proof-like MS $3 gold piece could have orange peel.

MrEureka · December 14, 2004 9:31AM

So if you found a branch mint Half Eagle with full-on cameo contrast and orange peel, what would you think?

I think I'd think I should ask for the price.

So, is this orange peel surface? (fun pics inside)

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