Reverse proof finish

messydesk

I took a close look at the finish on the fields of the reverse proof SAE. Under high magnification, it actually looks like a fine, pebbly texture rather than a smooth matte texture as seen on the traditional proof and uncirculated coins. The alignment of these pebbles appears to be what accounts for the appearance of striations in the fields. This is the designer's initials on the reverse at more magnification than my digicam+microscope combination can handle effectively.

lordmarcovan

Some sorta fine sandblasting process does this, yes?

lonelyp

In my second batch of 5 silver sets all 5 reverse proof coins look like they have lines in the field. Mostly to the right of Lady Liberty, under 10x mag the finish looks allmost woven. This efect is not extreme, with the naked eye, but shows up in shifting light, when moving the coin around. I don't see this efect on my first 3 reverse proofs, that I sent in unseen for grading. (RP-69 on all 3)

I thought it may be due to a brushed finish on the die as apposed to a bead (sand) blast finish.

messydesk

<< <i>Some sorta fine sandblasting process does this, yes? >>


Not sure. If it is, then it much coarser than the process that produces the normal cameo. It may be part of the master die and not applied to dies individually. Close inspection of an assortment of these with a wide range of shipping dates should provide the answer.