Wheel mark on Franklin 50c

logger7

I bought this Franklin 50c from a dealer who has been in the business for 40 plus years, he did not think it was a big deal. Are these really that much worse than reed marks, and what do you look for to identify these? PCGS certified as having an obverse wheel mark:

OwenSeymour

Having closely examined tens of thousands of Franklin's and submitted hundreds/thousands myself I've learned wheel marks are very tricky on Franklin's. The wheel mark is not the reed hit to the right of the bust. It's a patch of uniform hairlines somewhere on the coin, since they're so uniform they only "appear" at a very particular angle of light. The best way to identify a wheel mark is to really roll the coin in a close bright light source optimal for grading. Once you really get the coin rolling the wheel mark should quickly stand out to you. It's sort of hard to grasp how to look for them at first but once you get the hang of it, it becomes significantly easier. Hoped this helped.

Owen.

OwenSeymour

And to add, they're alot worse than reed marks. Wheel marks vary in severity from ugly to "wow what happened to that coin?!"

JBK

What causes them?

kaz

Coin counting machines, I believe.

ricko

If that Franklin were turned to receive light at an angle, the wheel marks would show up.... straight on pictures rarely show wheel marks. @JBK... they are caused by the rubber wheels in counting machines... Cheers, RickO

Insider2

@OwenSeymour said:
Having closely examined tens of thousands of Franklin's and submitted hundreds/thousands myself I've learned wheel marks are very tricky on Franklin's. The wheel mark is not the reed hit to the right of the bust. It's a patch of uniform hairlines somewhere on the coin, since they're so uniform they only "appear" at a very particular angle of light. The best way to identify a wheel mark is to really roll the coin in a close bright light source optimal for grading. Once you really get the coin rolling the wheel mark should quickly stand out to you. It's sort of hard to grasp how to look for them at first but once you get the hang of it, it becomes significantly easier. Hoped this helped.

Owen.

This member has nailed it. Some are even difficult to detect with magnification until the coin is just "right" in relation to the light. I'd say most are on the relief but they can be anywhere. Very often when viewed straight on there is a color change like a gray-white haze where the mark is. I'm going to show my ignorance and guess the wheel mark on the OP's coin is on the back of the head under the "LI." If the OP takes a photo showing the mark it will be visible wherever it is. He can do that by turning the coin in the light on the table so the hairlines are perpendicular to the light and then prop one end of the coin up so the surface is at an angle. It should be very educational to see the difference. ALWAYS ROTATE AND TIP THE COIN BACK AND FORTH AT THE SAME TIME or you will be in for some unfortunate surprises.

Washington quarters have the same problem. In my experience, dimes not so much. Dimes and quarters tend to have patches of hairlines on their heads. You'll see gem looking coins graded only MS-64 when that's the case.

We can tell these marks are mostly from a rubber counting wheel because in extreme cases, a deposit of black rubber remains on the coin at the boundary of the wheel mark. You can search junk silver to find one of these "dirty" coins.

While we have the OP's coin up, there is something else graders look for. Note the whitish smudge between the "BE." The surface next to the letters appears darker. This is called the "halo effect." It is useful for detecting cleaning, surface residues, and handling on coins.

JBK

Thx for the explanations. Sounds to me that wheel lines ate PMD vs reed hits which can be (?) acceptable as normal contact marks.