HYPOTHETICAL. Coin Restoration, 1861 D Gold Dollar......
ambro51
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Last year David Lawrence Rare Coins had an 1861 D gold dollar up for auction, then open sale, then auction again....and it finally sold, for I seem to recall $1800. It was XF details, NCS, with mount removed...and unfortunatly also the Date. gonezo. I was not the buyer...having been forceably restrained.....still not sure on THAT decision...but none the less, I dont have this coin,
The year , 1861 was never in question since the only type 3 D mint coin with the very large D mintmark was the 1861.
So, obviously, a hugely rare coin with sort of like a pretty girl missing her nose. Ugh.
So....imagine this, much like someone with an old car, we restore it. we get an 1861 philly mint gold dollar, and essentially cut and sculpt the date off the coin. Make a 'plug" so to say. Then, on the 1861 D, with the ugly already ground out area where the mount and date have been removed....we sculpt this to exactly receive the Date portion of the donor coin. And then, using the absolute skill of a fine restorer of minature things....the two are joined in a seamless manner.
So....we have someone "Kosher" do this work, like Mr. Stockton in Kentucky...or someone else known within the numismatic world...and it is done with skill and finess and the coin is essentially 'restored'.
Dixie got her nose back.....
What you say? If the work was done on the up and up, and the results were collector acceptable...would you lose any sleep over it?
The year , 1861 was never in question since the only type 3 D mint coin with the very large D mintmark was the 1861.
So, obviously, a hugely rare coin with sort of like a pretty girl missing her nose. Ugh.
So....imagine this, much like someone with an old car, we restore it. we get an 1861 philly mint gold dollar, and essentially cut and sculpt the date off the coin. Make a 'plug" so to say. Then, on the 1861 D, with the ugly already ground out area where the mount and date have been removed....we sculpt this to exactly receive the Date portion of the donor coin. And then, using the absolute skill of a fine restorer of minature things....the two are joined in a seamless manner.
So....we have someone "Kosher" do this work, like Mr. Stockton in Kentucky...or someone else known within the numismatic world...and it is done with skill and finess and the coin is essentially 'restored'.
Dixie got her nose back.....
What you say? If the work was done on the up and up, and the results were collector acceptable...would you lose any sleep over it?
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Edited to add: The confessional is located in the Church, not on this forum!
Edited to add... edited to add: Why does everyone correct their spelling, it renders my jokes moot!
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
DLRC may still have images of it archived, I think also it sold for about 800 on Heritage once....NoT a pretty coin, had been polished in addition to this mount removal.
But it does seem to me that a craftsman could "plug" half the coins thickness with the DATE, smooth the fields...and
dixie get her nose back.
but all this is hypothetical but Im sure some day this piece will resurface again......
<< <i>but Im sure some day this piece will resurface again...... >>
As it's been un-dated for so long it sounds more like a coin you'd have a short term fling with instead of a long term relationship!
I followed this piece through the DLRC sales as well, although I cannot find it in their archives at the moment. Below are images from Heritage, where it sold for $1840 in Feb 2009.
The NGC (NCS) holder is "XF Details, Mount Removed, Improperly Cleaned".
Generally speaking, I am against restorative work. I believe that holes should be left unplugged, scratches left unfilled, and dings left as-is. The exception, however, is when an exceptionally rare item has been severely damaged outside the course of its normal intended use, and thus left in an impaired state. Even then, I believe that restoration should be done only under the very rarest of circumstances, such as when it seems possible to restore the integrity of the piece by confining the restoration to a (relatively) small portion of the item. This coin seems to fit the bill on all counts.
I'd love to see what Stockton could do with this coin. Somehow having an '1861' date plug removed from a Philly dollar and carefully set into the damaged area (perhaps with a very light seam visible around the date so that the coin could not be passed off as unrestored to a future unsuspecting buyer), seems to be appropriate for this coin.
some kind of "signature" in order to keep it from being deceptive.
If they were to restore the date, it would have to look funky to be legitimate. I’d prefer the coin without the restored date and the large mint mark diagnostic rather than a funky date. BUT like I said, most repair guys don’t like to mess with the date.