1931-S Lincoln

[L1ncolnF4n]

I have the sneaking suspicion that this may have been cleaned in the past, but I know I haven't touched it nor did the dealer I bought it from almost 10 years ago (back in the naive days).

 

In the light, this coin has psychedelic toning, and nice eye appeal, leading me to hope for a lofty * if I sent it to NGC.

 

[Coindude]

I'm with you, I think this coin suffers from an old cleaning.

 

Oh and welcome to the boards.

[BillJones]

Sadly the coin was cleaned some years ago. It has a very unnatural appearance. For that reason I would not send it in for grading. It will only get a body bag on spot in a genuine holder.

 

It's too bad because the coin appeared to have been Mint State or very close to it.

[Schatzy]

The coin would get Body Bagged.

 

and there is no way that coin would get the *

[L1ncolnF4n]

It is sad. The coin itself is clearly mint state, and the toning is actually amazing in hand, but I figured that was the result of a prior cleaning. Anyone think I could pull MS details from ANACS?

[Schatzy]

It is sad. The coin itself is clearly mint state, and the toning is actually amazing in hand, but I figured that was the result of a prior cleaning. Anyone think I could pull MS details from ANACS?

Maybe

 

But does it really need to be in a holder, if it were me I would just self-slab it!!

[L1ncolnF4n]

I've got it in a 2x2, I would never leave a key date loose, even cleaned. Would NNC or SGS be a good idea (total 100% sarcasm).

[James_OldeTowne]

I'm guessing high AU details, but cleaned to appear BU.

[prudden]

I've got it in a 2x2, I would never leave a key date loose, even cleaned. Would NNC or SGS be a good idea (total 100% sarcasm).

 

Nah. NCS will slab it for you in a details holder.ANACS or ICG would be better choices than NNC or SGS.

[Coinfiender-migration]

AU-58 Details, improper cleaning is my best guess. Still an attractive coin. Since it's already been cleaned, I'd look into recoloring to even out the color, that's only my opinion. I'd NEVER recolor an original coin,

[L1ncolnF4n]

I've never tried or played around with recoloring. I wouldn't even know what to do with it. Would NCS be the best bet?

[BillJones]

I don't think that NCS does recoloring work. That falls into the area of coin doctoring.

 

As for recoloring this piece, I'm not sure how much that will really help. The trouble is the coin looks polished, and that gets into a surface issue. If I were going to go the recolor route, I'd put it into an envelope made of normal paper with sulfur in it. I'd forget that I owned the piece for a year or so, and see how it looked then. It might improve it, and the piece might look more natural. But then again it might just intensify the look it has now.

 

The fundamental issue is the surface of the coin, and only putting it in your pocket and wearing it down a grade or two can change that. The positive thing about that approach is that the prices don't go down very much as the 1831-S cent go down in grade.