Paleo82 Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 I am unfamiliar with the grading of any type of coin. I've spent hours reading up on how it is done, the terms, etc., etc. Without having actual hands on or being exposed to the coin collecting world it's pretty hard for me to guess the value of pieces. That and im extremely subjective due to the way I obtain them; a shovel and beeping swingy thing. HA. In all seriousness though, I'm hoping some of you coin gurus might give your opinions on a particular piece. Thanks in advance. Stay digger filthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleo82 Posted November 21, 2019 Author Share Posted November 21, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKK Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 (edited) _ Edited November 22, 2019 by JKK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleo82 Posted November 21, 2019 Author Share Posted November 21, 2019 By cleaned, how do you mean? The only cleaning it had was under water with a toothbrush after I dug it up. Curious what leads you to think that? Appreciate your input regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawtomatic Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 11 minutes ago, Paleo82 said: with a toothbrush With coins any action across the metal, even a simple wipe with a soft cloth, a rub of the thumb, etc... will leave small marks and/or disrupt the surface "luster". This change of the condition leads to the designation "cleaned" and reduces the collectible value. How much it's reduced varies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKK Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 (edited) 8 hours ago, Paleo82 said: Edited November 22, 2019 by JKK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleo82 Posted November 21, 2019 Author Share Posted November 21, 2019 Alright, so you're entitled to your opinion and all, that's cool. I get you feel I did some knucklehead move like a chemical bath on a 177 year old coin and I can't help but fell like now you're hitting below the belt. I should maybe clarify. I'm in fact, no coin grader or appraiser, however, I am a seasoned relic and artifact Hunter. You don't suppose maybe, the lighting is a factor in it's "unnatural" shine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleo82 Posted November 21, 2019 Author Share Posted November 21, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleo82 Posted November 21, 2019 Author Share Posted November 21, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKK Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Paleo82 said: Alright, so you're entitled to your opinion and all, that's cool. I get you feel I did some knucklehead move like a chemical bath on a 177 year old coin and I can't help but fell like now you're hitting below the belt. I should maybe clarify. I'm in fact, no coin grader or appraiser, however, I am a seasoned relic and artifact Hunter. You don't suppose maybe, the lighting is a factor in it's "unnatural" shine? You misunderstand me about as completely as it is possible to misunderstand. You asked questions and I answered them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 I think I will stay out of this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawtomatic Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 I was returning to this discussion to say "nice find" since I don't think that was said earlier. The coin itself had a mintage of 815,000. That's about in line with average in the Liberty Seated half dime series. So it wouldn't be considered a rarity, thus condition matters greatly. As with most coins dug out of the ground, the numismatic value is greatly impaired due to the common "environmental damage" and subsequent "cleaning" that detectorists do after plucking it from the earth. The vigorous thumb rub of the dirt, a bath in salt and/or vinegar, a toothbrush, what have you. I think the best course of action when retrieving a coin from the ground would be a nice long soak (even a boil) to dislodge as much of the matrix as possible. Just enough to determine if it's a rare coin or not before going further. Is that a KKK token front and center of that display of your findings? Not that I wanted that phrase in my search history but the image is blurry and I couldn't find anything similar on the web. And are those all buttons on the right side or are there tokens/coins/medals mixed in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conder101 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 If you mean just to the right of the mercury dimes, it looks like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleo82 Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleo82 Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 Appreciate it Craw. Yes it say "KKK" and has "STAR ENG CO." the back. I never was able to find anything out about it. Detected it in downtown Houston years ago. And yes, those are all buttons. Infantry, a few Texas, Mass., And other various two piece and one pieces. It's a very broad timespan represented in that frame. These days I focus on this love...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKurtB Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) 15 hours ago, JKK said: I'm in fact, no coin grader or appraiser, however, I am a seasoned relic and artifact Hunter. And that is important because the very things a seasoned relic hunter might see as obvious things to do, to a coin person, they are horrible mistakes. Abrasively (such as with a toothbrush) cleaning ANY coin is a no-no. The long and short of it is, any coin that looks cleaned cannot even be properly graded. The added nicks on it make that even more the case. A shame really, that coin had not been abused prior to going "in the ground". Edited November 22, 2019 by VKurtB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
