No date wheat cent, struck through, environmental damage, or what the heck? 1 1

[blinewalker]

Found this odd looking wheat cent awhile back and curious as to what caused it. 

[Coinbuf]

Acid

[blinewalker]

Thank you for the reply Coinbuf

[EMILY BALLEW]

I have one too. I've sent it to two different appraisers and one said chemical what is damaged. The other said looks like a cloth was placed before it was struck. Try looking up Ripple coin. I love my rippled wheat penny and damage or not its a keeper.

[Just Bob]

On 5/9/2022 at 10:23 PM, Coinbuf said:

Acid

I had that same experience on acid once.

[DWLange]

That effect is also caused by prolonged immersion in an ultrasonic cleaner.

[VKurtB]

On 5/10/2022 at 8:13 AM, Just Bob said:

I had that same experience on acid once.

You beat me to it. 

[RWB]

On 5/10/2022 at 3:39 AM, EMILY BALLEW said:

The other said looks like a cloth was placed before it was struck.

Ask this person when they saw this occur or where they got their information. "Looks like" is meaningless.

[EMILY BALLEW]

[EMILY BALLEW]

There was more in email but l think this is all you needed.

[EMILY BALLEW]

I'm not ready to go head to head with  a coin specialist. Even though I've had my collection for about 30 years l just now started my journey and intrigued by it all. Lol

[Oldhoopster]

Your coin doesn't have the appearance of a struck through cloth error.  Notice on the attached images that the weave of the cloth is still recognizable.  Your coin shows random waviness, which can be found on coins exposed to acidic solutions over a period of time. This type of random waviness can also appear on coins that were abraided with a wire brush.

In addition, your coin displays this effect on both sides.  That would mean that the planchet would have to be wrapped in cloth, or 2 pieces of cloth would have to get between the planchet and both dies in the limited space of the striking chamber, which would be incredibly unlikely

I strongly disagree with the assessment from Mr. Douglass-White.  If you really think you have something, you'll need to send it in for authentication

Note the fabric weave is still recognizable on these struck through cloth errors and compare them to your coin

Pics from Mint Error News

[Fenntucky Mike]

On 5/10/2022 at 3:45 PM, EMILY BALLEW said:

I'm not ready to go head to head with  a coin specialist. Even though I've had my collection for about 30 years l just now started my journey and intrigued by it all. Lol

Your coin shows no signs of being struck through cloth, if struck through cloth I would expect to see a grid like (weave) pattern somewhere on the struck through area caused by the threads. For it to happen on both sides is pretty much impossible unless intentionally done. You have a damaged coin, if you like it keep it. 

[EMILY BALLEW]

Like it is a understatement, now it has become my most favorite piece. It's ok if it's marked damaged l think it's beautiful and had no plans of selling it anyway. I do plan on appraising the ones l think are valuable but l have over 500 pieces and l have lots  to learn first.  Thanks guys for showing me the ropes, l forward to many more trail and errors.  Lol

[Oldhoopster]

On 5/10/2022 at 5:19 PM, EMILY BALLEW said:

Like it is a understatement, now it has become my most favorite piece. It's ok if it's marked damaged l think it's beautiful and had no plans of selling it anyway. I do plan on appraising the ones l think are valuable but l have over 500 pieces and l have lots  to learn first.  Thanks guys for showing me the ropes, l forward to many more trail and errors.  Lol

FWIW, if you have a lot of coins to evaluate, buy a current copy of A Guidebook of United States Coins (commonly called the redbook). The prices aren't the most accurate, but it should give you a good idea if a coin is common, or a better date.  It's a good $15 investment

[VKurtB]

Deleted

Edited May 10, 2022 by VKurtB

[VKurtB]

American Rare Coin & Collectibles is a legitimate firm but they brainf*rted this one. Every time I see correspondence like this I get even more pessimistic and cynical about dealers. And I’m already pretty far down that rabbit hole. I’ve been at this hobby for 59 years now and I’ve never seen the quality of dealer advice this low. 

[Coinbuf]

Welcome to the forum @EMILY BALLEW I'm sorry that you got that bad information on your coin, likely just that the dealer did not take enough time to properly assess your photos that you sent to him.   Unfortunate but mistakes do happen, the forum members above were able to show you the difference and between your (and the op's) coin and a true struck thru cloth.

[Conder101]

You can also get the results seen on the OP coin with a fine brass wire wheel.