Bluegirl1013 Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 Hi all. I've been collecting coins for awhile now but ive never really found one I truly thought was an error coin. We just bought some half dollar rolls to see what we found and this was in there. I'm not even sure how to describe it but it looks like it has chips missing on all four sides of the obverse. Plus the date is almost running off the bottom of the coin. The reverse just looks crazy. Like the coin is separating. Finally, its extra shiny. Different than the other 1974s we found. Just curious if anyone can offer opinions on what this is. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Sandon Posted October 14, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted October 14, 2023 Welcome to the NGC chat board. On 10/13/2023 at 9:31 PM, Bluegirl1013 said: its extra shiny. This seeming detail is an important clue. The coin has likely been coated (after leaving the mint) with a shiny substance such as glue, lacquer, or clear fingernail polish. You might want to try soaking it in acetone or an acetone-based fingernail polish remover. I suspect that the shiny, clear material and the lumpy areas along the edges that superficially resemble die breaks or "cuds" will come off, revealing an ordinary 1974 Kennedy half dollar. Fenntucky Mike, Coinbuf and Hoghead515 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinbuf Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 This^ Hoghead515 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powermad5000 Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 It almost appears plated to me and not properly plated and the four parts on the obverse were "fingers" to hold the coin while it was plated with whatever it was plated with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegirl1013 Posted October 14, 2023 Author Share Posted October 14, 2023 Thanks for the advice. Headed home to try the acetone now. I never considered it was coated or plated or anything like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l.cutler Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 (edited) I believe it was plated or polished and in some kind of jewelry mount. Those four spots are where the prongs that held the coin were. Edited October 14, 2023 by l.cutler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J P M Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 I agree it was mounted in a bezel and then coated with a sealer of some kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Meenderink Posted October 14, 2023 Share Posted October 14, 2023 Shellac has been applied to this coin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegirl1013 Posted October 15, 2023 Author Share Posted October 15, 2023 Well to update, I soaked it in acetone for an hour and then overnight. It didnt change anything about it. On a side note, it really is awesome that there is a resource like this to help the unexperienced figure out the difference between damage and errors R__Rash 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R__Rash Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 (edited) On 10/14/2023 at 9:50 PM, Bluegirl1013 said: Well to update, I soaked it in acetone for an hour and then overnight. It didnt change anything about it. On a side note, it really is awesome that there is a resource like this to help the unexperienced figure out the difference between damage and errors I am sure those that gave response to you appreciate your kind words. They do an excellent job here trying to help everyone see that there is a great difference between damaged and error coins, especially when the majority of the folk here are into grading coins not error hunting. I might suggest that if you would like to experience an error coin hunting only website, visit Conecaonline.org then touch forum. You will see more PMD and MD coins than imaginable with an occasional true error find. GL Edited October 15, 2023 by R__Rash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKurtB Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 On 10/14/2023 at 10:50 PM, Bluegirl1013 said: help the unexperienced figure out the difference between damage and errors It's pretty much ALL damage and EXTREMELY few are errors. cobymordet and Hoghead515 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobymordet Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 On 10/15/2023 at 7:11 PM, VKurtB said: It's pretty much ALL damage and EXTREMELY few are errors. My new motto!! That statement can apply to a wide variety of aspects in life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleRJO Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 (edited) On 10/15/2023 at 1:21 AM, R__Rash said: I might suggest that if you would like to experience an error coin hunting only website, visit Conecaonline.org then touch forum. You will see more PMD and MD coins than imaginable with an occasional true error find. If the op is truly interested in error coins I think it would be better to visit a site like Error-Ref.com, which has voluminous descriptions and examples of true error coins as well as good info on identifying non-error coins, than to spend more time looking at worn and damaged coins that people think might be errors. I get my fill of seeing damaged coins where people are curious if they may be errors just reading through the posts on this forum. And I think assuming what is observed on a coin is wear and damage unless shown to be something else is a good approach to take. On 10/14/2023 at 11:50 PM, Bluegirl1013 said: Well to update, I soaked it in acetone for an hour and then overnight. It didnt change anything about it. That's not surprising as if it appears to have a very hard clear coating of something over the coin it may be lacquer. This was an (imo inappropriate) old school method sometimes used by collectors in an attempt to protect coins by reducing exposure to the elements, prior to encapsulation becoming popular. I recall some posts about this coating from quite a while ago, and how just an acetone bath didn't remove it. The TPG's are not very open on how they attempt to remove these coatings when a coin is conserved, but I imagine it would likely be some kind of paint thinner or stripper to initially loosen the hard coating followed by a long acetone soak. But these are extremely flammable and therefore very dangerous to play around with, and not really worthwhile even considering for such a common coin. https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/5789/NCS-coin-conservation-lacquer/ Edited October 16, 2023 by EagleRJO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
