With cool and calm Rusty on the phone doing the bidding at the January 14, Stack's "Americana" auction, I was thrilled and very fortunate to acquire the 1874-CC AU 55 PCGS dime which had recently returned to the US from Europe. The coin is original in every way and is amazingly free of abrasions. I plan to share more about the coin with my C4OA members in the next issue of Curry's Chronicle.
But for now, I would like to tap the very considerable experience found amongst the club members. The subject 1874-CC dime displays the rough or porous surfaces, a relatively common characteristic of Carson City dimes. The most common theory for the cause of the pourous surface is die rust or decay due to conditions inside the mint building at the time.
Does anyone have any other ideas as to what could have caused this on some Carson City coins and not on others? Conversely, does anyone have definitive information that would verify the die rust or decay theory? Any and all opinions or information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks...Belay Off
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6 comments:
I have the 1877-CC dime in NGC MS-61 and it also displays the same rough surface you describe. I need to figure out how to get a decent picture of it.
Garry, I too own a mint state 1877CC dime with the same well known characteristic roughness. Does your '77 dime have a wide range of interesting clash marks as well?
Every mint state and AU Carson City dime I own shows evidence of this roughness. I hope to learn more about this and then share the topic with the members in the next Curry's Chronicle.
I would love to see both sides of your 1877 CC dime! Why don't you post the pics on the C4OA photo gallery of CC coins? I'll help if you do not know how.
I've posted my 1877CC MS66 Dime on the blog site.
Regards...Belay Off
Now this is one magnificent CC dime! What a superlative addition to your collection. Congrats Belay Off!
Thanks Belay. You undoubtedly have one of the best examples. I have not looked at mine closely enough to see any clash marks. I have to retrieve it and do that. I could use some help posting pics, I have a digital camera, of course, to get a shot of the whole coin but nothing adequate enough ot zoom in and get clash marks. I will retrieve the coin this week. Thanks!
I have an 1876CC dime that is PCGS 65 that has no porosity at all but does have very interesting clash marks and doubling. I wrote about this coin in the Spring 2006 issue in an article about my Ten-piece Type Set. I'll ask Rusty about high resolution photos. Otherwise we might just pass it around with 10X glass at the next Show and Tell session that have been so enjoyable for those fortunate enough to have participated.
Thanks for your comments friends.
Off Belay
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