How to tell if a Coin is Whizzed or Dipped?

[Dana]

Hello everyone.

The responses here are always so great, that I wanted to post another topic.

One thing that all collectors of early coppers have to fear when considering uncirculated and unslabbed Red coppers, is that the coin may have been whizzed.

From what I understand about whizzing, the coin is polished to simulate mint bloom (luster). And often the coin may have a "fake" look to it. There may even be some hairlines.

Also, I've seen some pretty poor dipping jobs as well. The biggest give away may be a residue that is left behind, in the recesses of the coin or right up against the devices.

Do others have experience with whizzing and/or dipping, or have you been the victim of a cleaned coin?

Maybe we can further educate one another. That would be great. But if we can keep someone from being a victim of a cleaned coin, that would be even better.

[smed]

A whizzed coin will show ridges of metal on the raised devices of the coin. The action of the whizzing moves metal around, and it's deposited on the devices.

An overdipped coin will have a "washed-out" look to it.

The best rule of thumb I can give is: if something doesn't look right, then something probably isn't right. Determining what isn't right takes time and experience.

Also, if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is - look closer at the coin. The seller probably knows what's wrong but isn't telling.

[Robert]

Very good thread topic!

The mint luster/reflection on a truly MS coin has a certain appearance. And that look can't be (easily) reproduced.

In a nutshell, the only way to get a feel for what uncirculated coins should look like is to carefully look at a bunch of them. Buy a roll of bank-wrapped common date cents from various eras (1983-date; 1962 or so to 1981; 1944-45, etc) and examine their surfaces under various lighting (incandescent, fluorescent, bright, dim, natural sunlight) and at various angles and in various places (such as the field, Lincoln's jaw, the steps on the Memorial, the wheat ears).

There is no substitute for spending time developing an eye. And once you get the hang of it, those skills can be applied to other coins too.

[coop]

Whizzed coins tend to lose detail on the higher spots of the coin. The bust may be flattened lossing detail in the beard and Abe may even loose an ear if whizzed too much. On cleaned coins one thing to look for is hair line scratches that can be seen under a scope or strong loupe. Again a loss of detail is evident as the new surface that you see is one that created by removing the top layer of the coin. This always reduces the grade of the coin and is now a lower grade than it was before the cleaning occured. Wish I had some images to show you. I guess I'll have to work on that. Sorry Dana.

[smed]

It takes a bit of experience to tell hairlines from die polish lines. They can look almost the same. Hairlines are incuse and die polish lines are raised.

[Mark]

This is a good thread. My only contribution is to mention that when I was first collecting in the 1960s, whizzed coins were all the rage...insofar as less than honest dealers would gladly sell you a whizzed coin. I know because I bought a few. ): But this fact is a major reason I much prefer today's collecting environment because the advent of encapsulation means that as long as I stick to major encapsulators, the odds of buying a whizzed coin are virtually zero.

Mark

[joecoin]