(n.)
Slang.
Also known as a “California Special”, a California Proof is a doctored Morgan silver dollar that has had its field polished and its devices treated with acid so as to impart a frosted cameo appearance. The term originated in the 1970s when this phenomenon was first noticed.
Cataloger John Murbach once noted that marks on true Deep Mirror Prooflike (DMPL) or Prooflike (PL) examples would appear brilliant (as the frost would have been removed by contact).
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