Prove the upper-six-star name from complete Sun Xiaotou faces
Photograph the portrait and reverse with their full circumferences before enlarging a star or English letter. The market name remains tentative until every required star position can be located.
Portrait-side fields: Sun Yat-sen portrait, commemorative English circumscription, star positions, border and visible surface.
Reverse fields: grain wreath, denomination, surrounding wording, denticles or beaded border and other locatable markers.
Read the Circumscription in Orientation
Fix the portrait face's orientation and photograph every upper star with enough English lettering and border to prove its position.
Use the complete portrait face to establish a starting point, then transcribe the English legend in order. Mark worn, cropped or glare-covered letters instead of completing them from another coin.
Photograph all star positions with enough surrounding legend and border to show where they sit. A detached star close-up cannot justify upper-six-star classification.
Use the Circumference as Supporting Evidence
Keep the complete edge, weight, diameter and tool display with the portrait and grain-wreath faces rather than with a generic commemorative-dollar group.
Capture overlapping edge segments around the full coin from a fixed start. Retain joins, rim work, piercings, solder and former-mount traces without alteration.
Treat Holder Wording as Context
Transcribe the holder wording and stated grade exactly, noting every star, letter, rim section or reverse feature hidden by the enclosure.
Transcribe the holder wording and grade, then verify the visible portrait, English circumscription, stars, wreath, denomination and surface independently.
If the enclosure hides the rim or star positions, describe the restriction. Opening should be a separate, agreed decision rather than an automatic step.
Protect the Surface While Reading Details
Use neutral light for overall design and colour, then raking light for relief and hairlines, without cleaning around letters or stars.
Distinguish patina, circulation wear, weak strike, wiping hairlines and altered colour. Do not clean around letters or stars to make them look sharper.
What the Upper-Six-Star Claim Still Needs
Reject any star, legend or wreath close-up that cannot be relocated on the two complete faces under the same identifier.
Trace the portrait-side English legend and star positions against the uncropped face, then check the reverse wreath, denomination and border under the same coin number.
Reconstruct the full edge, reconnect original measurements, and ensure every close-up returns to the intended face. List all unresolved letters or hidden sections.
Where the label and visible stars disagree, retain both accounts and withhold the finer name. Direct examination should target the specific position in question.
Before handover, preserve the existing enclosure, unedited photographs and dated research notes. Leave the Sun Xiaotou unpolished.
