1812 Capped Bust Half Dollar Grading Opinions Wanted For New Member Please

Where did you get this info? Sounds more like Proof coin criteria to me.

I use surface preservation as 50% of the grade. Then eye appeal, luster & strike as the other 50%.

It's very rare for a TPG to miss a grade as badly as you describe. A 62 grade here is indicative of a market graded slider with light rubs (not wear) and poor luster. You could send it to NGC again or CAC to see if they Gold sticker it.

This is a 5 figure coin in 65. The last PCGS 64 sold for ~$6,000 last year. http://coins.ha.com/itm/bust-half-d...Lot=1x=0&y=0

I believe your coin could grade 63 on a given day. It does not look like a 65 in your images.

@BH1964 The information you asked about is from the American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States coins 7th Edition. It is on page 25 under the heading "Official ANA Grading Terminology: Mint State Coins" They give detail over each of the four areas and then list each grade from MS-70 to MS-60 including a general description and then commentary on each of the four areas (contact marks, hairlines, luster, eye appeal). Now I am unsure of how closely NGC and PCGS follows those standards or whether they use other criteria as well and how that criteria is weighed in determining the final grade.

@Coinman1838o

I'll pull out my copy of the ANA Standards tomorrow and take a look. I did look your coin up on NGC's cert page and it shows very dark there, almost black on the obverse. Are you showing an accurate representation of the coin with normal lighting? Dark coins generally get lower grades since it hurts both luster and eye appeal in many cases.

P.S. My grading breakdown is from PCGS' Grading Stds.

There is no exact forumla in grading coins and the graders do not use a strict weighed percentage to evaluate each criteria. Two highly qualified graders can grade the same coin different, and it happens every day in the grading room. The typical coin will get about 30 seconds or less of grading time from a grader. Multiple graders will view the coin, and a final grader will look at the coin and grades and award the end grade. On MS 65 coins luster plays a significant part in the grade. If your coin does not display luster that is typical for a MS 65, your coin wifi not grade MS 65 regardless of its other features. It your coin had strong luster, it could very well grade MS 65.

Due to the subjective nature of grading if your coin was resubmitted to NGC, it could grade 63 or go down to AU 58 if the coin was thought to have circulation rub.

The Heritage Auction reveals a price that is low for a MS62. That is worth considering and, since it is a recent result, you can infer what the market feelings were for this coin.
http://coins.ha.com/itm/bust-half-d...Lot=1x=0&y=0 br /

At choice to gem MS levels luster and eye appeal are very important and the darkness of this coin hurts it in both of those areas. I'd say technically it's a MS63 and certainly looks original while the market grade of MS62 is fair also.

You are on the right track by studying the ANA standards. Also look to other grading sources because the standards do vary by source and over time as well.

Thank you all for your input and advice and will be sure to keep it in mind! I can definitely see where luster and color affect a grade in the MS range just by looking at the coins for sale on ebay and the HA auction prices realized page. I guess to my eye the surface quality and quality of strike do more for me in regards to overall eye appeal and willingness to purchase the coin than the luster and color (especially if the color is original although darker). I will definitely factor in brightness of color and strength of luster when grading a coin but when considering purchasing a coin I weigh the cleanness of the surfaces and the strength of the strike more so than the color and luster (plus I like the silver grey toning since to my eye it gives it character and warmth and the coin looks 204 years old unlike some of my 130+ year old Morgans that are fully lustrous, blast white and look like they were minted yesterday!) even if the market grade is less than the more lustrous coin with less eye appeal. A perfect example (if you have the time and inclination to look) is that I prefer my coin to the 1812 half dollar in MS64 currently on ebay (it's the only MS64 1812 half dollar on ebay so it's easy to find) and although it is in a PCGS MS64 holder I would absolutely not buy it (and price is not an issue) even though it is more lustrous and has lighter color because the strike is much weaker and the quality of the surfaces really leaves something to be desired IMO. Again thank you everybody for your input! Now I think I will go look at some of my Morgans in the original OGH's (or rattlers if you will) since I have luster on the mind (and some of those will nearly blind you!)

Other than luster, the subject coin is far more appealing to me than the MS-64 BH1954 referenced. I really think this one is under graded at MS-62.

Julian plays his game on a lot of detail coins and coins that he feels that are undergraded. His business practices are controversial. Some feel the his tactics are unethical and others are fine because he is open at what he is doing. I have bought a couple correctly graded coins from him, but I will not not do business with him any longer because of the games he plays.

He also like to buy nice coins with eye appeal that have been cracked out and went down in grade. He then markets the coin at the higher grade before the coin was cracked out.