Real Stinker Of An ICCS Grade. Anyone Else Ever Experienced This?

Maybe PCGS thought the colors were artificially done with chemicals and not natural aged toning. All the dark spots especially on reverse are probably environmental damage.

Maybe someone changed the coin's surface color after PCGS graded it, improved it's appearance, colored it to an all brown patina which could have improved the grade, it looks different in the ICCS photo. Or perhaps it's just the lighting. All the major grading companies sometimes get it wrong. I have a mislabled PCGS graded coin with the wrong year LOL

I don't know anything about ICCS so can't comment about them.

The PCGS TRUE VIEW photos are great for showing blemishes like the environmental damage on that large cent, but when you have the coin in (holder) in hand in might not be so apparent, which is I think what happens often when a PCGS or NGC coin with "details" gets cracked and submitted to other TPGs that don't have photo database. Unfortunately, it then becomes buyer beware when looking at the photos of a coin in a soft holder from ICCS or CCCS (Canadian TPGs). As previously mentioned, probably safe to stay away from a coin you can't return if you're not happy with it in hand. I will say though, IMO that that is still one hell of a coin...details or not, in that grade/condition. The store that coin is from in the ICCS holder (you can tell from the logo), is great. They accept returns if you aren't happy, and that's how all sellers should conduct business. I never hesitate to buy from them, even when the pictures might make me wonder...

There's a market reality to TPGs that exists whether we like it or not; they determine a marketable grade and until a coin is in a credible TPG holder, its marketability is diminished. In a perfect world, there would be no need for them but we live in this world where sadly, they're important to the marketability of the coin.

I believe ICCS may be (rapidly) diminishing as a credible grading entity, based on the grading standards the market now demands and some of their grading practices that have come to light.