Pit Your Skills Against PCGS! Grades Posted!

As for me, I am submitting two which have previously appeared in the forum.

1910 Lincoln Cent:





1892 Barber dime:

Doh. We're even.

Bumped to the top, because the grades are in. Any last guesses before the reveal?

Nice bunch of coins--

I have a hard time ever getting PCGS to agree with my perfect grading!

That's why I always grade on how I would label them in the Collection In My Mind:

--1886 Morgan 62PL;
--1830 Bust Half I would call VF35, but judging from the pics I might have to call it cleaned/retoned and send it to ANACS if I really wanted it slabbed;
--1864 2 cents AU55;
--1865 2 cents I might go to MS60 but I'd need to be clear on what was happening center shield (toning/corrision?);
--I think ANACS would call the Franklin MS64, PCGS is anybody's guess, I'd just call it BU;
--The Buffalo nickel would be a 62;
--I would give the 1837 half a 55 but would expect a grade from 45 to possibly 53 if the weaknesses are considered strike and not wear-related;
--the 1899-S half would be 40-45 in my book as it looks weakly struck;
--I would call the 1914 a VG-9 and be disappointed if it did not come back at least VG-10;
--the 1910 cent looks 64R in the pic, but there's so much stinginess in the world, isn't there?;
--I can't bring myself to go as high as 63 on the Barber dime, I'd probably just call it uncirculated--

I wouldn't kick a single one of those coins out of my collection for eating cheese and crackers!

OK, here we go, in order of denomination:

1910 Lincoln Cent: MS65RB (my guess MS66RB)
1864 2 Cents: MS63BN (cracked from an older NGC AU slab!)
1865 2 Cents: MS62BN (also cracked from an NGC AU slab!)
1937 5 Cents: AU58 (same as my guess)
1893 Barber dime: AU58 (They're blind, but I didn't get the worst of it)
1830 Bust Half: VF30 (my guess VF35)
1837 Bust Half: Cleaned Not in a million years. I held this coin under my loupe. It's not cleaned.
1899-S Barber Half: Cleaned Maybe, but just maybe. Color a little funny for original toning.
1914 Barber Half: VG-10
1963 Franklin half: MS64 (about right)
1886 Morgan: MS63PL (PCGS is notoriously tight about Prooflike designation; I was honestly nervous)

For the record, fellow participants, they've been shipped.

I believe Jaobler got the shaft on this submission. There's no way that 1837 was cleaned, although the 1899-S is a possibility. The two 2 Cents from Nohope87 were an experiment on Richard's part, to see how grading has loosened in the last few years. For him, it has.

For me, it hasn't. My two are coming straight out of the slabs and into my 7070, anyways.

It's a disappointment to only get 1 out of 3 slabbed, but perhaps not totally unexpected. I thought the 1837 half might be body-bagged because it has some light hairlines on the obverse. I hoped these might pass as slide marks or "cabinet friction" rather than scratches from abrasive cleaning, but PCGS thought differently. The 1899-S half is more of a surprise to me. I still have trouble detecting the more subtle signs of cleaning.
Hey, I can justify the whole exercise with the 1914 half. The market value difference between a raw VG and a PCGS VG-10 should cover my share of the grading cost.
How about a big round of applause for SuperDave for putting the whole project together? It was a great learning experience and a terrific group activity. I'll be ready to do it again (if he's willing), just as soon as I get some more slab-worthy coins!

Well, I gave a shot at the first 4 coins pictured. Probably due to luck I was right on the Morgan. I got the 1930 Bust half right also, no luck involved there, I have been looking at a lot of these lately. I was pretty far off on the 2 cents, but the comment by nohope about market grading makes me feel somewhat better about those. I hope to have something worth sending in next time.

I have some work to do but I will take it I graded quick and with out a reference book , I look at my answers for the first bust half and the buffalo and wonder, What was I thinking But I did alright on the Morgan and the 2 cent Pieces,and the Franklin and wish I had seen the other entries