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 Replies: 21 / Views: 3,372 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
Ancients ate extremely difficult to grade, to the point that only a few grading companies even try to use a numerical scale. And that's for Roman and Greek coins; other types like Indian punchmarked coins are even tougher because of their primitive minting, and the fact that we have so few uncirculated issues to compare it to.
Non-metal coins are also extremely tough, as they wear differently. Thinking of the plastic Transnistria coins, I'm not sure I have ever seen one graded.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I wonder if asking the different grading services that same question would get any replies at all. And if they did, what would it be.
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
Wow that's a tough question . I would say the chocolate coins would be the hardest to grade . Just don't attempt it in hot weather .  |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Gold BLP $2 1/2 and $5's are difficult for me.
Nevertheless, I just love this interesting and different approach to coin design.
Some foreign coins made out of hard metals, such Italian coins made from stainless steel, can be difficult to grade.
Some modern coins with letters or characters only, can be difficult to grade accurately, because the wear on very many high points of the characters is shared evenly, and the fields are thus better protected against wear.
For an entirely different set of reasons, some ancient coins can be difficult to grade, because there are so many different factors of varying importance from coin to coin (not relevant to modern coins), that make a single grading statement very difficult.
In these sorts of cases, a loose general grade can be offered, but complete with many comments that relate to different aspects of an individual coin's condition. Grading in these cases cannot be absolute, and grading opinions on some particular ancient coins can vary, and all of those opinions can still be legitimate.
You will not see many threads asking for grading opinions for ancient coins here in the CCF, but auctioneers still quite rightly have to grade them, and make a reasonably good job of it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3475 Posts |
I get close to consensus on most US coins submitted here for grading except Peace dollars. That series just gives me fits! |
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5177 Posts |
The tricky-to-grade coins are usually the ones with a flat and/or incuse design. The Swedish incuse copper series from the 1960s comes to mind as a type that has both. [EDIT: the "flat" includes the lettering-only designs common in Eastern Europe, regardless of their actual flatness. I also agree about hard-metal coins, though it's not so much that they're tricky to grade as that they just don't really get any significant wear.] The only US coins with incuse designs that I know of were the Indian half and quarter eagle. The flattest is probably the Wyoming quarter. I agree about the near-impossibility of meaningfully grading ancient (and medieval) coins, however. Edited by january1may
07/03/2018 09:32 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8715 Posts |
The Indian Head Quarter Eagle and Half Eagles can be difficult to grade due to the incuse design. Peace dollars are also known to be difficult to grade due to strike issues. Buffalo nickels can also be difficult to grade. As stated above, grading ancient coins to the exact number grade is basically impossible. |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
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Thinking of the plastic Transnistria coins, I'm not sure I have ever seen one graded. I've seen NGC ones, I'm not sure if PCGS would do them or not though |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3479 Posts |
I think it was already pointed out but capped bust halves are by far the most challenging. So many strike issues spread throughout the years that it's almost impossible to be accurate without a book of graded examples by date and variety.
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
The hardest for me (US-centric) are Buffalo nickels, Washington quarters and Franklin halves. The latter two have too little small detail to easily grade circulated and AU/BU, and the former has way too much detail in the low places (obfuscating marks) and too little in the high places.  All issues have "smoking gun" telltales, even the tough ones. It's on us to drill down and learn the details. |
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
It seems the OP is asking more in reference to that which most numismatists would consider the area of "Exonumia" than an NIFC US(or other country's) current minted offerings. So to compare an actual recognized non-governmentally issued coin say put out by a private firm as Franklin Mint to a colorized RCM issue is an apples to oranges comparison really. Private mintages may be TPGed, but are not in the league of a Government issued series even with lower mintages listed. These are niche collector market items, called Exonumia and may be treated quite differently when graded. Much like Baseball cards may receive a choice grade, in reference to rarity and quality which in that limited marketplace, fluctuates it's worth as any collectable would. Altho, I do think those Guitar shaped Liberian coins are really cool! Personally, I don't consider colorized, plated or altered coins whether privately minted or gubmint issue as true collectable series coins when comparing to those series of coins mentioned within this thread. But, one man's meat is another man's poison...have at it my friend!  Edited by Crazyb0
07/03/2018 1:34 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:It seems the OP is asking more in reference to that which most numismatists would consider the area of "Exonumia" than an NIFC US(or other country's) current minted offerings. So to compare an actual recognized non-governmentally issued coin say put out by a private firm as Franklin Mint to a colorized RCM issue is an apples to oranges comparison really. Private mintages may be TPGed, but are not in the league of a Government issued series even with lower mintages listed. These are niche collector market items, called Exonumia and may be treated quite differently when graded. The one in question that he posted a picture of the is the Card Players one, its a Niue Island issue done by the mint of Poland. |
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Valued Member
 United States
58 Posts |
I really appreciate all of the responses. I'm trying to learn as much as I can as I new to the hobby and late in the game.
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Valued Member
United States
58 Posts |
I also just learned the Mint of Poland is actually a private company and not a government mint, but is the only one actually traded on the public stock exchange there. Interesting, althought the coin I posted I think is actually legal tender but I may be mistaken
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
7962 Posts |
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I really appreciate all of the responses. I'm trying to learn as much as I can as I new to the hobby and late in the game Collect what you like, and enjoy it! That's the main thing. It's natural to want to make sure that when you buy, you are paying a fair price. So, do your research before buying. There are many sources of information on recent selling prices of both coins and exonumia on the web |
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Posted 07/03/2018 08:48 am
