1931-D Lincoln Help Grade

the problem with your statement is that the components that a TPG uses in their grading assessment are: Strike, Luster, Surface Preservation and eye appeal. and this is why all grading is subjective. if grading was objective we would have an APP that would assess a coin and return a grade




the details in the hair is a tad weak, the collar around the neck area and where the bowtie is melded to the lapel. the left side of the motto is also a little weak. keep in mind that that this is very minor but I like to point out what led me to my grade. I graded it MS65+ with a shot at 66 and I think it would make 66 if it was a tad sharper. Also, we dont have the coin in hand to see the amount of luster remaining if any. as you aware lighting can affect assessments greatly. I like that your photos are not overly lit but it can tend to dull what the actual surfaces look like. I think there is more luster there than what the photos are showing.

KYCopperCoins: cant compare a trueview photo to an in hand photo. post in hand photos for a valid comparison

Thanks as always panzaldi. The coin itself is fairly free of marks just not very attractive. I will try Badthad's suggestion. He knows as you do what your talking about.. My problem is viewing Ha.com and the PCGS website for ms-67 coins in the year I want to submit.. Magnification is high on those pictures but so is mine. The only thing I can figure is the luster which can not be captured in a photo.. I think if I adhere to this philosophy of submitting very lustrous coins nearly mark free, I should be alright. Some things I see on a coin that I don't like turn out to be from the mint depending on the year and they don't affect the grade.. Anyway I will know by the first of June if I have improved. I will man up and share if they are not what I expected and go back to the drawing board. I will also accept my a** chewing since I didn't expect anything less. Next submissions I will post pictures before submitting and ask each member who has been helping me to grade. then keep a record and tally of results to see who came near correct. Maybe we all can learn a little from this experience. As always thanks . I will go home and check the areas you determined to be suspect.

this is great idea as I'm learning a lot from these assessments also as not too many folks are posting high end newer memorials. its not something you think of a lot so seeing how it was graded would be great to compare to what we thought and definitely help for future ones as I dont think you are going to stop anytime soon.

Interesting one. No opinion on grade or details. I see a soft central strike and mismatched die pairing. The obverse die looks EMDS/MDS with a much stronger peripheral strike than central strike (note the "LI" versus the "TY" of LIBERTY). The reverse die looks LMDS (note EPU). That seems to be most of the weakness that we are seeing.

MS detail, questionable color.