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Posted 10/31/2011 01:23 am
I still don't think this is an over-graded coin and I made my judgment without looking down. My logic is that if it were an AU, there would be circulation marks in the fields and the color would be a little different; also if it were only MS-62 or 63 it would have more significant bagmarks in the fields/on liberty. The marks on this piece look reasonably light and are typical of 64 slabbed coins and I'm assuming they do not show up much in hand. It's not a MS-66 or 67 which should be virtually flawless, especially the latter. I had a slabbed 65 FH that had a minimal amount of chatter and it wasn't that far off from this; you couldn't see any of it without a magnifying glass except one small hit rotated under the light.
With the dramatic differences in strike/toning from coin to coin, I find that looking for the subtle color differences from the devices to the fields is a more reliable way to determine whether a coin is Uncirculated or AU-58 rather than looking at specific areas for detail/lack of detail. On a coin with mild wear, the luster will be slightly muted and its almost always distinguishable from a coin without this characteristic. Especially grading from photos. Note the following as a clear example (I believe it to be correctly graded, but everyone said unc):
https://goccf.com/t/101479
Same happened with an 1839 Half Dime I sold someone here; I graded it AU-58 with a mild wipe on the obverse; otherwise the coin was at least a solid 63 due to nice toning on the reverse and lack of chatter but the obverse was a bit lifeless....it got netted out at NGC as a MS-62. Everyone said it was a 62 or 63 when posted.
That being said, TPG grading is really hit or miss....they put a clearly AU bust half in an XF details holder without any hairlines or major dipping and then graded my Charlotte half eagle as XF-45 when it was about VF-30 with dulled out surfaces. I wasn't complaining because the C was worth a lot of money, but still....the CBH was not a cheap one either. If there are significant hairline scratches on the reverse in 'AMERICA' that show up easily along with a lot of 'obvious' chatter, the coin isn't a 64 though. I just don't get what looks so 'bad' about this...none of the bagmarks look like the heavy or distracting kind that irk you when you're looking at the coin face to face, which is usually the factor in limiting a coin below 64. I was under the impression that scattered small hits that don't show up much in hand are okay on a 64, but that once you get into more obvious hits/hairlines (particularly distracting ones), you drop the grade a lot. all just my opinion of course...sorry for the essay but I do like this one and wouldn't be unhappy with it.
With the dramatic differences in strike/toning from coin to coin, I find that looking for the subtle color differences from the devices to the fields is a more reliable way to determine whether a coin is Uncirculated or AU-58 rather than looking at specific areas for detail/lack of detail. On a coin with mild wear, the luster will be slightly muted and its almost always distinguishable from a coin without this characteristic. Especially grading from photos. Note the following as a clear example (I believe it to be correctly graded, but everyone said unc):
https://goccf.com/t/101479
Same happened with an 1839 Half Dime I sold someone here; I graded it AU-58 with a mild wipe on the obverse; otherwise the coin was at least a solid 63 due to nice toning on the reverse and lack of chatter but the obverse was a bit lifeless....it got netted out at NGC as a MS-62. Everyone said it was a 62 or 63 when posted.
That being said, TPG grading is really hit or miss....they put a clearly AU bust half in an XF details holder without any hairlines or major dipping and then graded my Charlotte half eagle as XF-45 when it was about VF-30 with dulled out surfaces. I wasn't complaining because the C was worth a lot of money, but still....the CBH was not a cheap one either. If there are significant hairline scratches on the reverse in 'AMERICA' that show up easily along with a lot of 'obvious' chatter, the coin isn't a 64 though. I just don't get what looks so 'bad' about this...none of the bagmarks look like the heavy or distracting kind that irk you when you're looking at the coin face to face, which is usually the factor in limiting a coin below 64. I was under the impression that scattered small hits that don't show up much in hand are okay on a 64, but that once you get into more obvious hits/hairlines (particularly distracting ones), you drop the grade a lot. all just my opinion of course...sorry for the essay but I do like this one and wouldn't be unhappy with it.
Edited by coinguybrian
10/31/2011 09:39 am
10/31/2011 09:39 am
