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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,130 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1283 Posts |
Does anyone else have a hard time telling the difference? Even under x5 magification I sometimes cannot see the wear that others apparently can find.
Case in point my recent PCGS AU58 large cent. As hard as I study the coin to me it looks flawless.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
675 Posts |
A nice AU-58 with few marks will often look like an MS-64 IMO. I have seen several AU-58's (PCGS/NGC) where I couldn't find any evidence of wear.
I am working on a type-set now, (among other things), and am planning to buy AU-58's for some of the coins. It will save quite a bit of money without the quality suffering too much.
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Member
United States
703 Posts |
I have an PCGS (Green Holder) AU-58 Pan-Pac Half dollar that is awesome. The price was awesome. Another service or PCGS might even regrade this as an MS IMO.
errror
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1247 Posts |
In many cases it can only be detected by a slight difference in color on wear points. This is not as easy as it sounds, especially when you buy coins at shows hosted in malls, with overhead lights blasting down on everything.
I bought a number of Un Sol Crowns from Peru about 10 years ago. I always took the ones that looked Unc at the show and were proclaimed as such on the holders into my bathroom in the afternoon when the outside light was low. The rubs stood out like bullseyes. Low level light seems to work best for seeing rubs, at least to my eyes. But that just me. You have to experiment with different kinds of light to find what works best for you. But at the end of day:
***Lighting is everything.***
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Pillar of the Community
United States
834 Posts |
The one thing about grading that I always try to remember is that it is only one persons opinion. And with a TPG you are paying for that opinion, at least that's the way it seems to me. Bruce. |
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Valued Member
United States
346 Posts |
I'd rather pay for an AU coin with one less scratch than an MS coin. I'm not exactly looking for absolute perfection.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
830 Posts |
AU-58 coins, properly graded of course, look like MS-65s with the exception of the slightest amount of "rub" on the high points. I'd prefer buying 58s because you get a coin that looks WAY better than a 64 or lower MS example.
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Valued Member
United States
155 Posts |
Considering the difference in price in many of the cases I would just as soon go with an AU-58 than a MS coin. Since they're never perfect anyway they may as well have a little character.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
AU-58 may only show the slightest rub on the very highest points of the coin ,, sometimes that high point is the rim !! many coins have rims that are upset enough that the details of the coin do not touch when stacked in a roll,, Much different than the new Buffalo nickels !! Metalman |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I have to agree with the statement that a TPGS is just an organization with people working there and each person has their own opinion. Some would say AU and someone else MS. People are just people. And don't forget not everyone has the same eye sight.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
As to eye sight here is just one more thing to think about. Did you ever notice that so many times there are disagreements as to what something looks like. Notice the Iris of a persons eyes. They are of numerous different colors. As light passes though the eye on the way to the nerves in the back of the eye socket some is reflected back and forth by the Iris and the different colors of the Iris can effect what you see. For instance a person with dark Brown eyes may see a Brown coin completely different than a person with light Blue eyes since the color has been altered by the Iris.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
834 Posts |
I would like to add one more thing to my post, this is why it is so important to learn how to grade your own coins. I think sometimes we just assume because the major TPG have professionals who have acquired special skills over the years in this hobby that they know what there are talking about. It is just opinion, with research and studying the coins you are grading you can acquire these special skills also. Bruce. |
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Moderator
 United States
6563 Posts |
So being Colorblind and all you're saying I don't have a shot at working for PCGS?  |
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,130 |
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Posted 04/26/2007 5:01 pm
