Lincoln Cent Grading Quandry

Bonham

Lincoln cents like other denominations have there quirks when it comes to grading ,,some years are weakly struck the coins may appear slightly worn but in reality are MS examples,, color is not an indication of wear ,,and lincolns are unique in that they have very disticnt color references when they are being graded, Red,Red Brown,and Brown ,,any of which can apply to lincoln cents graded from AU to MS.

Standards across the board have loosened in the last 20 or so years with the market grading which the TPG's espouse ,,its not just lincoln cents,, that does not mean that the individual collector must follow suit ,,but in many cases the pressure to market grade rather than technical grade is very high especially for the Key date coins where one or two points can mean many Hundreds of dollars difference in value.

This is a general overview ,,if you have more specific questions I can possibly supply more specific answers .

Metalman

Thank's Metal for your input. That all makes sense
especially about the key dated ones. I understand the color factor
also, but it seems the odds are against most browns as far as
a very high grade. I know if I crack a roll for instance the reds
naturally jump out at you and they always seem to be a higher grade
than the browns. I have been looking more closely at the browns
and maybe in time will start to find a few MS. ?
i also understand that a lot of the coins I see posted on here or there
may have come from sets but I know a lot of them are from bank rolls
or pocket change and that is where I get concerned about the grading standards. an MS coin from circulation. doesn't jive with me. not impossible but ? by the way, I am talking about older lincolns. pre
80's more so. lincolns must be a whole diff. animal. I will just have to sort it all out and learn. it just sort of hit me recently. I was grading a morgan and really wanted a 64 but those two lines or dings
and had to give it a 63. no if and or butts about it. then when I started seeing these ms 64,65,66 plus circulated lincolns I said what
the hay ? I've got them in my old mauve colored dansco and blue whitmans. I think a good idea for me would be to post some in the grading section and get some input. then I could shrink the ball park
thank's again. I am sure I will have some furthur questions along the way.