Weak Strike Grading - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,449
Garoyn Pillar of the Community United States 513 Posts	Posted 06/11/2015 12:41 pm Okay, I didn't want to resurrect old threads about this, and I didn't see any recent ones. And there are enough newbies and returnees around to re-visit this, anyway. Please link a recent thread, if that's a better angle for discussion. Two parter (each worthy of its own thread?): 1) How does one grade a weak strike (without going all EAC net on us)? Just annotate that it is a weak strike? "Details VF-20; weak strike"? Knock a VF details down to a "F"? Look the other way and flip it into the "return to the wild" bin? Donate it to the YN folks and let them cogitate on the meaning of "weak strike"? (oh, how does one take a tax write-off for the value of a YN donation--oops, completely different topic) What do the third-party grading services do with a weak strike coin grade, especially non-MS grades? Charge double? 2) How does one tell the difference between wear and weak strike? I always thought that a primary indicator is "balance." If parts of a coin side are mushy and parts are sharp, that's a good tell for a weak strike. Or if the obverse is strong and the reverse is mushy, that could be a weak strike. Wear is generally balanced. But that doesn't always work, does it? Thanks for perspectives, cogitations, and random ramblings! Report this Post to the Staff

1893S Pillar of the Community United States 1554 Posts	Posted 06/11/2015 1:03 pm 1) Weak strikes are not net graded, it doesn't matter if they are slabbed or not. 2) Years of experience and a good understanding of the coin series in respect to which dates had weak strikes. Or, how weak strikes appear on the coin series you are looking at/buying etc. Edited by 1893S 06/11/2015 2:29 pm Report this Post to the Staff
dbrablec Pillar of the Community United States 1944 Posts	Posted 06/11/2015 3:03 pm sometime I can't keep up with all the acronym's. what does EAC - stand for? Report this Post to the Staff
1893S Pillar of the Community United States 1554 Posts	Posted 06/11/2015 3:36 pm Early American Copper Report this Post to the Staff
panzaldi Bedrock of the Community United States 18657 Posts	Posted 06/11/2015 9:00 pm To me a weakly struck coin came from the mint that way. The day it was struck it exhibited it therefore if it can be determined that it is in fact a weak strike one really cant tick the grade down for it since it is in reality not true wear. Value may be affected to some degree Imo. How much is open for debate. For me the sometimes corroded planchets on early coppers could also be considered the same way. The day it came out if the mint that condition was already there. Non corroded or fully struck coins that are known to exhibit these definlciencies would command a premium Report this Post to the Staff
amida17 Pillar of the Community United States 4897 Posts	Posted 06/11/2015 9:09 pm Quote: 2) Years of experience and a good understanding of the coin series in respect to which dates had weak strikes. Or, how weak strikes appear on the coin series you are looking at/buying etc. This! Very much! Really the only way.....look at as many of a series as you can....oh......and read all you can about the series.....you WILL have these little epiphanic, "Oh! I get it!", moments..... Report this Post to the Staff
TypeCoin971793 Pillar of the Community United States 6370 Posts	Posted 06/11/2015 10:33 pm As Bill Fivaz put it, the way to tell the difference between a weak strike and wear is the cross-sectional shape of the surface in question. In a full strike, the coin's metal gets pushed all the way into the die, creating a sharp, distinct image (see the top example). In a weak strike, the softer areas are rounded since they formed a bit to the crevaces in the die, but not all the way, so the image is there, but not sharp and crisp (see the middle example). If there is wear, then the weak area is flat (which Bill Fivaz calls the plateau effect) (see the bottom example). Report this Post to the Staff
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