SLQs are notoriously hard to grade. Some things that make them challenging:
Many of the dates are weakly struck.
Many of the die pairings are mismatched. The mints (especially the branch mints) frequently changed one worn die at a time, resulting in a match of an EDS die with a LMDS/LDS die.
Die polishing to address die clash marks. The abraded shields are common, especially in the branch mint coins.
Those conditions are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to have all three on one coin. And they do not change the technical grade of the coin.
It's important not to focus on any one pickup point in grading.
On higher grade coins, the abraded shields can look like F/VF coins, with most of the rivets missing, the inner shield merged with the outer shield, and the lines on the inner shield missing, while the rest of the coin looks like a high grade coin should. On mid-grade coins, the abraded shields look like heavy circulation wear. The general rule of thumb is that any shield that looks much more heavily worn than the rest of the coin should be disregarded in grading.
If one side looks much sharper than the other, it is due to mismatched dies, and net grading should overbalance the stronger side.
If the peripheral elements look strong and the central elements look weak (or more rarely the converse), it probably is due to the strike quality. The stronger elements of the strike should be considered more.
And with all that, a dozen graders who have handled thousands of these critters could very well be +/- a full point or more from each other on grade opinions. That why you may run into old timers like me who had boxes of 2x2 flips of the more common date coins marked "AG/G" or "G/VG" or "F/VF" or something like that.
One starter that may help is to examine lots of VF graded 1916-1924 SLQs at a coin show, and buy a few of the reasonably priced common date coins that show a range of VF coins. The more common date VFs should be in the $30-$40 ballpark. In VF, there is enough detail to see the impact of strike quality, die wear, and die polishing. There is also a decent range of numerical grades within VF. This can become a "go to" reference for considering the more expensive coins and how they may be seen by the TPGs.
If you find grading this series difficult, you are dead center where you should be. It's much more an art than a science.
Posted 04/30/2022 11:06 am
with Zurie
