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 Replies: 14 / Views: 2,066 |
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Valued Member
United States
88 Posts |
As most of you know the jump in value from 65 to 66 and up is often significant and can make even common everyday coins rather valuable. What I'm wondering is how does one recognize that a particular coin might make the cut? To use an example, I had the good fortune to receive as a gift from my father 5 rolls of unc. silver Kennedy halves, still in the bank wrapper from where my dad worked in the sixties. Last year I carefully unwrapped these and immediately sleeved each coin and put them away. Now that I've started to take my collecting a bit more seriously I'm considering having some of these graded/slabbed but the problem is they all look equally impressive. I know there are no hard fast rules when it comes to the high end grades but what guidelines are the judges themselves using? Looking at trueview pics I see plenty of great looking coins w crisp strikes and full luster that still come in at 65 while finding others with average strikes and no apparent compensating factors coming in at 66. I suspect that part of the equation is that pictures can't completely capture the essence of a coin but is that all there is to it? Ultimately what I'm most interested in is how does one make the decision on whether to submit a coin for a high gem grade when getting a 65 or less would result in a loss of money? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1316 Posts |
Would you be willing to post pics of a couple you think are top grade? - fewest bag marks, best luster, etc. If in the rolls all these years, did any tone?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19931 Posts |
Luster, clean fields and lack of any major contact marks.
Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
6244 Posts |
Which year of JFK you talk about? Is important to know if you can have an MS66.
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
1557 Posts |
I would also look at the pictures of coins.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
18635 Posts |
when you get above 65 it gets increasingly difficult to discern 66's from 67's. badthad's comment is correct. especially via photos.
the differences between 64 and 65 is more discernable.
btw - never ever use Trueview to go off of. many here on CCF take them with a grain of salt and we always drop the grade by 1
best way to determine if you got a 66 or 67 is post nice straight on, sharp photos without as much glare as possible here and let us take a look at them. even then it can be a coin toss.
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
For me it was basically having a lot of experience in grading my own coins . Every once in a blue moon I'll take a peek at PCGS photo grade but in all I have developed my own grading skills that rival PCGS on most but not all coins . I do not make any statements that I'm an expert grader but I get by nicely . Put in the time and you'll do fine .  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
18635 Posts |
Quote:
For me it was basically having a lot of experience in grading my own coins . Every once in a blue moon I'll take a peek at PCGS photo grade but in all I have developed my own grading skills that rival PCGS on most but not all coins this is the way to go and many grading here do a better job than a TPG most of the time. So post your coins here if you want an unbiased assessment. drop the lowest and highest grades and average out the rest. you'll be pretty close to what a slab should say. also keep in mind that TPG's miss the grade almost as much as they get it right. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
Quote:this is the way to go and many grading here do a better job than a TPG most of the time. So post your coins here if you want an unbiased assessment. drop the lowest and highest grades and average out the rest. you'll be pretty close to what a slab should say. also keep in mind that TPG's miss the grade almost as much as they get it right. And this is why CCF is known as the best coin forum on the net .   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2002 Posts |
Remember that grading is subjective even amongst TPG graders. That said, may I recommend a book titled "How to Grade U.S. Coins" by James Halperin. It is a more scientific guide to establishing a grading formula for proof and uncirculated coins. Halperin is quite respected and I think he was the founder of Heritage. The book will detail the high points of each design (Where to look for first signs of wear), severity levels of impairments (Where bag marks and blems are the most damaging), It will instruct you on a scale of 1-5 to assign a number to surface preservation, strike, luster and eye appeal. The numbers are added up and compared to the formula in the book. Is it a foolproof method of grading? Not by any means, but it is an educated more scientific approach to grading your coins. |
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Valued Member
 United States
88 Posts |
Appreciate all the responses, I have no problem posting some pictures this evening when I get home.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3402 Posts |
Minutia grading is definitely taking the fun out of coin collecting...UNC...CH UNC...GEM UNC.
KK
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Valued Member
United States
88 Posts |
I decided to just make new topics for the coins/pictures as grading requests>>>> http://goccf.com/t/428437thanks for the replies and insight, gave me plenty to think about. Edited by LazerPig
08/06/2022 02:10 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
18635 Posts |
Quote:
Minutia grading is definitely taking the fun out of coin collecting...UNC...CH UNC...GEM UNC. it was so much easier to grade at that time. |
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Replies: 14 / Views: 2,066 |
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Posted 08/03/2022 9:51 pm
