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Posted 12/28/2023 12:36 pm
My personal and professional opinion is that the act of stamping a chop mark into a coin means that it has been physically handled by a person and is therefore no longer Uncirculated in the strictest sense. However, the gap between AU and Uncirculated is rarely so black and white in reality. Is a coin that was handled by a person other than a Mint worker for 30 seconds then placed into a cabinet and never again touched still "Uncirculated" or is it now "AU?" What if it's handled for a day? A week? So on...
Most dealers and collectors will allow a degree of physical handling before they consider a coin "AU", but it's subjective, not scientific.
I find it somewhat dubious that PCGS will certify a chopmarked coin as Uncirculated, but will not offer the same privilege to most counterstamped coins in the same condition. I tend to agree with NGC's views - a chopmarked coin is technically damaged, regardless of whether or not the chop mark itself makes the coin collectible. (By necessity, this distinction excludes coins that were counterstamped or marked DURING the minting process.)
Most dealers and collectors will allow a degree of physical handling before they consider a coin "AU", but it's subjective, not scientific.
I find it somewhat dubious that PCGS will certify a chopmarked coin as Uncirculated, but will not offer the same privilege to most counterstamped coins in the same condition. I tend to agree with NGC's views - a chopmarked coin is technically damaged, regardless of whether or not the chop mark itself makes the coin collectible. (By necessity, this distinction excludes coins that were counterstamped or marked DURING the minting process.)
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"Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis
"Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis
Edited by paralyse
12/28/2023 12:38 pm
12/28/2023 12:38 pm
