Posted 04/22/2024 08:51 am
you are not alone in grading this series. we had one member who was very knowledgeable about these (fortcollins) giving excellent assessments. it helped a lot of members understand the series better. the biggest issue with them was die swapping and die polishing. every year and mint require knowledge about how the coin was handled and minted.
with that said I look at a couple of devices to help narrow down the possible grade other than the typical horn and tail. there are more than I have listed below but these are key areas I look at. I'm not convinced that TPG's get this deep into them to grade them properly.
sharpness of the following areas
OBV
1. top of the feathers where they cross
2. rachis completeness
3. separation of feather 1 from the back of the head
4. hair braid at the top of the head
5. separation of the center of the braid tie
6. rim definition
REV
1. sharpness of the letters
2. tip of tail
3. rear hock sharpness (this can be weak due to die polishing)
strike related issues
1. separation of back fur from body
2. fur on top of head
3. back fur
4. sharpness of lettering
based on these I tend to grade them a little higher than what you typically would by just using something like photograde or ASA grading
heres what I see
OBV
feather 1 rachis is nearly complete and fairly sharp at the bottom
feather tips have some separation though not fully rounded
top of hair still has separation and some detail
partial separation of braid tie
some roundness of cheek is still there
date area, and rim near LIBERTY shows quite a bit of flatness some due to strike
REV
lettering sharp
rear legs sharply defined
heavy front leg die polishing
tip of tail still shows some separation against the body
hair on head die polishing
i doubt anyone except me would call the overall look of the coin plus my assessments above an VF25 or even a 30 coin. I can still see the tail split on this one
with that said I look at a couple of devices to help narrow down the possible grade other than the typical horn and tail. there are more than I have listed below but these are key areas I look at. I'm not convinced that TPG's get this deep into them to grade them properly.
sharpness of the following areas
OBV
1. top of the feathers where they cross
2. rachis completeness
3. separation of feather 1 from the back of the head
4. hair braid at the top of the head
5. separation of the center of the braid tie
6. rim definition
REV
1. sharpness of the letters
2. tip of tail
3. rear hock sharpness (this can be weak due to die polishing)
strike related issues
1. separation of back fur from body
2. fur on top of head
3. back fur
4. sharpness of lettering
based on these I tend to grade them a little higher than what you typically would by just using something like photograde or ASA grading
heres what I see
OBV
feather 1 rachis is nearly complete and fairly sharp at the bottom
feather tips have some separation though not fully rounded
top of hair still has separation and some detail
partial separation of braid tie
some roundness of cheek is still there
date area, and rim near LIBERTY shows quite a bit of flatness some due to strike
REV
lettering sharp
rear legs sharply defined
heavy front leg die polishing
tip of tail still shows some separation against the body
hair on head die polishing
i doubt anyone except me would call the overall look of the coin plus my assessments above an VF25 or even a 30 coin. I can still see the tail split on this one
