Grading On 1776-1976 Kennedy

Going to need much better pictures. I can't grade it accurately.

to the CCF!

Does this coin look plated to anyone else? I'm not seeing any luster or metal flow lines.

@ Arobins Please look at the edge of the coin. Do you see the copper core or is it a solid color in the reeded area?

lighting is typically the biggest issue photographing these. try the following of you are using a phone


1. turn off flash

2. place coin on flat surface with indirect natural light. maybe a window sill in a cloudy day. Use a black or white background to avoid any reflective color

3. move phone about 3in from coin

4. zoom in using your fingers until the coin comes into focus and fills the cameras view finder. if your phone has a portrait selection use that and then press and hold on the coin in the view finder to AF lock it

5. hold phone steady. if you can't then place something on either side of the coin (like books) at that distance and lay phone between them. this will hold it steady and allow you to zoom and take the photo without any blurring

try moving the coin to different areas in the house. even if there is very little light the newer phones can take sharp photos even in low light. overhead light is the worse. its a pain but once you find the sweet spot you'll be able to use the same setup every time. what we are looking for is a photo that's close as possible to resembling what the coin looks like in your hand. you might even look into finely adjusting things like lighting, contrast and sharpness post photo edits. if the surfaces are extremely reflective like a proof it even more of a challenge. I have never photographed a proof. based on your photos the coin may be a proof or as stated it could be plated. hard to tell. also try a dark background like black to reduce any reflective light. black tends to absorb light

For the record: 3" is way too close for an iPad or any device without a good macro or zoom function. I need to put my iPad 6-8" away from a coin before the camera will focus properly. It's also much better to take a picture at 1x and then crop to the coin, rather than pinch/zoom with the lower quality software zoom.

Maybe just polished then.