My Lincoln Keys And Semi Keys For Grading: Beat Up 1922 No-D

AG-3.

This was a risky ebay purchase in which the initial pictures were not that great. I did purchase it as a die 2, but it was hard to verify from the pics, and therefore went rather inexpensively. It was a risk that could have easily not worked out. I paid about $100.

Believe it or not, this coin would more likely grade G-6 details or G-4 minimum from a reputable TPG in my opinion. I'm not sure if the scratches/striation marks would put it into a problem slab at this grade level, but it is likely. I was told VG-8 by one collector, but I believe that is too optimistic based on the reverse wear. Much of the weakness you see on the obverse is not due to wear or to strike, but due to the extremely worn characteristics of the die itself. Even higher grade 22 no d's have very mushy obverse details, and a mint state example looks more like an XF. As a result, the TPGs don't take the obverse into account when grading on the strong reverse.