Effects On Grading

Short answer: Yes.

But it all depends on who is doing the grading. For example I recently submitted a somewhat rare Morgan dollar variety to ANACS for grading and variety attribution. There was a scratch on the reverse that was approximately 1.5cm from the eagle's breast to the right wing. It was returned in a holder "EF-45 details, scratched". Had this gone to NGC or PCGS and they took exception to that scratch, the coin would have come back in a "genuine" holder without a grade.

Now if you send it to a "basement slabber" it may come back MS-69 Proof-like.

From PCGS "genuine" with no grade.
From NGC Details grade with the notation "scratched". NGC doesn't have a Genuine with no grade slab.



VF scratched IS a details grade! Detail of VF with a scratch. What you are thinking of is a NET grade VF details, scratched, net VG-10. ANACS used to do that but none of the TPG's do that today.

I recently purchased an NGC MS611929 Quarter Eagle. When the coin arrived it had a deep scratch that ran from the rim of the coin and through the Indians chin. I hadn't seen it on the ebay photographs. I couldn't believe that it would pull a mint grade from NGC with that scratch. The seller had a three day return policy, so it was back in the mail within the hour. It was such a shame because otherwise it was a beautiful Indian.