"Weak Strike" Issue

I assume the examples you have are Canadian 5c nickel composition coins, George V series?

Bear in mind that PCGS also factors in eye-appeal. A weak strike is often called a 'dead strike', the coin just lacks that certain 'oomph' in the devices and sometimes even in the lustre. PCGS used to be pretty bad with nickel 5c coins (8 years plus ago) but they have come a long way since then and are usually pretty good at finding a balance between technical grade and eye-appeal. I have had some weakly struck business strike nickel dollars graded by PCGS (formerly graded MS-65 by ICCS), and even with super clean fields and devices, the final grade is knocked down a point because of the weak strike. I don't disagree with PCGS, just a glance at the coin tells you it is missing that 'oomph' and eye-appeal. I have seen the same with some weakly struck mint state Edward 50c, I think the toning was the saving grace in the examples I have seen.

My coins were not designated 'weak strike'. I think it is a term rarely used by ICCS to justify the grades they give some of the early nickel 5c series. Brian of ICCS acknowledges that the weakly struck nickel 5c coins of the George V era are the most difficult to master at grading.

Consider this, if you took a mint state, weakly struck 1930 5c, and wore only the lustre off the coin ( to the point of being the lower end of AU), your grade instantly drops over 30 points to a VF-20 grade (or worse). You cannot easily tell, or defend, the difference between a worn VF and a weakly struck AU coin with the lustre removed. ICCS, by seeing the other clues on the coin (lustre, rim, wear on the reverse leaves, etc.), justifies the grade of a weakly struck coin by stating so. To say they do it consistently, my answer is absolutely not!

To answer your last question, I would ask this question: are your coins worth enough to justify the cost of market grading?

Not necessarily. A fully struck AU coin can look just as nice. If the strike is full, and lustre is present, then that is half the grade. The final grade falls upon the other technical aspects of the coin. A very difficult series to grade accurately, you can often find deals once your eye is into this series. Quite often, dealers misgrade raw coins from this series... I picked up a very nice MS-63+ 1922 far rim this past weekend, the dealer graded it AU-55 due to the "wear of detail" (it was a moderately weak strike).

I realize I'm resurrecting a dead topic, but I'm (trying) to grade some excellent but weaker strike 5¢ KG-V & KG-VI nickels. If the strike is weaker (giving an EF/AU appearance), yet no traces of wear whatsoever and the fields are completely clean, how would I grade that? At what tier of MS grade does a full/strong strike become necessary to earn that grade? Conversely, what is the highest possible acceptable grade of a pristine coin affected by a weak strike?

I myself have never seen any PCGS weak strike, although I have still seen some american 1 cent with weak strikes and struck throughs... I think that the american numismatic community sees a lot of weak strikes due to the manufacturing of their coins. You will see a lot more US weak strikes in the everyday then you will a Canadian weak strike. Therefore a Cad weak strike more valuable. However, this goes with broad strikes and off center strikes too!

Depends...since they are different dies with different states of deterioration. I have some with much stronger reverse strikes than obverse strikes. I too use the leaves on the reverse, as well as date, denomination, and fields to assist with grading these particular types. In the case of my weak strikes, they are generally weaker in the centre of the obverse, which is the jewel and facial feature areas typically used in grading. The coins I have were previously graded by the previous owner/dealer, but I took them to a recent coin show where I sought dealer input. First, I was told that my coins were all (previously) under-graded. Then, I was shown some surprisingly higher graded ICCS certified comparative examples, which suggests to me that ICCS (and perhaps other TPGs) adjusts their grading criterion to accommodate the weaker production cycles on 1922-1942 5¢. I'm still unclear on which grade of MS requires a full strong strike to qualify for that grade (or higher)?