Posted 09/15/2011 12:59 am
It's not just for hub doubling - it works with mintmark varieties as well.
I developed this system back in 2001 as a method of sorting the more visible die varieties from those with only minor visibility. Basically (and very basically) I defined them as the following:
5 stars - Only the most major, very naked eye visible dies get this.
4 stars - naked eye visible, not as earth shattering as 5 stars. A non collector could still identify something odd with the coin.
3 stars - obvious to the lay-person that something is going on with little magnification, but may need explanation of what they see.
2 stars - minor, needs at least a 5x loupe for easy identification - OR - something minor with more than one pick up point.
1 star - minor, yet identifiable under 10x magnification.
Anything that takes more than a 10x loupe to see isn't listed.
The stars have nothing to do with rarity or value - it's all about how easy they are to see.
Rarity and value are handled in price guides.
I developed this system back in 2001 as a method of sorting the more visible die varieties from those with only minor visibility. Basically (and very basically) I defined them as the following:
5 stars - Only the most major, very naked eye visible dies get this.
4 stars - naked eye visible, not as earth shattering as 5 stars. A non collector could still identify something odd with the coin.
3 stars - obvious to the lay-person that something is going on with little magnification, but may need explanation of what they see.
2 stars - minor, needs at least a 5x loupe for easy identification - OR - something minor with more than one pick up point.
1 star - minor, yet identifiable under 10x magnification.
Anything that takes more than a 10x loupe to see isn't listed.
The stars have nothing to do with rarity or value - it's all about how easy they are to see.
Rarity and value are handled in price guides.
