@Jjpe For nearly all moderns from the late 50s through 00s the coins are going to have to be perfect (ms68 and better) to make the economics of grading worth it. Also remember that in there late50's- 60s there was a roll craze with collectors saving loads and loads of rolls. The reason you see so many nice early 60s coins in change today is people dumping common stuff. First, you need to look at a lot of coins and learn the difference between AU and MS. Look for unbroken luster on the high points. But it takes a lot of time and practice Look at your coin. Notice the marks in the field. That's your key to tell you the coin isn't even close to be worth the money spent on grading. Nice album coin but nothing more Go to PCGS Coin facts and study the high grade modern pieces. Then spend more time looking at them. IMO, learning how to accurately grade MS-67 through MS-69 is a very hard skill to master. Hope this helps
What @Oldhoopster says is true. We had very little information available to the young collectors in the 50's. One thing we did have was a little advance knowledge of the pending change of the Lincoln Cent. We knew it was going to change in 1959. Many collectors started buying 1958 mint rolls. Then, when the Lincoln Memorial Cent came out, we bought rolls of them. The rumors then were that the LMC was only going to last for one year. So, we were saving many coins on both sides of the transition. Finding a 1958 or 1959 in high enough grade to slab is very near impossible.
First, the coin will probably grade MS-63, Red. According to the PCGS Coin Facts price guide, it would be worth $7. Their numbers often high, so you would expect the retail to be more like $5. These coins have to be virtually perfect and red to be worth the grading fee. It's very hard to find one that is worth the grading fee. This piece has some really significant marks in the obverse field and on Lincoln's coat. That takes it well out of the Gem Uncirculated category.
Thank you people so much there's so much too grading I don't know if I want to get started in that direction I'm going half nuts as it is but I enjoy it and I appreciate the schooling gracias
Perhaps, you should buy a copy of the “ANA Grading Guide.” I got started with line draws (Brown and Dunn) in the 1960s, and learned a lot from “Photograde.” I have viewed tens of thousands of coins. That’s the way most collectors learn.m
Grading is one of those things that takes time to learn. No real short cuts. Best way is to look at a lot of coins. We've all been there. One tip is to look at all the "guess the grade" posts. You don't need to post a response, but give it your best guess and then see what the rest of members think and why they might be different. Good luck
Just when I didn't want to get into grading you guys turned me around and got me thinking about it well I don't know I'll let you know down the road you'll probably be able to tell with my questions LOL
If you want to be a good numismatic you gotta learn to grade. Takes time, especially MS coins (even after 50 years of collecting I'm not very good at the mS-68-69 range) but keep looking at the guess the grade posts. One day you'll see things start to pop and get that great feeling that things are coming together (then back to the drawing board to learn some more ) Just my ramblings. Hope they help
You've gotten some really good guidance here. You can definitely learn a lot from just perusing the GTG threads as @Oldhoopster said. If you read @johnmilton threads and posts you can learn an inordinate amount from him. I've got the utmost respect for his numismatic knowledge. In this case though, I do deviate from his MS grade. I see wear on Lincoln's hair around his ear, cheek, shoulder. Too many hits both obv and rev, equating to PMD on the fields, for this coin to get any MS grade. I'm seeing this coin as AU. Maybe 53/55. Keep comparing your coin finds to the PCGS Photograde Online coins to continually improve your grading skills. It'll come with time and perseverance.
Very nice the very first thing I learned from you people was it's not called a penny but cent. At that time I said what does it matter but it does. Great schooling keep up the good work
