Okay everyone, I need your help. I've been going over my Roosevelt Dime collection after I've a couple of years of adding new dates and upgrading, I believe, ones that needed it. My collection is far from finished but I'm having problems with grading what I think are the higher Mint State Roosies. I know I'm my own worst critic and so I'm asking all of you to give me an opinion on these two that I believe are MS65 and have full lines. The dot on FDR's forehead on the '92' is a reflection.
I think you went a little high but overall fairly close..imho I would give them a 64 if there is a luster (hard to tell in that picture).
I hate to say it but the '92 is AU-55 and the '97 is AU-58 or MS-63 depending on whether the luster is broken or not. The good news is that they are nice specimens and this especially applies to the '92. I think your eye is fairly good for spotting nice strikes but you need to develop it further to see the surface conditions and wear. The '92 was a nice gem when it was made. The '97 was nice too.
Thanks for the constructive criticism. The coins have original high luster which I failed to show with my photos. I too thought that the wear and tear marks might be too much for an MS65 grade, but from what I've seen from PCGS''s online pictorials and others it seemed a fair grade. I'll be more objective in regrading all my coins.
What particular faults brought you these conclusions. The hair above the ear and ears themselves are sharp and well defined. There is no wear on the cheek bones that brings them down to AU. The eyes and wrinkles are well defined on both. The reverses may not be full lines but that should'nt detract from an MS grade.
I'm confused as to where all the MS grades are coming from?! They both exhibit wear on the hairlines and cheekbone. Both coins have wear, both coins are AU.
