Getting coins graded

hey guys,

What do you think the cheapest way to get a coin graded is? tpgs are getting quite expensive these days, and I have a couple coins I would like to get graded but Its just to expensive. I have 2 1955-s wheat cents that look like they just came off the press. there is no toning, no minisucle scratches, and They have not been cleaned. I would post pics, but my camera wont focus enough to get the detail. According to the pcgs price guide, If they are MS-67, they're worth about 200, and If they are MS-68 they're worth about 10,500 a piece. I would really like to get them graded, but I dont have a over 100.00 laying around. Thanks for your imput in advance!!

 

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ANACS would be less than $100.

 

Well book value for a 1955-s is about 5 bucks, so im very very weary about pcgs's prices. and anacs would be about 60 plus s/h

 

I trust that these two cents are currently protected & securely mounted inside a couple holders.

Unfortunately far too many nice red cents get handled & people talk over them leaving little drops of saliva which over the years cause those nice cents to become discolored & spotty.

I'd show the coins to some experts at a show before sending them for grading. I don't think I have any cents that are above MS66 in my collection.

Edit: Now that I think about it, I may have a couple better than 66 in mint state.

 

I just checked out some pcgs graded ms-66 cents and they look worse then mine, there is visble wear and tarnish on the ms-66 cents, so Theres a small chance mine might be proof... hey collect89, do you think you could post your ms-66+ cents?

 

The following is meant as a constructive suggestion, not a shot at you.

There is absolutely no way that any true MS66 cent has "visible wear", since the very definition of a mint state coin includes a complete lack of wear. After all...the coin didn't leave the mint with wear, thus if it has even the tiniest amount of wear, it is no longer in the state it was in when it left the mint.

Your casual use of the term suggests you either do not fully grasp the actual condition of "mint state", or that you do not understand the numismatic terms necessary to correctly categorize a coin as such, or are referencing severely overgraded coins without recognizing them as such. At the VERY least, you've chosen to ignore the proper definition of either (or both) in a discussion where accurate terminology can mean thousands of dollars.

Again...this isn't a shot at you at all...merely some rationale to most strongly encourage that you heed what Collect89 said...let some established and credible experts give you an opinion before you spend the time and money to have them graded.

Far be it from me to say your coins AREN'T high grade Mint State coins. I (and I think all of us here) certainly hope they are, and wish you the best of luck with them. I just hope you enter the process with at least a fighting chance of reaping the reward you expect.

 

If you want top dollar for your coins use PCGS only.

 

Hint: take a picture already.

 

Regardless of what you think right now (current thought) a MS-68 is quite a difficult one to get. You might have it, I'm not saying you don't but a MS-68 needs to be darn near perfect. If a coin has a small ding on it's rim, two light hairline type marks or a scuff on it's reverse and a small bagmark on the obverse, depending upon other issues, that may be enough to stop the coin from being graded a MS-68.
You say that yours has no miniscule scratches, but have you examined that in a darkened room with the proper lighting, and used a good magnification on your coins? That is what the top TPG graders do, and they have the experience of doing thousands of coins. You may have an exceptional coin or coins, and that's good, but find someone who is knowlegeable about the Mint State grading to give you an opinion if you don't want to send it to a TPG. Or, conversely, do what Protovo suggested and get a couple good pics up here. Many people here are able to grade.

 

How do yours compare to this 1955-S ?


>>>>> http://www.cointalk.com/t136917/#post1024022

 

I will get it checked out by some experts before I send it in to be graded, and again I tried to take some pics but they were just plain blury unless I had them so far you wouldn't be able to see any detail. And check out this link; http://www.ioffer.com/i/ttg-1955-s-lincoln-pennies-certified-180344987?source=eiesi, It was graded Ms-66 by ngc, and My two don't have any of the wear or black on them. I'll try to get a better picture soon.

 

And my two pennies don't have the scratchs or wear of the pennies in mcplzr's link

 

Well, I could be wrong but when I looked at the. Link for the NGC coin my thoughts were that the black on them, as you put it, is a camera effect or something and not on the coin as black marks and of course MS by its definition has no wear so where is the wear?It is good to get a professional opinion as MS grading takes a lot of expertese to do correctly and with consistency.

 

If your pennies are that great I would also recommend PCGS. If you believe they'll come back that grade for that amount then how could it possibly not be worth it? You can try talking to your local dealers and see if anyone near you has a PCGS membership. They can usually get coins graded for around $15 bucks with a large shipment. Also a dealer who regularly uses PCGS will more likely get a better grade then a first time user. Supposedly, that's not the case but we all know money talks and bull.....well you know. Good luck on the cents. I would also like to see pictures.

 

A simple, inexpensive point and shoot camera will do just fine.

Bottom half of this post has a description and picture of my setup. The whole thing's < $100 including the camera, < $20 if you already have the camera. It'll even work with a smartphone if you buy a $9 mini-tripod adapter for your phone.

There are, of course, other (and better I'm sure) systems and threads on the subject, but I happened to know where mine was. *heh*

 

This one is not MS but it is a photo of an NGC PF67.

I would not expect to accurately grade or accurately compare different grades based upon photographs. You really need to see the coins in-hand & under identical lighting conditions.

 

1955-S coins can not be proofs the Philly mint made the proofs that year.

 

Here is a PCGS 1955-S, 67RD. I paid $125 for it. PCGS has graded 227 67RD's and just one 68RD.

What appears to be scratches at the shoulder and around the O in ONE are from planchet roughness and not PMD, FWIW.

Note the very tiny spot behind Lincoln's head. This is worrisome and might develop into something ugly. Time will tell.
Lance.

 

thanks lance, Mine look like yours, and I have noticed the wear on The O on mine, but not the marks beneath the shoulder.

 

What a lovely coin, Ikeigwin, I too hope the spot does not develop. Can you tell me what causes that, as I've seen some on coins before?

And stlouiscoin, glad to see yours looks like that! Wishing you luck in getting yours graded as high as you believe it to be!