Grade my Columbian....

I just received a Columbian in an old INS holder. They are out of business, so I am really itching to crack it out of holder. Probably just a nooby desire to actually see and touch it's edges. The holder has some pitting and scratches which make it a bit harder to determine the grade.
I'm a photographer with a decent eye and can say that the color is pretty accurate and I just lit it with some basic lighting.... not trying to juice it up or anything.
The finer scratches under the EXPO on reverse and the ones to the right of his face are on the holder.. hard to tell about some others. Some obvious ones, bag marks? on the face.

 

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I think it is AU but I am guessing TPGs would give it a MS60

 

OK.. I caved and cracked it out of the holder. Whew... a bit sketchy getting that plastic apart, worrying about scratching it.
I need not have worried.. it is already scratched. What I thought just had to be slab scratches are indeed coin scratches. How much does this kill the grade?
The color is definitely better without the plastic in the way.
Weird.. the scratches run in same direction in the field on both sides of his face.... but i would not characterize them as cleaning scratches....

Very nice feeling it in person...lol.

Does this coin exhibit wear? It seems fairly clean to me as far as wear/rub.

 

Playing with the lighting to give a more lustrous? look.... since I showed it's uglier look/side already.
I hard/side lit the earlier ones to accentuate any flaws...

Holy crap...I really gotta get back to work...

 

It's so hard to show luster with a still shot... so here's a video to show it.

Anyone else go to these extremes.. or is it just me??? lol

http://youtu.be/SjD0_8l5lI8

 

It looks like it is MS64, but an AU58 wouldn't surprise me

 

That's got some nice color on it too. I'm not sure about grade, but it sure is a nice coin.

 

I don't see signs of wear but I can't be sure, since it's a photograph.
Bag marks keep it in the low-MS range, IMO.

 

I agree about the wear... but I'm a rookie. I honestly don't see any wear. Even with an 8X loupe.

 

Thanks..I'm liking it too... even if I probably did over pay. This is the price of learning. At least I have this forum to help me narrow down issues/questions. That's helps speed the learning process.

 

I also am not an expert but even I can tell that is a nice looking coin. I think it would grade MS60. A nice addition to any collection.

 

I'd say 63+ or 64 depending on how bad the minor scratches are... it could get a details if the grader thinks it's been wiped.

 

I like it very much & I agree with Merc Crazy's opinion.

 

I've seen that term..details. What does that mean?

After a while and some more guesses I will post how INS graded it.

 

With the first set of pics I was inclined to say AU-55 but with that last set of pics (beautiful ) I'm more apt to say MS-63/64. There's some nice toning going on with this piece NG4, so the asking price for this piece would be a little higher than usual.

 

I'll guess INS gave it a 66.

Details basically means it's a problem coin. IE a grade of AU Details would mean a coin is AU, but has issues. PCGS will market grade coins, so an AU Details coin could get a Net VF grade for an old cleaning.

 

In addition to my grade opinion in post #13, I also sent you a PM. It is a very nice looking coin & it has the toning pattern and color that I crave. Good pick-up for you I think.

 

Thanks. Did you see the video to see luster?

 

I just did. Some Columbians have a proof like appearance. I've got one similar to what you showed in your video, and yes, it's very difficult to convey that look in a photo.

 

Yeah, since they polished the dies for the additional pressings at 1492 and 1892....