Hi, I was looking at a Susab B 81s type 2 with a listed grading of Gem Deep Cameo and was I wondering if someone could clue me in on what that meant thanks Ken
gem is kind of a guess when it comes to grading for some people gem might mean pf67 and for others pf65 will be gem i would say the gem part means little but the deep cameo means that the devices of the coin have a frosty finish while the background has a mirror polish almost all newer proofs are ultra or deep cameo
It is likely a raw (ungraded) proof. The cameo designation describes the devices of the coin looking frosty and the fields or background looking like a mirror. For a modern proof, my guess is that it would grade either PR-67 or up.
Ken - most examples of the coin are going to be Deep Cameo. So that designation really doesn't make the coin anything special. The grade of the coin could however either make the coin one you should buy, or one you should walk away from. The seller saying it is Gem, well, that could be good, or bad. If you are unsure of what the coin should grade, then post some pics of it and you will get opinions from the members here. Or, look for examples already graded by NGC or PCGS, they are pretty easily found. You can look on Heritage to get an idea of what the coin sells for in various grades and that will help you decide if the asking price for the coin you are looking at is fair.
In my experience "gem" usually translates to 67 or higher (66 at bare minimum) but "gem" is not an officially defined term; it just means in someone's opinion (usually the seller's) that the coin has good eye appeal and is better than the average. Modern proofs tend to be of high quality anyway due to better production and handling practices by the mint, so "gem" doesn't mean a whole lot on something like this. It doesn't represent something better than the average; it represents the minimum expectation. Same with "deep cameo." Cameo means that there's strong contrast between the devices (which should be frosted) and the field (which should be mirrored). For any US proof since about the 1970's this should be generally be accepted already. ("Ultra cameo" means precisely the same thing but is the term used by NGC where the other big TPGs use "deep cameo" instead.) For modern proofs PF-67/68 is the basic expectation and not very rare; they don't start commanding any significant premiums until 69 or 70 (for many issues even 69 doesn't command much of a premium). The mint is just too good at making proofs these days for anything short of perfect or almost perfect to be that special.
