Picked this up the other day. I'm a sucker for just about anything from Colorado, especially Colorado Springs...home of the ANA.
On eof these day I will be able to have one of those lol. Maybe when gold drops in price that is a beauty Dex.
Bought this coin for $1.82 total shipped from Ebay. Reasoning as I've been reading more on grading and acquiring some 'comparison' coins from NGS/PCGS, so that I can see what certain coins have achieved on grade. And comparing that versus what I assume for grades based on the grading books I've been reading and the standards set fourth there in. Have to say though I can't help but wonder if the grader was drunk at work the day this cent came through. Admittedly I don't take the greatest photos but this coin as you can see has numerous flaws. Most obviously marks in the field below the U on the back and what looks like a black spot on the reverse front step column on the left hand side (this is actually a hit so bad the metal is flattened at this area on the coin) tried to get a photo showing it but couldn't quite do it. Combining that with the obvious scratches that are on the obverse and I really wonder how this coin graded how it did MS64??? I would personally grade the coin at AU58 max, as although it does have great luster (not evident from my photos) those contact marks are really hard to not notice and detract from the coin overall. I seriously doubt anyone would fake a $10-$11 coin slab max value so I rule that out. I'll keep this one to remind me of why I've been studying grading books and learning to grade coins myself with such fervor lately; so that I'll be able to assign a speculative grade myself. And also maintain the realization that grading is highly subjective and the TPG certainly aren't perfect when grading every coin.
Contact marks or bag marks do not make a coin AU. In fact I call that coin spot on grading weaker stricke with a few hits and a few spots is where MS64 is at for copper and color looks like when graded it was probably a little redder. And since this date coin does not even show a value higher than grading fees until MS66 I would not be too hard on the graders on this one.
Blissskr, you're taking a step in the right direction with regards to grading, it's something I always intended to do, but still have not. $1.82 is a great price to pay for tuition and a sweet deal period! Keep adding to your sample grade set, I applaud your efforts. As far as the coin goes it looks pretty solid to me. Good booming luster, but if you notice more contact marks in-hand it's possible that the graders bumped it a little higher for strike quality. The carbon spot on the reverse might have happened after the coin was slabbed as well, but in either instance it wouldn't affect the grade. Let's face it, Ms-64 just ain't that nice
Nice bunch of Kennedy Half Dollars for my set. As I was going through these, my 13-year-old son became very interested and sat through the whole process of getting them into the album, asking a thousand questions along the way. I ended up giving him a few coins and he was thrilled. Looks like I might have a partner in crime!
Stopped off at my LCS and nabbed this. The "hairline" by the pony-tail is actually some lint from the mat.... Grrrr. The things you notice once the image is blown up!