Something doesn't look right: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1948-Frankl...=item21054516b9:g:nAEAAOSw5ZBWPk9d&rmvSB=true Does the frayed NGC label (reverse side) mean the slab was opened?
Many things strike me as odd about this in addition to the label. I am not an expert on Franklins, though, so I will yield to Tough Coins evaluation.
Everything looks fine but it's not very pretty for MS-65. I'm thinking the coin looked much better when graded but turned dark over the years in the slab.
They graded it MS65 in hand so I'm going to say that's what it is as it's impossible to reach that grade off these pictures with all that interference. The rest is up to you. If you like it, bid on it. It looks good to me.
Agreed, it's ugly. I understand "eye appeal" can vary for slabbed coins. Still, for that grade I was expecting something better. Like this:
Might get it for cheap? Bored with pretty MS65 coins? Too easy to find a pretty one? And sometimes ugly just makes me happy:
The label on the reverse is not inside the slab but a hologram label bonded to the outside of the slab. Stickers and tape often remove portions of the hologram label.
While not one to blindly follow TPG assigned grades, NGC certainly didn't blow this one that bad. I agree that, as shown, it's unattractive and the photos do not allow for one to reasonably confirm the assigned grade, but the reverse is of sufficient quality to state, as a fact, that the coin does not display "a lot of wear".
My grading skills are not fine tuned, but terrible eye appeal alone would bring this down to a 63...IMHO. The fact that it's at a low price should be a flag. Redbook on a 63 is 27.00
There are still over three days left in the listing. The present bid-to price is meaningless, as is red book value for a different grade.
When did I claim otherwise? I didn't, but this, of course, has nothing to do my response to your post. You compared apples to oranges, and is as simple as that, sir.