GTG-1832 Half Dime

Care to play on this little mite? I suspect we might get some spirited opinions on this one. I've set up the poll to allow multiple answers.

 

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Well, hit a wrong button so here's the photos!

 

I was SOOOOO close. But I couldn't wait until tomorrow so I didn't take the poll; I hunted it down instead. I had a pretty good hunch that proved correct. I'll add color commentary after your poll ends.

 

AU 50

 

So, I think the obverse shows clear evidence of cleaning but TPGs and the market tend to be very forgiving when it comes to Capped Bust coinage and I think the eye appeal is there. So, I think they straight graded it AU53 and CAC gave it a green bean due to eye appeal.

I personally think it is a details coin, but that's not what I suspect it was graded as.

 

I don't know how the strike characteristics of this series or how the TPG's grade it, but it seems to have some remaining luster in the protected areas and the mushy overall appearance looks like a combination of wear and strike weakness, so I said it graded AU50.

 

AU-53

 

I voted AU-55. The strike is pretty decent for this type. Many of them have die sinking in front the face of Ms. Liberty, which I find unattractive. The coin has been dipped and that's negative for me in this case.

I bought a half dime of this type in the recent Heritage sale. Given the size and the fact that it's slabbed, I don't know how good my pictures will be. The PCGS True View was actually the more accurate image in this case.

Here's the one that is now sitting in my type set. It's graded MS-64, but it has a very minor planchet defect, not showing in this photo, that runs form Ms. Liberty's jaw, down though he date to the rim. You need a strong glass to see it.

 

I went with AU55 due to some luster breaks in the fields.

 

I voted 53 and green bean but I may have been too generous on the latter part on second glance.

 

AU 58 & CAC ...I went all in on my guess

 

I did an AU 50, but what do I know...

 

I agree on the part about it being an AU-50, NOT doubting what I know!

 

AU58

 

I see plenty of luster left on that coin, not enough to be MS. But too much circ to be a 58.
I like it as a 55 CAC.

 

Time for the reveal. The plurality of you at 31.6% guessed the right grade at AU-53 and four of you (21.1%) got it right on the CAC bean. Pretty good considering the nature of this coin. The votes ranged from XF-45 to 58.

Note this is a R-3 coin but my little sticker erroneously says R-2 - corrected since the photo was taken.

Now, for the questions this coin raises:

Does it deserve to be straight-graded?
TPGs do indeed give some leeway to early coinage. This coin has clearly been dipped but not overly. Much of the coin's brightness is from the dipping but there is a good amount of remaining luster. It has some scratches but they are from circulation not from improper cleaning and none are severe. The coin's obverse sharpness is more like a 55 than a 53 but the reverse is more like a 53. So, yes, I think the coin is correctly straight-graded at 53 based on TPG grading standards.

Does it deserve a CAC green bean?
This is more difficult. Green beans are supposed to be A or B coins for the grade. I don't think this coin merits it but I recognize it probably lies on the border between C and B.

Thanks for playing. Additional comments and opinions are welcome.

 

@Publius2 when you hinted that this one might be controversial I thought, aha, this might be a case of NGC overgrading a pedigree coin - something that I think they did with, say, the McCloskey set last year. So I guessed that they'd have given this one a 55 for the luster (when I feel it is more deserving of a 53 due to the surfaces).

Your direction was "guess the grade," not "grade the coin." But I didn't vote cuz I knew I was going to cheat... with the attribution (easy enough to spot at LM-13; it suggested LM-12, -13, or -14 due to the filled lower loop of the 8) I searched HA and found your coin. The 53 didn't surprise, but I'll be honest, the CAC bean did. CAC usually likes 'em with a little funk, and this one's awfully white.

Anyway, same images - but pulling them up on HA allows you to zoom in and out a bit better, if anyone is into that kind of thing.

 

I suppose if I called it an AU-55, a CAC sticker would be appropriate for an AU-53 graded piece. Still I am surprised that CAC beaned it. They usually want more originality.

 

Yes, I agree NGC was pretty generous with the grading of the John McCloskey coins. I won a number of JM coins in that auction and no one would ever say that Mr. McCloskey was acquiring coins for a registry set. Pedigree does occasionally speak.

I agree with both of those thoughts. This is one of those coins that members say "I can't figure out what they were thinking." And that is one of the reasons I posted it.

 

Since John McCloskey co-wrote the book, I am guessing that he got a little "numismatic lumanery" boost.

As for the grades, when collectors are going for die varieties, they often can't afford to make them all MS-65s. I have reviewed some of the early large cent die variety collections, and most of the coins in those sets would not threaten the "condition census" pieces. Of course some of the rare varieties are hard to find place regardless of the grade.