got a ASE that's graded ms70 but pcgs website says sp70. is this a mistake? emailed pcgs but no answer back.
From coinsauctionhelp.com sp is a satin finish coin its a granular and non-glossy type of finish that is applied to a coin die before production starts or directly to the coin after it has been struck. MS is a mint state coin ms coins are in pristine condition that have been left in the mint or put aside by a collector. A mint state coin will show no signs of circulation whatsoever, but it can have normal mint processing defects such as bag marks and other dings.
That is one of the burnished finish Eagles from the US Mint. All three major bullion coins: Silver, Gold, and Platinum are available. At one point PCGS just labeled them all MS, but later on they switched to SP on the label. You have a holder that is from before the switch. Here is a quick article from Coin World (they mention NGC, which used to do the same thing as PCGS on their label): https://www.coinworld.com/news/prec...uncirculated-finish-in-silver-eagles.all.html
And they wonder why people are confused It's just another example of the TPGs doing things to help increase their bottom line. What they should have done to distinguish the coins, one from the other, was start a new designation that actually made sense, one like SF (satin finish). But then that wouldn't make the coins "special enough" to give folks even more incentive to send them in. So they used a numismatic term that actually had real meaning, SP (specimen). A term that IF it were true, really would make the coins special ! But the coins aren't specimens at all, not in any way shape or form !
