GTG 1940-D Jefferson Nickel NGC

What is considered the 6th step? Above or below the 5 steps in the box.
I may not have been 67 (Jeffersons are tough to grade) but I was 66 FS. Not 5 FS. Never seen an early 40's business strike with this many clean full steps.
They are crazy and were too strict on this one.
I have seen MANY coins with breaks in the steps that are given FS.

 

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The 1st line delineates the 1st step (above the line) and the 2nd step (below the line). There are five lines on the coin which results in 6 steps. So the 6th step is the raised portion below the 5th line. That step does not need to be complete in order to achieve full steps status. PCGS will call a coin with 4 complete lines a FS coin while NGC uses the 5FS designation. If the 5th line is complete, then only NGC further recognizes this by applying the 6FS designation.

The best way to think of steps is to use the PAK quarterstep method, where you divide the steps into 4 quarters by drawing 3 vertical lines in between the pillars. Then when providing an analysis of the steps, there are 4 numbers rather than just one. Let's use two 1940-D Jefferson Nickels as examples. The first will be the subject of this thread and the second will be my registry coin.



The quarterstep method for this coin yields 6-6-6-6. In each quadrant, the coin shows 6 complete steps without any hits deep enough to interrupt the step and without any bridging.



This coin is my registry coin and grades NGC MS67 5FS just like the coin shown above. But when compared to the coin above and applying the quarterstep method, we can clear see the difference as this coin grades 6-5-5-6.

We can clearly see that the 6th step is incomplete starting at the 2nd pillar extending all the way over to between the C & E of MONTICELLO.

Now, just to make things a little more complicated, here is a photo of yet another 1940-D Jefferson Nickel that grades NGC MS67 6FS.



The steps are complete, including the 5th step, but there is very clearly a hit on the 5th & 6th step above the E in MONTICELLO. This is where the severity or depth of the hit comes into play. NGC decided that the hit was shallow enough that it should not affect the 6FS designation. The fact that this coin no longer resides in my registry collection should let you know that I disagree with their assessment.

 

I thought the 5/6 FS designation was based on the quality of the strike, which is unaffected by PMD.

 

Uh, NO!

I understand what you are saying, but the "market" which is the people who collect "Full Step" nickels insists upon the steps be unbroken both by the mint process and PMD.

 

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/th...erson-nickels-defined-photographically.49827/

Here is a great thread put together by @Lehigh96 that I bookmarked several years ago. It’s a great read worth sharing.

Also here is a photo I took when I visited Monticello. Seeing and touring it is something every numismatist and history buff should add to their bucket list.