I want to see if I can get a better photo outside the plastic. Besides, I don't like that it has the AT right on the label even if I agree with their assessment.
You know I would try a good old fashioned coping saw to get the coin out of the slab. It's agile enough to get close to the coin without making yourself too nervous, but yet it will cut thru the plastic rather easily.
If you have metal snips, or tin snips cut the holder and 6'oclock and 12'oclock and it should split right open. Don't cut parrallel with the slab at 6 and 12, but rather hold the snips perpindicular to the slab when making the cut. Also, if you do this route, be careful not to snip the coin when snipping the bottom.
Tell you another reason you want to crack it out. Most of the "potential market" here just graded it higher and judged the toning to be NT. This coin could conceivably go raw for better than what it says on that slab. I hate to repeat myself, but the problem I still think is, toning shouldn't be considered a grading factor. That should be left to the marketplace to assess (as, for that matter, should pedigree). The TPGs should be grading strictly on technical condition, not anything else.
Eddie - :loud: There is no doubt where you stand as you have been consistent and repetitive in expressing your opinion!
Catbert, don't mean to prolong any agony D), but just take a look at that slab. "MS-60, Details, Artificially Toned." Gee, can they be more obscure? They can't even articulate what artificial toning is, and yet they're slabbing this coin that way! I'll take "consistent." It's at least better than most of these TPG "market graders" have been.
Doug, read this: http://www.earlyus.com/art003-marketgrading.pdf. I could have written 95% of it in my sleep. This is essentially how I grade and how I comprehend the difference between technical and market grading. Have to split. Talk to you next year.
Place the slab on something hard like concrete and give the edge a couple of hits and it will pop open. Remember hit the edge. Nice thread I gave it a 63.
I tell you the grading companys are really getting greedy and grading coins and slabbing one's they shouldn't slab. I would say this is a bag job coin I don't understand how they could slab this coin and label it Artficially toned what the hell is that I guess the next step they will gade a coin and slab it, artficially counterfiet ,with high relief strike ,and Machine doubling along with die deterioration doubling MS 71. WOW unbelieveable what is this hobby coming too. Jazzcoins Joe
That's sort of what I figured eddie, bit of a problem with it though - that text that you linked to is nothing but 1 man's definition of techincal grading. The man who wrote it is a collector, just like you, He's a member of the NGC forum, used to be, may still be, a member of the PCGS forum. In other words, he's an ordinary guy who placed his thoughts on the subject on his personal web site. Now there's nothing wrong with that, but how accurate is it ? For example, he says - He also says - Now remember what I asked above - how accurate is this definition of technical grading ? Well, if you go back to the source and actually look it up you find that it is not accurate at all. What source am I using ? The First Edition of the ANA Grading Standards, with the narrative text and introduction written by Q. David Bowers. I think we can consider him to be an authority. Let's examine what Bowers has to say about each of the 4 criteria that James (the author of the article you reference) says define technical grading. Wear - James says, what percent of the coin's original detail has been worn away? Bowers says, the term uncirculated, which is interchangeable with Mint State is a piece that has no wear of any kind. I think we can agree that the two are basically in agreement on this count. And obviously, contact marks fall under this category as well. Luster - James says, how pronounced is the surface reflectivity of the coin? Bowers says, the quality of luster is an essential element of correctly grading the piece. Unattractive luster will normally lower the grade. They agree on this as well. Strike - James says, what percent of the intended detail was present immediately after striking? Bowers says, if an uncirculated coin exhibits weakness due to striking or die wear, or unusual (for the variety) die wear, this coin must be adjectivally mentioned in addition to the grade. Examples are: MS60, lightly struck; Choice Uncirculated (MS65), lightly struck; MS70, lightly struck. Now it is quite obvious that the two do not agree on this count. Quality of strike has no bearing on the assigned grade whatsoever. Otherwise how could you possibly have a coin grade MS70 when it is weakly struck ? Color - James says, what percent of the original pristine surfaces remains unreacted with the environment? .... though color is important in that the closer to original color, the higher the coin's grade will be. Bowers says, a lightly toned nickel or silver coin may be described as MS70, toned or Perfect Toned Uncirculated. Or, in the case of particularly attractive or unusual toning, additional adjectives may be in order. Bowers does continue to say that with copper coins, to qualify as MS70 a bronze or copper coin must have its full luster and natural surface color and may not be toned brown, olive or any other color. So on the point of color, they only agree in regard to copper coins. They obviously disagree on nickel and silver coins where color does not affect the grade at all. My point is eddie, that what most people think of as techincal grading, is not technical grading. Quality of strike has no bearing on the grade at all. Color has no bearing on the grade at all. Technical grading really only counts two things, and only two things - wear/contact marks and the amount of luster on the coin. That's it.
grading companys (sic; companies) are really getting greedy - Greedy? They charge the same for a slab as they do for a body bag. What is "greedy"? As an aside to this, they are in business to make money. No company ever succeeded by trying not to make money. I would say this is a bag job coin - I do not know what you are seeing, but that is ICG's way of saying "this is a problem coin". Like ANACS, at least used to, they slab problem coins and list teh problem on the slab.
Gee, Doug, is there anybody you don't know? Let me just get to the heart of the objections, strike and color, as technical grading factors. That 5% margin of error I left for myself had largely to do with what this author held on color. In my view, color should be irrelevant. It should not hold the technical grade of a coin down, nor should it raise the technical grade. That was largely my objection to this "collector's" way of understanding technical grading. At least, that is to say, before I read your reply, as well as that fascinating thread Lehigh just started on strike. Now, I'm questioning strike, as well, as a technical grading factor. Quite honestly, I'll concede, that Lehigh thread is a little over my head. I don't know what I think about strike, now. As you're probably aware, I conceive of technical grading as "condition grading." Suffice it to say (thanks, again, to Lehigh D)), I'm back to forming an opinion on that. PS: Very appreciative of your taking the bother to reference some of the holes in that article, BTW, Doug; thanks!
But as a fact Bowers company didn't hesitate for a minute to sell a Peace dollar to me with an excellent above average strike and a promenent scratch in it for for nearly a hundred dollars, maybe $80 above the body bag price. I leave it to the reader to Judge Bowers actions to his words. Ruben
Doug, I did not checkout the linked website, but just from the name I am assuming we are talking about James_EarlyUS from the NGC forums. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't he an EAC collector which might serve to explain his view on color. Paul
I seriously doubt Bowers ever even saw the coin you mention and likely would know nothing at all about the sale of it. Kind of hard to blame him don't ya think ?