Here is an 1833 10c JR-9. I bought this a few years ago from the local shop graded by the old ANACS w/ the Photo Cert. as VG10/VG08. Just received it back from the mother ship (PCGS) this morning and was quite surprised by their opinion.
Oh, sorry. I am not into those guess the grade, then disagree when we disagree on the the guessed grade games. PCGS gave her an XF40. Quite a contrast to my F12 I had on the envelop.
LOL - so would I. I think it is definetly nicer than F, but I think XF40 is pushing it. It is a nice coin no matter what is on the holder.
Not much to explain is there ? Other than the fact that PCGS obviously screwed up big time with that grade what else is there to say ? The thing that kills this coin in regard to grade is the eagle's head being worn smooth. Other than that, it meets the ANA criteria for VF20. Here is what PCGS calls VF20 - Looking at the OP's coin and this coin, I'd say the OP's coin is obvioulsy in better condition. But enough to warrant XF40 ? No way. But neither would I agree that this PCGS coin is worthy of VF20. Kind of shows that PCGS tends to overgrade these lower grades wouldn't you say ? This is an example of a PCGS VF35 - See any comparison between that VF35 and the OP's XF40 ? They aint even close. But I would say that this 35 meets the ANA criteria for a VF30.
p.s. VF 30 is what I thought PCGS would give the coin. XF 45 is a bit much, even for me -- then again, all we have are pics.
Worn smooth. It is the normal wear pattern as can be seen on most other examples. And as the OP said, even the old ANACS graded the coin as VG for this reason. Don't ya think they would have noticed ? While I will readily agree that weak strikes do occur, especially in these older coins, it has gotten to the point that "weak strike" has come to be used as a catch-all excuse for assiging higher grades to well circulated coins than they deserve.
