Coins used to be clipped all the time in the old days. How much of a coin must remain for the TPGs to still consider it a coin? Spanish Milled Dollars also used to be cut up into “bits” for smaller transactions and the TPGs will slab them as bits. If a Morgan Dollar is cut in half will they still grade it as a Morgan Dollar and just put “clipped”/“damaged”/“cut in half”? Is their a specification for how much of a coin must remain for a TPG to slab it?
I was told there would be no math! Joking aside, interesting question, I hope some of our knowledgeable members will weigh in.
I don't know of any specifications, seems like the trend has been that if people are paying their grading fees, they will slab it and stick some kind of descriptor on the label. Even if just "genuine".
Half-coins have been graded. Broken half coins with both pieces have been graded. Trade Dollars with some pretty nice geometric shapes missing have been graded. 30% clips have been graded. Who knows what the limit is? If there is a market, it will be graded by a TPG somewhere.
I’ve seen half coins graded when I was at Nevada Coin but the coin they had was cut up at the Mint so it counted as an “error”.
I accidently cut a valuable book in 2 pieces, where the book was produced and packaged for shipping. I informed the supervisor. It sold. It must have counted as something. An error is an error. Midnight tinkering experiment, on the other hand.....(oh, I just accidently put it in my pocket and went home and it was an error that I didn't report it to the supervisor so it could be returned to the destroy bin).
I would think that if the TPG could easily tell it was actually cut in half, they would body bag it. If you paid for attribution they may slab and label it as "damaged, cut in half." Just a guess.
How a Grader would determine easily, is the mystery. With the myriad of methods to precisely cut metal, that is a tough easy. Could a piece have been quenched to early or incorrectly after being exposed to furnace temperature heats, and dropped on a floor and it boke? I guess. Half is better than nothing, for sure.
Enough to identify it and know its genuine. Thats the most basic level and if the answer to either of those is no then theres no shot
But I’m sure someone could identify some of these based on the text so would they count and get slabbed?
Meh I don’t think NGC could tell. If I had one of those coins whole I could cut it like that and it would be impossible to tell the difference.
If it was cut in the use of commerce when it was I circulation is different than if it was cut today a fresh cut would be obvious as there would be no patina.