post recent grading results

post your recent grading results

Let's see your recent PCGS or NGC grading submission results.
Tell us if it was a raw coin or an attempt to cross.

I just got this coin graded by PCGS.

It was a raw, ungraded coin I bought at a local coin dealer in April at an MS60 price ($395).

They had about 15 raw gold dollar coins in a box (in the paper/cellophane window 2x2s) and this was the best one I could pick out.
It appeared to have original color, few marks, and nice luster.

I sent this in to PCGS a month ago, and just got the results back.
PCGS slapped an MS64 on it! (It's listed on their online price guide at $1,825)!

I so RARELY make any paper profits on coins (and a 450% return in 2 months is just unheard of for me)
I just had to post it.

 

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Fantastic. Congratulations!

 

awesome pickup. congratulations.

 

All were raw:


Line # Item # Cert # PCGS No. CoinDate Denomination Variety Country Grade
1 1 18724283 9177 1924 $20 US Genuine (92 - Cleaned)
2 1 18724284 1600 1818 1C US AU55BN
3 1 18724285 1645 1826 1C US AU58BN
4 1 18724286 1717 1835 1C Small 8, Stars US AU55BN
5 1 18724287 1817 1839 1C Type of 1840 US AU55BN
6 1 18724288 1820 1840 1C Large Date US AU58BN
7 1 18724289 1823 1840 1C Small Date US Genuine (98 - Damage or Tooling)
8 1 18724290 1835 1842 1C Large Date US XF45BN
9 1 18724291 1844 1843 1C Petite-Small Letters US XF40BN
10 1 18724292 1844 1843 1C Petite-Small Letters US AU55BN

In my only submission to PCGS prior to that, the 1924 above was bodybagged, and a raw 1889 gold dollar graded MS 65 (boom!)....Mike

 

post some photos leadfoot ...

or at least photos of your favorites in the grouping

 

Here is another coin I just got back from PCGS.
I think PCGS might have graded this coin too high? (I am not complaining mind you).

I bought this coin raw from CoinTalk member 900Fine for $350 last October. (He's a great dealer by the way: 900Fine.com)
It's a very solid, original coin, with nice visual appeal -- we both estimated to grade to be in the F12/15 range.
(I was using Bowers' Grading Coins by Photographs book to estimate the grade.)

PCGS assigned a VF25 grade.

The PCGS price guide has a sizable price jump on this coin between those 2 grades (listing F12 at $350 and VF25 at $850).

 

900... satisfied customers are the best form of advertising... Great job!

 

"I think PCGS might have graded this coin too high? we both estimated to grade to be in the F12/15 range."

If you can ever tell me how to get PCGS to over-grade a coin, let alone even grade most of them fairly, please share! Based on my "vast" experience grading Draped Bust halves (which consists of looking it up in the photograde book just now), you might be right. The lettering above the eagle is mostly not there, & the eagle's feather's are not too sharp. Very Nice coin tho, & maybe you "got lucky" with PCGS.....

The $1 gold.....well I'm having a serious attack of "coin envy" right now, for both coins.....enjoy those coins, woody

​

 

Exactly right woody! The E PLURIBUS UNUM lettering was the key I was using.

I emailed the seller and asked him ... this is what he wrote ...

"The coin does have a lot of positives. Details-wise, I think F12 or F15 is a fair grade. It does have some other very good attributes - balanced, centered strike, very few marks, even wear, pleasant color, and a nice patina. Maybe they took those other factors into consideration and rewarded it with a "market grade" boost. That's all I can figure, since VF25 is unrealistic considering the wear and details. I don't attribute missing detail to poor strike or crummy dies on this one."

 

You can find them here: http://www.pbase.com/miker/large_cents

 

Some years may have weak strikes? Still making that a vf25.

 

Those are all your coins? WOW.

My favorite is your 1820 ... Gorgeous!

But owning a Chain Cent is a real feat :bow:

The seller (900Fine) didn't think the 1806 Draped Bust Half was a weak strike candidate. I actually agree with him. However, I guess anything is possible.
​

This was something else he wrote to me. (I hope he doesn't mind that I posted it, but I found his thoughts on this very interesting and I thought others might as well.) I consider Ricky one of the resident experts on such matters.

"Well, I was reaching. Trying to understand the Mind of PCGS is a tall order indeed!

Another factor - consider the massive number of modern bullion submitted to PCGS (and NGC). Hundreds of thousands a month. Now consider the relatively small number of Draped Bust Half Dollars.

How skilled are the rank-and-file graders at discerning subtleties in these old coins? How good are they at telling the difference between missing detail due to circulation wear, worn dies, greasy dies, broken dies, poor strike, and more? How good are they at funneling all those issues down into one "bottom line" grade? (A difficult task for anyone.)

I submit that the skills of the graders have been dulled somewhat by the avalanche of mind-numbing ASEs and other moderns. What great grader would want such a job?"

Ricky made some very good points.




I wish that PCGS would send a written report with the coins (even a few sentences would be helpful) explaining why they graded the way they did. I haven't got the package back yet from PCGS (who knows maybe they did send a report! But I am not expecting anything.) We certainly pay them enough to get their opinion that a sentence or two on why they assigned what they assigned would really be enlightening.

Isn't it sad that I paid the (supposedly) premier coin grading company in the world $25 for their opinion, and I am STILL left guessing on the "true grade" of the coin. Is this really a VF25? Or did they screw up? Did they think it was a weak strike? Or did they do a market upgrade because of the nice visual appeal? So here I am ... I paid my money and got my plastic slab, but ultimately I think their opinion is wrong. I just don't see any way anyone could put anything higher than an F15+ on this max. (Don't get me wrong, it's a nice problem to have to have an overgraded coin, still what I really wanted was an accurate grade!)

Finally, a written report would be especially helpful on coins that Did Not Cross (DNC). I wish they would tell us what they WOULD HAVE graded the coin if they weren't constrained to match the existing assigned grade. I think that all they do now is ship back the coin with a DNC and don't tell us if it did not cross due to questionable color, a lower grade, or some other factor. I don't know about you. but if I were to pay somebody $25 for an opinion, I would expect more than simply "the grade previously assigned is wrong". With feedback like that I would expect a refund of most of my $25. A company pocketing $25 and giving out 50 cents worth of information is shoddy.

 

First 900fine is an excellent dealer. There are still a lot of nice coins out there to be graded. I think looking at the 1806 in the center of the hair around the ear you can definetely see the weak strike - at least that is what it looks like to me. This looks like it would carry over to the reverse around the E Pluribus Unum, causing it to maybe not be fully struck. Just my opinion.

 

What a great pickup, Paul!! You've got a pretty good eye pickin' that one dollar gold. It's a wonderful bonus having PCGS agree with you in such a large way.

 

mark, you might be right about that.

robec, thank you! I was actually worried about the $1 gold being counterfeit (that's one of the risks buying raw).
Both of these coins were big financial gains for me (on paper at least). A rarity!
(Who says you can't make money in rare coins? ... (((actually i have said that for decades))) )



I just got these coins back from PCGS in today's mail!

I forgot I did PCGS Secure on them -- I got that for no extra charge because I joined and got 8 free PCGS Secure submissions.
The coins look great in the new slabs (finally some slabs without scratches!)

Sorry the images are a little dark, I quickly snapped them a few minutes ago with my iPhone with not the best lighting.

 

Two beauties for sure. Love that color on the bustie.

 

Thanks Mark!

OK, I have a new one!

I just got notified by NGC that they have finished grading this coin. This was a raw coin I bought in mid April at a local coin dealer for an MS60 price of $1,628. NGC ended up grading the coin MS62+. That grade has a NGC/Numismedia price guide price of around $2,200 -- a nice paper profit.

 

Just back from NGC as a MS62. Jim

 

Wow ... that's beautiful!!! Fantastic color.
1883 King of Hawaii (that's the year Krakatoa exploded) ...
a very cool coin.

 

One more think, before I forget about it.

I have a remarkably similar story to share, and I alluded to the coin in an earlier post above...

I bought a raw 1889 gold dollar from eBay about six years ago. I paid roughly AU money for it, and the pictures were terrible and out of focus. Gave it to my local dealer to submit to PCGS, he then proceeded to misplace it for a year, replace it with an MS64, then found the coin and gave it back to me. I submitted it to PCGS, and it came back MS 65.