Black Eagle Silver Certificate Grade?

I attempted this last year (with Fr 235) and didn't get any bites. I recently added to my consecutive Black Eagle collection with Fr 233. I'm considering sending these for professional grading and I'd like an idea about what everyone thinks. . . Not worried about the numbers within the grades but instead am most interested in whether they are XF, AU, CU or whatever. Both sets have crisp paper (Fr 235 is a bit more crisp) with no apparent blemishes or creases/folds. The corners on Fr 233 aren't as sharp as those on Fr 235 but the ink on Fr 233 is brighter/bolder. Any and all opinions would be appreciated.

 

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My opinion is...

1) Those are quite nice
2) Cannot possibly give accurate information on those pics, need a quality scan or much higher quality pic - image is just to weak to work with
3) If you are collecting them for yourself, the most important grade is your grade, and if they were mine, I would grade them as I said in #1, "quite nice".

If you are going to send them into get graded anyways, I'd just go ahead and do it and then post back (I think some grading companies will actually give you scans of your notes, don't remember where I read that but I thought I did...).

Nice Eagles, one of the best US Currency designs...

 

Face and back images are a must! We have to be able to see if there are any discolorations, markings, stains, etc. What can you say about the notes' embossing? Is it raised? I know you said "bold"... Also, hold the note to a bright light... any pinholes of light showing through?

Better images will certainly get you better comments but even with the limited quality of your face-only images, a guesstimate of: XF, AU, or CU could be hazarded.

The best imaging you can do by yourself if you want to share pictures of notes online is to scan them with a black or dark solid color sheet of paper behind the note to help clearly define the margins of the note. Remember margins are important to a notes grade and damage to margins matters.

Camera pics of notes tend to be taken slightly at an angle (like yours) and the images often end up bowed or keystoned looking, so try to use a scanner. When you scan, set it for 300 dpi scanning and save the image file at 800 pixels wide or greater. Scanner lighting is also a lot more even than typical room lights, so all around you'll have more representative images.

Anyway, for now, your Fr.233 Teehee | Burke notes both have bumped corners, all around. I'd say these will come back in XF holders, but could get a distinction for the paper quality and eye appeal. I think I'm a bit more strict and being cautious with limited image quality, but a TPG confronted by consecutive notes may go AU allowing the bumped corners within tolerances normally allowed for various 3-fold XF determiners.

The Fr. 235 Elliot | White notes seem a bit better, and should be firmly in AU territory. For me mid-AU grades with these face pics, but for an in-hand TPG evaluation, perhaps a lot higher with a paper quality designation, even. The biggest factor detracting from this note on the face, is the top margin. It's pretty narrow, but there is a margin all around, so it shouldn't hurt too badly.

I'd love to see scans of both sides. They look like they're wonderful notes.

 

MEC2 and Krispy - Thanks for your comments. I understand that my pics are poor quality. . . I will attempt to post some clearer scans tonight. At least to some extent (as MEC2 points out), the grading is somewhat irrelevant to me because I have no plans on selling these Notes. . . That said, I'll probably still decide to send for professional grading:smile.

 

they are beautiful notes. even if you are going to keep them and grade isn't super important. i would get them graded. it makes sure the notes can stay in the condition they are. it's something that can be passed down along to future generations. if you ever do decide to sell them having them graded leaves no doubt in the buyers mind. :thumb:

 

I sent all four Notes for grading. Updates to follow. . .

 

i think that is the best way to go.

 

Update. . . I just received an e-mail from PCGS Currency that my Notes have shipped. I was also able to get the grades. . .

Fr. 233: Both graded About New 50 with one carrying the "Apparent" designation (not sure why yet).

Fr. 235: Both graded Choice About New 58PPQ with both considered Mule.

I'll post pics once I get them back. I'm happy with these results.

 

Update #(lost count). . . I now know why one of the Fr.233s was designated apparent. Apparently (no pun intended) a small edge tear at top center of Note. Still quite happy with the overall result.

So, can anyone recommend a reliable source for the known population of the Fr. 235 Mules (other than PCGS graded population which I have)? Does such a statistic exist?

 

Estimate I've seen is that about a quarter of all 235's are mules.

 

Thanks.

 

See page 132 of the "New Acquisitions" thread for pictures of the graded Notes.

 

I've added the link in your comment to your pictures in that thread. You could post images here too, but hopefully better ones than you put in the New Acquisitions thread.

It's hard to comment on your notes, as mentioned before, since we never saw anything better from the initial images you posted before they went off to be graded and the new ones in the holders aren't showing us the notes any better than before (those pics in the other thread).

All that we readers of this thread know now is that a reputable TPG got to see the notes in hand and gave them what is most probably an accurate assessment of their grade based on condition and the mule designation.

You really MUST scan your notes, as mentioned before, so others you want to see and comment on them, can do so. Scan each one separately, front and back. Fuzzy resolution images with a camera just don't show us the detail we need to make accurate comments of our own.

I'm sure we'd all like to see them more clearly and could now comment as to what we think of the TPGs assessment, but without better pics, you are still leaving us hanging, and you're still eager to hear from others about your notes... so you know what you've got to do next! Get scanning!

 

Fr. 235

 

Not sure that's going to work for everyone. They are PDF files that don't display in the tread, but ask the viewer to download to their computer. (I'd rather not.) Re-save your files as .png or .jpg (.jpeg) type image files and upload again, if you can.

Best for displaying large inline images in your posts is to host your images on another site, such as Photobucket (free accounts), then copy the image URL to the body of your post on CT or via the image URL insert icon on the editor when you compose a post.

 

Fr. 233

 

You're killing me Krispy

I'll post Jpegs later.

 

Same issue... PDFs that must be downloaded to view.

 

Keep trying... It's not that difficult and once you've got it, it will be so much easier and fun for you to post.

 

Thanks to Krispy's persistence, the Notes are now scanned.

I was on the verge of chuckin' the scanner.