Grading disappointment - what grade do you think this is?

I think this is a medal & not a coin. Thus grading standards may be different. Also grading by photos is difficult because surface issues may not come out in a static photo.

Nonetheless, I can't find any wear, major bangs, cleaning, or other issues. It does have a few small dents so it's not gem. I'd easily give it an ms-62. Lovely original toning btw.

 

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MS61

 

Beautiful medal!

The Europeans would likely grade it an EF, for the US Choice AU? I'm not very good when assigning numbers to grades, part of the reason why I moved to world coins and ancients back in the 1980s.

As I say with any coin or medal that you own, if you really like it, the opinion of NGC should not have any effect on how you feel. After all, this is their opinion and only their opinion. Your opinion is really of greater importance.

Now I know that there are collectors and investors who "go by the numbers" on NGC and other TPG slabs. That is the be-all and end-all of collecting as far as they are concerned; that's fine, everyone should follow their own drummer. However, I think much of the fun collecting coins, or anything else for that matter, is holding the coin in hand, acquiring knowledge, experience and coming to feel comfortable with one's own judgment.

As I said, that is an absolutely wonderful medal, regardless of what the NGC grade is. I don't see any signs of mount removal or tooling, common problems with this type of item. Aside from some rubbing, the surfaces look fine to me. The toning is also very nice.

 

Pretty medal, Ther coin is so busy, I think that it would be hard to grade from a photo. Also put it into a slab and sometimes it is nearly impossible to get the correct look.
When coins are this busy, I look to the rims, and with this one I see a wire type rim around both sides, showing little to zero circulation.

 

Sorry, but I refuse to "grade" it.
It's just a superb piece that I'd be honored to even own.