"Full" Coin Designations.......

I am aware of the FH, FB, FS and FBL designations but just came across a FB Roosevelt that I wasn't aware of. Are there any other "full" designations I'm not aware of? You'd think a Lincoln or some others would have them but I'm not aware. Anything out there?

 

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Lincoln cents have color designations (RD, RB, BN) while proof coinage has DCAM and CAM and many coins, especially Morgan dollars, have PL and DMPL. As for the "full" designations, none come to mind other than those already listed. By the way, I am a firm nonbeliever in these designations.

 

Tom: What do you think of FBL Franklin halves? These tend to bring great premiums but I have seen nice strikes in some non-FBLs.

 

I echo Bowers' sentiment on this one, there should be a label for Full Details and thats it. If a coin doesnt hit at least 80-90% of Full Details whether it be Head, Bell Lines, or Bands, it should be denoted if the Full Details applies across the whole coin.

I recently had a 55-S Roosevelt dime. She was graded as Full Bands, but the reverse legend was mushy and weak. Perfect example of the focal point being fully struck, but the rest of the coin wasnt. Luckily I didnt pay a premium for the FB designation

 

I can't say I'm big fan either. Maybe for similar or different reasons. It seems to me that any high grade coin should achieve this by the nature of their grade. When I see, and actually own a MS64 FBL I scratch my head a bit.

When I discovered the FB Roosevelt(or FT) I started to read about it a bit. I then found that NGC used to just allow 6 steps to be considered FS on Jeffersons. Then for some reason they allowed for further differentiation and now designate 5FS and 6FS????? It's either got full steps or it doesn't. And then I see that PCGS just needs 5 steps for the FS grade. To me, that's like saying the ball bounced off the fence so we will call it a homerun anyway. Maybe I'll score golf the same, it was close enough so we'll call it a birdie. I digress.....

I think a coin grade should speak for itself. Maybe these designations should be what keeps a coin at a lower grade. I see MS67 and 68 all day that don't have them, yet MS64-66 do?

But maybe it can create another collector niche which I guess is good.

 

Tom,

I agree with you for the most part, but do you feel that designations like CAM, DCAM, PL & DMPL should be grouped with the others, or do they serve a worthwhile purpose?

Chris

 

band line

 

I thought Full Bands only applied to the mercury dimes.

 

thanks

 

Bowers in his Official Red Book of Type Coins he says in the Standing Liberty quarter series to look at the inner shield and the outer rivets of the shield on full head designated quarters for full details there and if it doesn't then keep searching for one that does which echoes TomB's sentiment that the strike required for a full anything should apply to entire side of the coin.

In another one of Bowers' books he even says he doesn't think there should be a premium for any coin graded MS-66 or higher because he doesn't believe in those grades. Come on, can anyone really with any degree of accuracy differentiate an MS-66 from a -67 or -68? At that level it is all subjective and on any day an MS-68 could be graded MS-65 and vice versa. The grading services are not even consistent with mint state grades between MS-61 to -65 which actually is somewhat easier to accomplish. The highest graded coins I buy are MS-64 simply because the premium in many cases for the next grade point is too much and also an MS-64 can have a better strike and eye appeal.

I would never pay a premium for a copper coin in a slab designated as Red simply because that coin will ultimately turn to red/brown and then brown it is just a matter of time when those changes will occur. Grading service slabs are not hermetically sealed so air and humidity does get in to the coin.

 

Kind of off topic but can you give me a reference on how you grade coins? I know your standards are more strict than the TPG's so I was wondering what reference to use?

 

Thanks. I guess I have read several of your posts and was confused as to whether you used another reference for grading or if the TPG's just stopped adhering to ANA standards.

 

What is the official current publication that shows those guidelines? Is it the ANA Photograde book?