Details Coins That Are Slabbed

A 17th century cast medal deemed unc but details "tooled". Given the common practice of casting and chasing medals of that era, it leaves me wondering how tooling and chasing are distinguished.

 

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Perfect timing for this topic. I submitted three coins to PCGS at the end of January and just got them back. One was a 1973 Canadian Large Bust quarter. I sent it in for authenticity purposes. It came back as "Genuine AU - Scratched." The scratch you can't even see unless you have it in hand and turn the angle, so it doesn't bother me at all. The second coin was a 1916-D Mercury Dime. Again, I sent it in for authentication. It came back as "Genuine AG - Ungradable." For me, it was authenticated, and that is all I care about. I have bought several other coins in "Details" condition -- 1928-P Peace Dollar, for example. I look at that coin and can't even see what the detail issue is. I don't buy these coins with the intent of reselling them, so as long as they look good to the eye, I buy them if they are key dates. I can now say I have an authentic 1916-D Mercury Dime instead of guessing if it was. P.S. The last coin I am waiting on is the 1895-O Barber Dime. I sent it off for the same reason: to authenticate it.

 

I don't buy details coins in slabs, though I have submitted some that came back with that designation. I sold them all. I will say they are quite good learning tools and my details grades for submissions has dropped because of this.

 

A selection of top shelf coins with detail labels….. Whole point being that there are attractive pieces out there with less than perfect labels. If you like the coin, buy the coin. If you are in this for profit then don’t buy them……. And I have no earthly idea why this thing flipped my photos sideways. My apologies…

 

Mostly, I try to avoid "details" coins... though I'm not very good at it lol... Often I will accept a high grade (AU-UNC) Though this is usualy reserved for high value coins I could not otherwise own. I do however insist on good eyeappeal on any details coins I add to my sets... 3 good examples....

 

The first two deserved to be flipped for better viewing.