What happens to coins below 69?

OK, now I have another "basic 101" question for you guys. Does toning hurt a coin's grade? I see that toned Morgan at MS67 and it made me wonder about a lot of things when if comes to the grading services. I don't mind toning, but what does NGC, PCGS, etc. think about it? Would it grade higher if it had more colors, i.e. prettier, vs what may be considered "uglier" toning. If that's true, who's to say which toning is prettier since beauty is so subjective? That says to me that judging a coin's toning and placing an "official" grade on it is, at best, fickle.

 

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And with that said, isn't it rational that when we talk about 70 as perfect and the more colors and such deviated from the perfect natural state/color, shouldn't it be less the grade?

I like natural toning, but since it was brought up...it does make a point.

 

We submitted the coin raw. When it was bought, it was in an old PCGS holder MS-64. Knew with today's standards it would upgrade.
We ran the coin through the show grading and sold it same day. The company that bought the coin, turned it back in to the grading service and now it is two points higher.

 

ED,

It was a Three Cent Silver (Bought from the Knoxville collection) and it certainly had questionable toning. When we bought this coin, I thought it was heat toning, and today I still feel the same way.

I am not trying to knock the grading services, as I truely believe that they are doing the best that they can from day to day. However, coins with populations of 10 or less are given a lot of special consideration.

 

I remember it was way out of my league and my budget...but thanks for pointing that out.

I am not knocking the grading services either...BUT...if they give special consideration(s) for the forementioned items like rarity, quantity submitted, etc., shouldn't everybody and every coin be treated equal?

 

I think gradeing is like referees in a sporting event. They are human. Everyone has an off day andcan miss something. How long before someone comes up with gradeing software and coins are computer graded?

 

Actually the question was "What happens to coins grading lower than MS69?" I can tell you that us poor folks buy them at very FAIR prices! Thats what happens to them! Probably as truthful and answer as you could get!

 

Without being too obvious here, it also sounds like you could get a coin that the "Big" grading services would return because it didn't grade a 69 or 70 and still have one that looks just as good as one that did "make the grade". Hell, I'll save the bucks and enjoy being able to put my coin to my face without a plastic barrier...

 

Ed, I wish the world worked this way.

 

Exactly! Now you are learning. Very few, and I mean a handful of people in the world can tell the difference between a 68 and a 70. For the average person the extra two points and tons of money are not important. I have pretty good grading skills, and still cannot pinpoint the differences in the last couple of grades with any real accurate count.

 

National Dealer your honesty is a very, very good trait to have, especially when dealing in this hobby and profession. Wish more dealers had the same trait! Sure we will do business some day, if we haven't already?

 

I humbly thank you for the kind words.

 

Here is what happens when you miss the magic 69 or 70 grade.

http://www.heritagecoins.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=24124&Lot_No=14188

At $10 per coin, you are saving $18 in grading fees alone.

 

If you submit a LARGE number of the same date and mint coin, you can specify a minimum grade and only the coins that meet or beat that minimum will be slabbed. If I believe it's 40% of the coins meet or beat the minimum then you are only charged for the coins actually slabbed. If less than 40% meet the minimum then you pay the fees for all of them but they only slab the ones that are at the minimum or above.

So it's a gamble on the submitters part. He can send in the ones he thinks will make it and get the service to "pre-screen" the coins and only pay for the good ones, but if he doesn't select well enough then he will pay for a bunch of coins that will not be slabbed. In effect greatly raising the slabbing costs for those few pieces that do make it.