Specimen Coins

To my way of thinking what the TPGs call/designate what is and what isn't a Specimen is all kind of fishy.

As I said above, PCGS says this -

Specimen
Term used to indicate special coins struck at the Mint from 1792-1816 that display many characteristics of the later Proof coinage. Prior to 1817, the minting equipment and technology was limited, so these coins do not have the “watery” surfaces of later Proofs nor the evenness of strike of the close collar Proofs. PCGS designates these coins SP.

Proof
A coin usually struck from a specially prepared coin die on a specially prepared planchet. Proofs are usually given more than one blow from the dies and are usually struck with presses operating at slower speeds and higher striking pressure. Because of this extra care, Proofs usually exhibit much sharper detail than regular, or business, strikes. PCGS recognizes Proofs (PR) as those struck in 1817 and later. Those coins struck prior to 1817 are recognized as Specimen strikes (SP).

And this -

Prooflike
Term to designate a coin that has mirror-like surfaces, the term especially applicable to Morgan dollars. Those Morgan dollars that meet PCGS prooflike standards are designated PL.

Pay particular attention to the parts I have underlined, and think of them in relation to each other. Once you do that, consider those Kennedy halves above designated as SP and tell me what they have in common to those definitions given.

Now consider what NGC has to say.

Strike Type
MS Mint State. Coins struck in the same format as circulation issues. Applies to grades 60 to 70.
PF Proof. Coins struck in a special format for collectors.
SP Specimen. A hybrid between Mint State and Proof.

PL Prooflike. Applies only to circulation issues. The fields are mirrored and the devices may be frosted on both sides.

Prooflike indicates that the surfaces exhibit a higher degree of reflectivity than is typically seen on a circulation-issue coin. The fields are mirrored and the devices may be frosted on both sides, reminiscent of a Proof coin.

Now consider the 60's SMS coins that they designate as SP, the '98 Kennedy they designate as SP, the 2014 Kennedy halves they designate as SP, the '94 and '97 nickels they designate as SP, and even some of the older coins like the 1907 $10 Indian they designated as SP - and tell me what they all have in common with the definitions they provide. And when you do consider the different finishes on the coins.

Then, if the TPGs are supposed to know what they are doing, why are their definitions and designations so different from each other ? And why, when the two different companies grade the same coins, do they each give those coins different designations ? And why, at different periods of time have they changed their designations for the exact same coins ? And what I mean by that is that in one period the same coin was designated as MS, but in another period designated as SP, or even SMS ? The coins certainly didn't change. The only thing that changed what they decided to call them.

The point I am trying to make is that nothing jives. They hand out these designations in an arbitrary manner that only seems to meet their company's individual needs for their own benefit, instead of calling the coin what it is based on its method of manufacture and or reason for manufacture. And it is those 2 things, and only those 2 things that determine what type of coin a coin really is.

Far too many people seem to think that the TPGs are always right and they are the ones who determine what is and what isn't. They think this because the TPGs are supposed to be The Pros From Dover, the ultimate authority on things, the ones who decide things and tell the rest of us what is what.

Well they aren't folks ! They are merely companies who do what is best for them ! And they don't give two cents about what is best for anybody else, the hobby, or what is actually right or actually wrong. For them, the bottom line is all that matters. And getting as many people as they can to swallow their nonsense and believe it.

 

It's not just coins minted pre and post 1950. The TPGs have changed designations on coins minted post 2000 ! For a few years were MS, or SMS, the next year they suddenly became SP.

 

Sure you can, if you follow the standard and established rules for determining what a coin is. What you cannot do is rely on the TPGs to be the ones who decide what they are.

The point I have been trying to get across is that far, far, too many people think the TPGs are always right - regarding almost anything about coins. But they aren't always right ! In fact, in some things they are wrong far more often than they are ever right !