I agree. Here is a star Battle Creek that I used to own. While nice, it’s not star material in my opinion. And here is a Battle Creek that was judged to be lower than a 63 and thus had no grade or star:
I wish pcgs did this. I’m a bigger fan of pcgs than ngc though both irritate me to no end especially as regard to toning. I see a lot of star coins that really aren’t exciting though
Don’t have a reverse pic of either. The green one was a 64* which in my opinion was a nice 63 with a color bump
They also give stars to ultra cameo coins with greater contrast than a regular ultra cameo. Here is an example:
I'm conflicted about these types of star coins. I've owned a few one sided DMPL or PL coins and it always bugged me a little like I was looking at two completely different coins. I know you can say the same for single sided toned coins, but for some reason with the single sided DMPL/PL coins it seems off to me. Don't get me wrong I'd welcome the pictured coin in a heartbeat. I just wish the reverse looked like the obverse a little more (in which case the price would quintuple I know)
I have a few Stars that are "almost Prooflike". These are extremely special coins to students of the series, but I realize their appeal may be limited with people who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of numismatics. The first is a semi-prooflike Walker. There are 4 known PL Walkers in the entire series. These coins sell for obscene amounts. Coins which are almost-prooflike are incredibly rare. The second is an almost prooflike Franklin. PL Franlins are known for 49S and 59P Type II. This is a 51S.... crazy rare, and was a rumour for decades until I re-discovered it. Both of these coins earn their Stars for their almost-PL qualities. Both of these coins are tricky to judge from pictures, and are difficult for non-specialists even in hand.
^^^ Similar to that. This was on my watchlist on GC this past week. Cameo Walker Proofs are few and far between this one had a star for just falling short. I think it went for a pretty reasonable price at 1k IMO well bought.
Media Information Album: JPC Album Uploaded By: JPeace$ Date: Jan 16, 2018 View Count: 616 Comment Count: 0 EXIF Data (Expand / Collapse) File Size: 54.5 KB Mime Type: image/jpeg Width: 421px Height: 600px Note: EXIF data is stored on valid file types when a photo is uploaded. The photo may have been manipulated since upload (rotated, flipped, cropped etc). 1907 MS65 by jpcienkus posted Jan 16, 2018 at 5:51 AM Media Information Album: JPC Album Uploaded By: JPeace$ Date: Jan 16, 2018 View Count: 569 Comment Count: 0 EXIF Data (Expand / Collapse) File Size: 64.8 KB Mime Type: image/jpeg Width: 421px Height: 600px Note: EXIF data is stored on valid file types when a photo is uploaded. The photo may have been manipulated since upload (rotated, flipped, cropped etc). 1907 MS65 reverse by jpcienkus posted Jan 16, 2018 at 5:52 AM Media Information Album: JPC Album Uploaded By: JPeace$ Date: Jan 16, 2018 View Count: 646 Comment Count: 0 EXIF Data (Expand / Collapse) File Size: 75.5 KB Mime Type: image/jpeg Width: 421px Height: 600px Note: EXIF data is stored on valid file types when a photo is uploaded. The photo may have been manipulated since upload (rotated, flipped, cropped etc). 1881 S MS64 star by jpcienkus posted Jan 16, 2018 at 9:41 PM Media Information Album: JPC Album Uploaded By: JPeace$ Date: Jan 16, 2018 View Count: 540 Comment Count: 0 EXIF Data (Expand / Collapse) File Size: 71.6 KB Mime Type: image/jpeg Width: 421px Height: 600px Note: EXIF data is stored on valid file types when a photo is uploaded. The photo may have been manipulated since upload (rotated, flipped, cropped etc). 1881 S MS64 star reverse by jpcienkus posted Jan 16, 2018 at 9:41 PM Media Information Album: JPC Album Uploaded By: JPeace$ Date: Jan 16, 2018 View Count: 655 Comment Count: 0 EXIF Data (Expand / Collapse) File Size: 624.9 KB Mime Type: image/jpeg Width: 2100px Height: 2995px Note: EXIF data is stored on valid file types when a photo is uploaded. The photo may have been manipulated since upload (rotated, flipped, cropped etc). 1885 O MS65 star by jpcienkus posted Jan 16, 2018 at 9:41 PM Media Information Album: JPC Album Uploaded By: JPeace$ Date: Jan 16, 2018 View Count: 606 Comment Count: 0 EXIF Data (Expand / Collapse) File Size: 611.9 KB Mime Type: image/jpeg Width: 2100px Height: 2995px Note: EXIF data is stored on valid file types when a photo is uploaded. The photo may have been manipulated since upload (rotated, flipped, cropped etc). 1885 O MS65 star reverse by jpcienkus posted Jan 16, 2018 at 9:41 PM
Thanks Bill. The $2.5 gold coin is a stunner. It has PL surfaces over most of the coin (both sides), but it's not complete enough to get the designation.
Sometimes for really deep mirrors that aren't quite DPL, or for strong cameo contrast, you can get a PL and a Star. Like this one, NGC MS-67 * PL CAC:
OK, some mighty nice coins posted here. But I must say, I don't believe the "star" should be a designator for anything unless they also use "1/2 star", "1/4 star", etc. to differentiate between the various degrees of stardom (same reason a coin is not just "MS"; it's "MSxx", or "AUxx"). And then there's the "star" with a CAC bean!!!!!!!!!!! WTH!!!!!!!!!!!! (PLEASE READ THE INTENDED SARCASM BEFORE COMMENTING!) Eventually none of these slabs will be believable & everyone will have to self-grade!!! OMG, what a nightmare!!!!