A favorite coin of mine as many know. Here's an 1872 in an old PCI slab. Yes, I said PCI. My scans arent the best but they graded it at what I graded it as. Should I apply for a job there now? http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x275/clembo1872/scan0016-2.jpg http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x275/clembo1872/scan0017-2.jpg What do you grade it? - and yes the white spots are dust on the scanner. clembo
Heck, I would bet that you can buy the Company now! I have a new name for which the PCI initials can stand for, if you buy them out and which might get you some Collector's sympathy and business. You could name it "Poo Clembo's Indigent" Grading Company. Frank
If the pics do the coin justice I'd also have to say F-12. If the scanner is taking away any detail I could see it going VF-20 or 30. Nice coin for sure!
Are those die cracks on the reverse, or is that a clashed die? Kind of reminds me of the clashes on the Flying Eagle series. Mike
I need a camera! WOW! I know the pics are not the greatest but you guys are brutal! Pull out the ANA guides class Yes, the scanner did lose some detail but not a few grades worth. Horizontal shield lines are complete. The WE does not show well on the scan but it is well-defined albeit a bit mushy. Reverse is worn but all details of leaves and wheat are visible. I pegged this one as XF40 originally which is what I bought it as. PCI did give it XF45 and it might just make it. I feel it would easily cross over to an XF40 by a PCGS or NGC. Now, if you happen to see a coin like this at a show etc. graded as an F12 or VF20 BUY IT! I know it's my coin so I may be a bit biased but believe me this is XF40 ALL DAY. Thanks for the opinions. clembo
In your pics, the "WE" looks excessively worn with the outlines of the "E" barely showing. I'm sure the scanner took away alot of the shield line and leaf detail too. I took that into consideration when grading, but had no idea that it sucked detail out of the pic that much. FYI, I had my ANA book out because of the last time I tried to grade one of your deuces.
Yes, I do need a camera believe me. Just not in the budget now. I knew you had the ANA book out dude. The fact that my mentioned some leeway gave it away. Now look at the pic of an F12 and tell me how different this coin looks.
I gotta go with F15. You really shouldn't use the pics in the ANA guide to grade by - you should use the descriptions. VF20 obv - WE shows considerable flatness, but all letters in motto are visible. More than half of the details in leaves still show. Shield is worn but bold. rev - Leaves and ribbon are worn. Wheat grains are all visible. Now the problem I have is that the leaves do not show half of the details. That means the coin cannot grade higher than F15. XF40 obv - WE worn but well defined and bold. Slight wear shows on horizontal lines of the shield. High points of the leaves and arrows are worn but show all details. rev - Leaves and wheat are worn but all details are visible. With not even half of the details in the leaves visible on the obv or the rev it could not possibly be XF.
I have always felt that the WE was a bad thing to grade 2 cent pieces by, as many are struck weakly so that the WE isn't clearly visible on even an AU/UNC coin. As for this coin, it does seem to suffer from a weak strike. I would call it a VF-30.
I am going by the descriptions Doug. It's the picture that sucks believe me. F15 is beyond wrong I'm afraid Eventually it will go to PCGS and I will have a camera but F15? Yes, if you knock it up about 25 points.
