Do all TPG use a baseline magnifying level to in order to determine whether a Jefferson Nickel gets a Full Steps designation? What designation would you give the following pictures? One of them is mine and Im on the fence if I should send it in for grading.
The bottom one should definitely not make it. The upper one is still questionable on the fifth step. What years are the coins.
Grading = MS something? Attribution = Something FS? If the condition sucks, why get it attributed? Chris
Business strike or SMS. The SMS is more likely to have FS. But the SMS are not recognised. What is recognised is cameo and DCAM. 5 full steps are scarce. If you want to be the most confident in comparing FS coins by year look at NGC graded coins as they are much tougher. PCGS coins are much more questionable.
My first question is who are you going to send them to? NGC or PCGS? The top coin shows 5 full steps IMO. There is weakness across the 3rd through 5th steps but I don't see any actual bridging. There is a tiny break on the 5th step above the C in MONTICELLO which I believe NGC would use to negate a 5FS designation. However, given the rarity of the issue for 1965, and PCGS's more lenient standards, I think you have a pretty decent shot at getting that coin into a FS holder. That said, we would need to see a photo of the entire coin both obverse and reverse to ensure that the coin is both mint state and problem free. The second coin has an obvious break from a mark between the 3rd and 4th steps under the second pillar that would preclude FS designations from both NGC & PCGS. I'm a little worried that the top picture is one of a coin that already resides in a PCGS FS holder and that the bottom one is yours.
Thanks for your input. Is the second coin also affected under the first pillar? I'll post the entire coin (obverse & reverse) when i get home as i dont have it with me.
I don't believe either should get FS. Besides, the top one looks like it took a hit on the left side of the steps. The bottom one, definitely no. FS should be reserved for the most pristine examples...of course, if you have a grader not paying close attention, anything can (& does) happen. JMHO...
I am having a hard time telling how much luster there is on the coin. Seems to have minor contact marks. But most of the MS grade boils down to the highpoints of the luster as struck. This coin would have to Grade a 66+ for it to be worth it.
You need to understand a couple of things first. When it comes to grading coins magnification is not even used probably 90% (or more) of the time - grading is done with the naked eye. Magnification is typically only used if and when the grader sees something he's not sure of and needs to take a closer look at it to be sure. Most graders will usually only look at a coin for 5 maybe 6 seconds and they're done, finished with grading. There are how ever some exceptions. In the PCGS grading book their stated requirement for magnification is 5x, but it is only used on coins grading 67 and higher. That basically means the coin has to meet their standards for a given grade when it is viewed at 5x. That said, your question doesn't have anything to do with grading, it has to do with a special designation, and special designations are not part of the grade. Special designations are like attributions for varieties and errors, they are often dependent on small, tiny little details that can only be seen with magnification. And since everybody's eyes are different, so is the power of the magnification they need to use in order to see what they need to see. So, the answer to your question is - it varies with the grader. Some might use 5x, another 7x, yet another 10x.
The answer is: proofs do not qualify for Full Step attribution because they are all supposed to have it inherently. Business strikes in MS60 or better is the basic criteria. There are 6 steps. On some years the quality of the dies were poor, so some TPGs allow for a 5 full step variety, and you can see this in the price guide listings. Search Coin Talk with keywords like "full step" and "FS" and you will find a ton of information on full steps...Spark
thanks alot I'm not real familiar with the new grading system ! I grew up with the G. Vg F so on so on! all slabing grading ect, has made collecting more sufistcated and complex helps to promote the hobby I love the fact that i may have a Morgan that was laying on the table with hickoks 8s ace, s
