The Official CoinTalk Grading Experiment 15

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by physics-fan3.14, Nov 3, 2019.

?

What does the Coin Grade?

  1. AU-58

  2. MS-60

  3. MS-61

  4. MS-62

  5. MS-63

  6. MS-64

  7. MS-65

  8. MS-66

  9. MS-67

  10. MS-68

Results are only viewable after voting.
  1. physics-fan3.14

    physics-fan3.14 You got any more of them.... prooflikes?

    You guys asked for copper, so let's grade copper! I will tell you that this coin is designated Brown, so I will not be asking for color designators. It is in a problem free holder.

    How good is CoinTalk compared to the TPGs? Let's find out! Over the next several months, I'll be posting a continuous stream of Guess the Grade threads. I will be using photos from the Heritage auction archives (please do not cheat!).

    All you have to do is guess the grade! I will be attaching a poll to each thread. Please select the grade that you think best represents the coin (to avoid bias, please select your grade before viewing the rest of the thread).

    Also feel free to post your opinions about the coin, and it would be most educational if you could explain why you chose the grade you did.

    In order to give everyone time to respond, I'll reveal the grade Tuesday evening.

    Around Christmas, I will tally up the results and see how we did. This thread is an offshoot of a recent thread where I compared CT grading to the TPG, seen here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/how-good-is-cointalk-at-grading.343417/

    We're going to cover a wide range of material, and some of it may be out of your wheelhouse. However, if you are a confident grader, you should be able to accurately grade almost any coin.

    gtg 15 obv - Copy.jpg gtg 15 rev.jpg
     
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  3. CircCam

    CircCam Victory

    My gut reaction to that one is MS63 mostly due to surface preservation/luster as it's fairly mark free.
     
  4. ewomack

    ewomack 魚の下着

    To be honest, I'm at a stage of grading where I guess based roughly on other examples that I have seen. I need to get a more systematic way of determining a grade because I'm finding the grades on both slabbed and loose coins varies way too much to rely on consistently. I went with MS-62 (I'm guessing it also qualifies as BN?) because of some scattered light dings and a slight look of wear (though I may be judging light strike incorrectly or just judging incorrectly overall). The only way one improves is by practice and failure often lines the road to success, so it's best to guess and learn than to fear being wrong (although this can sometimes be a rough crowd, so I don't blame people for not speaking out).

    It's a very nice coin in any case.
     
  5. Rheingold

    Rheingold Well-Known Member

    I see a MS 64 quality coin.
     
  6. ddoomm1

    ddoomm1 keep on running

  7. physics-fan3.14

    physics-fan3.14 You got any more of them.... prooflikes?

    I am so happy that you recognize this is the best way to learn. Look at as many coins as you can! This is how I learned, this is how most of us learned. Build in your mind a library of coins - compare each coin to that reference bank of experience. This is exactly how you should learn to grade!

    Understanding the key aspects of strike, luster, eye appeal, surfaces, contact marks (and potentially wear) is the way to understand grading. Sometimes you might disagree with a TPG - and that's ok. I do it all the time! But, you need to be able to understand and explain why.

    Yes, this coin is BN. I specifically chose a BN coin for this to eliminate the variance of the BN/RB/RD discussion. My OP states that this is a BN coin.

    My hope and intention is that people feel free to post their guesses and explain why they guessed that way. My hope is that if someone guesses incorrectly, or doesn't understand why a coin was graded that way, that members will instruct and help them out. I realize that sometimes this may feel like an attack, but I hope that's not how we react. My goal here is to educate and help people grade better - and gather some interesting data along the way.
     
    ewomack likes this.
  8. C-B-D

    C-B-D Well-Known Member

    63. Luster is present, but dulled by the light surface "issues."
     
  9. messydesk

    messydesk Well-Known Member

    64BN. Has luster, good surfaces, especially on reverse, with only minor ticks, eye appeal could be better. The dark spots max it out at 64 for me. If the color were even and there were maybe a couple fewer ticks on the face, then easy 65.
     
    Paul M. likes this.
  10. messydesk

    messydesk Well-Known Member

    64BN. Has luster, good surfaces, especially on reverse, with only minor ticks, eye appeal could be better. The dark spots max it out at 64 for me. If the color were even and there were maybe a couple fewer ticks on the face, then easy 65.

    Edit: OK, I only meant to say that once. Mods can delete my extra replies.
     
    C-B-D likes this.
  11. ddddd

    ddddd Member

    64 ....some small dings/hits throughout and some spotting on the reverse...I think this one is on par with the previous Large Cent (from #14); to me the eye appeal is neutral at best.
     
  12. ksparrow

    ksparrow Coin Hoarder Supporter

    Love these Randall Hoard coins. I think 64, a few trivial marks and spots keep it form gem, I think, but still a very nice example
     
  13. longshot

    longshot Enthusiast Supporter

    Not a copper guy, but 63 sounds about right to me.
     
  14. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    Probably 64 with gradeflation
     
  15. Lehigh96

    Lehigh96 Toning Enthusiast

    This coin seems very similar to the last one. Really nice surfaces, though not as nice as the last coin, subdued luster, and nice overall coloration and eye appeal. I'm sticking with the same grade.

    MS64 BN
     
  16. dividebytube

    dividebytube Active Member

    Ah the Matron my least favorite large cent design... I'll go with MS-63 due to some surface unevenness and also the lack of luster. I have a feeling it's actually a MS-64 because this era of coins seem to get a little more leeway than, for example, a Morgan.
     
  17. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    Luster is not gem, so maxed at MS-64. There is spottiness on the surfaces, but that indicates it is from the Randall Hoard so it should not effect the grade. There is some minor chatter. This is either a high-end 63 or low end 64. I voted MS-64. Color is BN.

    My undergraded MS-62 for reference

    B40A8667-5D73-4B99-B8A0-BDD6D820A26D.jpeg AACFD687-D12B-4A38-B59A-E84A9EBD6FC6.jpeg
     
    Sunflower_Coins likes this.
  18. physics-fan3.14

    physics-fan3.14 You got any more of them.... prooflikes?

    Getting a low number of responses on this one. Was it too similar to the last one? I'll leave it open a while longer.

    Next time gold?
     
  19. Paul M.

    Paul M. Well-Known Member

    I disagree completely. No amount of provenance exempts any coin from being graded on its own merits. These dark blotches were a major reason why I felt this coin was a low-ish end 64. I saw no wear and no distracting marks, so my assessment was essentially the same as @messydesk:

     
  20. physics-fan3.14

    physics-fan3.14 You got any more of them.... prooflikes?

    Alright, much lower response on this one with only 30 guesses. While I think this coin is actually a nicer coin than the last, CoinTalk only gave this a 63.1 (compared to the 63.3 of the previous cent). PCGS gave this a 64, and CAC approved (the previous coin was not CAC stickered).

    Honestly, this coin looks nicer to me than the last one. There is some mottling on the toning that isn't the nicest, but the luster is definitely stronger on this one. The strike is good, and there aren't any rim dings on this one. While I think the previous cent that was so contentious was a 64, I think this one is a premium 64.

    Thoughts?

    gtg 15 obv.jpg
     
    C-B-D likes this.
  21. C-B-D

    C-B-D Well-Known Member

    I tend to go with my first impression when I grade coins in these threads, and I stuck with 63 even though I waffled back and forth between that and 64. Ultimately, I punished the coin by giving more weight to the ticks and spots, and not regarding the luster and lack of big marks as a booster.
     
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