I voted 64. I think that there are just to many contact marks to make a gem grade. Even though the strike and luster are good for gem.
Alright, everybody! With 35 guesses, the CT average was a 64.97. That is almost dead on the PCGS grade of 65. Well done! Over 57% guessed the correct grade, and the vast majority were within one point. The luster and strike on this coin appear quite excellent, as several of you pointed out. There are quite a few small marks on this coin, but there aren't really any major marks. For a 64, I'd expect to see at least a couple of serious marks, or some bigger marks in prime focal areas (jaw, cheek, forehead, etc). For a 66, this coin just has too many of those small marks. I'd expect a cleaner coin on a 66. Overall, well played on this one, CoinTalk!
I guess I have been overly harsh on my own Lincolns. point high for round one, point low this round, average is +/-0
Honestly, what I tell people is, if you are consistently within one point of the TPGs (high or low), you're doing well. If you specialize in a series you might want to tighten that down a bit, but for just any random coin, a guess between 64-66 on a 65 is perfectly acceptable. On this coin, for example, I think a 66 might be a tad loose but I can absolutely see an argument for a 64+.
Two new threads are up! https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-official-grading-experiment-phase-2-3.355072/ https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-official-grading-experiment-phase-2-4.355073/