I went off the deep end and bought a roll of what was labeled as "uncircullated" Kennedy halves for the intent of trying to educate myself with the help of the experienced gurus here. Hopefully I can learn the differences of the grades anyone can attributed to a coin and why it would be graded as such in their own opinion. I picked out what I thought to my minds eye the worst coin and the best coin in the roll. Many thanks to anyone who could take the time to help a noob learn what to look for in a coin to judge it's condition.
The 68 although has been stacked, would still grade MS. The 65 reminds me of coins that I would call AU.
I recently took an ANA class on grading, and a PCGS grader was one of the instructors. So I'll share what I learned... If a coin has any wear from handling (not counting dings from coin-to-coin contact), it drops out of MS. An MS coin should have all of its luster (even though some toning might cover it). The 68 seems to have all its luster, but I do see a lot of marks on the high points. If they are all dings, then I'd assume MS. If an experienced grader felt the marks were from handling and not just dings, then it would be an AU, probably 58 due to the full luster. The bottom part of the shield (reverse) seems to be showing the initial signs of wear. The 65 seems to have a lot of luster missing. The high points on the face are clearly worn from handling. Due to the amount of luster that seems to be missing (the photo could be deceptive), I would go with low AU, and I wouldn't argue with an XF-45. If all these coins came from the same roll, and you found the 65 in it, then this is not a mint roll. Someone hand-rolled them and labeled then "uncirculated." If the 68 is the best you have, it is possible few or none are MS.
Both look nice but the '68 is s bit better. However I think both of them fall into the junk range. At least they have 40% silver value.
Thanks for your experienced eye R.Morgan, yes the roll was advertised as uncirculated various dates. I was assuming the marks are mainly from stacking and coins rubbing against each other. Your explanations about grading are most helpful. I didn't think any would be MS quality, but the 68 looked really nice to me. Thus this little experiment to learn something. The 65 looked the worst to me as far as luster and coin wear, also it is showing some toning and maybe crud? I'm shooting these with a point n shoot on my kitchen table and still playing with that so apologies if I can't show better detail. I'll work on that some more. Was hoping to find maybe a 64, but na. Thanks again for your time looking in and giving expert opinions.
Thanks for looking Collecting, the 68 was what I perceived to be the best in the roll and the 65 the worst. Ya looks like all 40%ers. First time I bought anything advertised as uncirculated just to use as a learning experince. Bought them at what I thought was a good price so it didn't set me back to far
Yes R.Morgan, I dug that 68 out and put it under a glass, and indeed the lower part of the shield does show some wear. I hadn't noticed! Thanks for the lesson.
I have found the ANA book "Grading Standards for Unite States Coins" to be very valuable for pointing out what to look for at each grade level. They include photos of each major grade, often with arrows pointing to the spots to look at. Anybody will benefit from this book. If you want to practice grading or at least be able to have a good idea on your own, I recommend this as _the_ book to get. https://www.amazon.com/Official-Standards-American-Numismatic-Association/dp/0794838243 Here is a photo from that two-day ANA hands-on grading class.
Thanks for the reference, think I'll order it so I can get a better handle on what to look for. Looks like a very technical book. Maybe get some more smarts? <joke> Thanks again! Just ordered it and a Red Book
Hello green18, thanks for looking in. Are you refrencing the conditions of the coins? Excuse my lack of knowledge on the lingo, noob city here. I don't know many of the grade acronyms yet.
Ya, thanks Collecting, now I'll have to check and see if my small brain has anymore room for more smarts? <joke>