I have a BiCentennial Kennedy half that appears to the naked eye to be prefect and unblemished. It has that glow that a newly minted coin has. However, under a 10X glass, it shows discereble bag marks on Kennedy's cheek. The reverse maginfied, also shows hairline contacts,but even less than the obverse. Question: MS60,MS63,MS65...these all seem pretty darn close in definition. Given just my explaination (as I'm lousy at pics) which does this coin sound like to you? And also, I would like to ask, re: MS65. How can a coin be "uncirculated" and have "very few CONTACT marks on the surface or rim". Shouldn't it have no contact marks if it's uncirculated? I sure wish one of you guys were here in person to show me how you grade.
Contact marks are okay as long as they don't detract from the overall appearance of the coin.....c'mon, post a pic.
First, I would recommend that you put away the 10X loupe and use 5X or 6X for grading your coins. 10X is great for looking for varieties, RPMs, RPDs, etc. but is too powerful for everyday grading because (as you indicate above) it will make minor blemishes look much worse than they really are. That "glow" that you see is called "luster". Business strike coins (coins made for circulation) rarely come off the presses in perfect condition. After they are struck they fall into a hopper where more coins fall on top of them. Then they are run through conveyors and counters and then bagged. The bags are jostled around causing more coin-to-coin contact. At some point the coins are rolled before being sent to a bank to enter circulation. All the while these coins are strictly uncirculated but they probably bear several contact marks. For the most part the difference between MS-60, MS-63 and MS-65 is the number, location and severity of these contact marks.
