GTG 1951-S Washington Quarter NGC

65

 

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I'm going to say MS65 with this one. I don't see any wear on the high points and the only significant ding I see is a small one on the cheek.

Washington's are hard to grade in photos on their own...but then throw in this mottled toning pattern is makes it far harder. I personally don't care for the eye appeal of this coin but I would put it at a 65.

 

C'mon man, it ain't that bad, and I didn't grade it, NGC did.

 

NGC grades a lot of coins that I think are horribly ugly and wouldn't buy. That doesn't mean they are right or wrong. It means they consider them market acceptable.

I'm sure that this one is probably market acceptable. I just can't find a single nice thing to say about it. If you really want me to, I'll give you my unvarnished honest opinion. But I'll let that be your choice, because it won't be pretty.

 

Or you could just cast your vote in the poll and spare this poor little Washington your wrath, lol.

 

These "crusty" Washingtons (along with the Franklins) from the late 40s/50s are tough for me. I also know they can be difficult to photograph. It appears there is good luster under that flaky toning. I love the reverse (I think the radiant colors around a shining eagle is fantastic) but the obverse seems a bit dull. The thumb print doesn't help either.

That said, I've had a few Washingtons that looked like the obverse on both sides, and graded MS66. The couple of marks I see (Washington's cheek and under LIBERTY) don't seem that distracting. It could be a 65, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt voted 66 anyway.

 

Excellent analysis!

 

I went with 65*, I think the toning looks better when rotated under a light, looks iridescent to me. I think the tics on the face hold the grade back a bit. Nice anatomy lesson from Messy about the SCM.

 

65+

 

The way this thread went, I feel like dropping the reveal is akin to cropdusting a group of people with an sbd.

 

What are your own thoughts on it @Lehigh96 ?

 

...

 

I would have never guessed this one. I was in the MS-65 camp.

 

67? Well, you could knock me over with a featherduster, let alone a cropduster.

 

WOW? I guess NGC really liked that one. Or, the submitter. Joking lol.

 

I was a 66 on this one.

 

Yeah, I'm not giving that a bean.

 

My thoughts are that the coin looks much better in hand than in my photos which don't at all do justice to the luster. The fingerprint is large and distracting but I don't know how much that should affect the overall grade. Other than the two very small ticks behind the mouth, the coin has extremely clean surfaces which is why it is graded as high as it is.

I find Washington Quarters to be one of the toughest series of 20th century US Coins to grade, and this coin is a perfect example. NGC loves crusty toned Washington Quarters. My grade would be MS66 or MS66+. At MS67, this coin is maxed out and has no chance of every getting a CAC sticker.

 

I knew it was gem grade, but I was in the 65 camp. The crusty toning, which I like, is difficult to grade, as it can either mask faults, or enhance the overall look. This is a very attractive coin.

 

I would have never guessed MS 67 on that quarter. The few ticks on the face would knock it down to MS 65 for me. However, the killer is the finger prints on both sides. Unless this coin looks great in hand the finger prints would kill it for me. I absolutely hate coins that have finger prints on them. The way the finger prints are on the obverse it looks like the coin was put in one of the old Whitman blue folders. It has the two thumb effect on the obverse. Where someone used both thumbs to push it into the folder. I remember doing that when I was a kid over 50 years ago.