Grade Reveal: Richie got this one right out the gate: MS66 5FS. Personally, I think many of you were very hard on this coin. That mark on the cheek is really pretty small and the reverse is spectacular. I like this coin as a high end MS65 5FS or a low end MS66 5FS, either way is fine with me. Here is a link to my next GTG thread. GTG 1957 Jefferson Nickel Have fun!
I can settle with a 65 but 66 seems generous. The mark is small, but so is the coin (which magnifies it). I've seen your other 66 graded nickels (from prior threads) and most of those are much better.
I thought the cheek hits were a bit excessive for a 66 grade. Probably one in 100,000 in this cond. when they hit the bin.
I've got all of the War II Nickels (Cents and Dimes, also). My next step is to find those that have "Special" conditions. I just got a "scope" to look a bit closer to my coins. I especially like to look at the "steps" on the nickels and the "bands" on the reverse of the dimes. Right now, I am just getting some experience at looking Nickels and Dimes. And, by the way, your coins look great.
Im sorry at one time NGC were very good grading nickels, I've been collecting nickel, and Jefferson since 6/7 yo, to my eye... no way, no how from those images is the grade on the slab correct,and it seems quite a few others are in the same camp. Nothing against you Paul...but I've have passed on Jeffersons that side by side raw or graded would blow that coin away. Yeah 5 full steps for sure.....but I know you have posted better than that over the years the same grade.
It is a matter of grading philosophy. To a man, every person who guessed low on this coin did so because of the mark on the face. A mark that is accentuated by the oversized photos and isn’t nearly as distracting in hand. When you take the premium gem luster, the MS67 reverse, and the overall eye appeal into consideration, this coin with an MS65 obverse becomes an MS66. If you don’t ascribe to market grading principles and view hits like the one on this coin as “grade limiting” then this coin will always be either an MS64 or MS65. As for side by side comparisons, I have another 1958-D MS66 5FS Jefferson and this one is better.
I have explained why the TPGs graded this coin MS66, and why I agree with the assigned grade. When 33% of the respondents got the grade correct, you don’t have consensus; especially when many of the 22 don’t understand why the got the grade wrong. Now the next one, you will have your consensus.
I will take your word for it, because you are the expert on nickels - but yes, that is exactly what I did. I guessed 65 5FS, for precisely that reason. Again, I'll take your word for it because you have the coin in hand. I see the luster well on the obverse, but the reverse comes across as a bit dull in these pictures. In these pictures, I interpreted the reverse as quite clean but the luster was a bit lacking. In my interpretation of the pictures, I saw what looks like a pretty severe mark in a prime focal area on the obverse, coupled with a 66 reverse. That came out to a 65 in my analysis. The idea of "grade limiting" items is a very interesting one. Probably not the right thread for it, but I'd love to dive into that idea. I know that personally, there are some items that I find grade limiting, but I also know that the TPGs view these sorts of things differently. I'm curious to hear what the group thinks.