So, I'm not that great at grading Lincoln's...so I was wondering what you guys think this raw 1909 VDB grades at. I have my own idea in my head, but I want to see how my grading stacks up to you.
That coin is a solid MS-64 BN by photograding with the possibility of 65/66 in hand. From what I can tell, there's hardly a hit on it....beautiful Lincoln!
could go either way. Nice coin and one of them liners that make internet grading impossible. I grade that coin $25, hows that?
p.s. I agree with AJ -- pics make the determination/grading of this coin, in particular, very very difficult. I could envision grades anywhere from 55 to 65.
I was kind of thinking the same thing. I have a hard time telling if this coin has any wear on it. In hand, I don't see any...but then again the coin is fairly brown so it makes it hard to see a luster break for me. But, I'm not very good with Lincoln's.
I can tell you with 99% certainty this coin is UNC. AU-58 down there's wear evident on the cheek, jaw, forehead and wheat stalks. Also, there will be some obvious hits present, which this coin is lacking. Look at the reverse lettering and the fields on both sides.....even a lightly circulated coin will show hits to those areas, this coin does not.
That is not completely true. I had a 1917 ACG certified Lincoln nearly full red and nearly hit free - at least fewer marks than the OP's. (See http://www.cointalk.com/forum/t36709/.) I sold it as AU. It was a real pretty coin, but had significant and obvious wear (cabinet friction) all over the face. That coin had obviously never been in circulation, but no one (except some not so great TPG's) would call it unc. As to the OP's coin, I see a rub on the cheek and jaw, but not where a normal rub should occur and it does not appear to have rubs at the typical high points. Therefore, I am not sure how PCGS/NGC would handle this.