First off, this is my first post on this website and as a hardcore numismatist I am glad to be here. Second, I am sure this topic has been discussed in length and I apologize, but I am really bugged by what I have. Today I received two PCGS slabbed Franklin half dollars in the mail that I won on Ebay. A 1954-S MS64FBL and a 1959 MS64FBL. I was SHOCKED when I compared the two and found such a big difference in the quality of each coin. The 1959 is a nice looking coin, but the 1954-S looks it would barely make XF. Both of these are in newer PCGS holders. A couple of things I noticed right off the bat. On the '59 the details on the Eagle's feathers are awesome. The '54-S you can't see ANY details on the feathers. Also, the bell lines are hardly visable. The coin looks worn. My question is (and I appreciate your input) is there a way to crack open these slabs that are according to PCGS "sonically sealed." I am going to try and attach pictures but being new to this, I may mess that up.
Wow, Huge difference! Looks fishy to me too, but I mainly collect Albums and original mint packaging. Somebody here will know for sure. If there is a way to do it. somebody will figure it out. Good luck! Chuck
Thanks for the reply. It is a huge difference. I noticed the difference right off the bat. There is some bright whitening around certain edges of the slab, so maybe it was cracked. I just didn't think there was a way to crack a coin without destroying the slab. Plus, I wouldn't think anyone would take the time to do this to a coin that PCGS values at $80. Any other comments welcome. Thanks!
Yep, both FBL. The 59 the lines are clear and very visable. On the 54-S even with a magnifying glass, you have to really look to see them and they are VERY weak.
As Lugia and Josh said, it could be a weak strike. I'm sure there are some Franklin specialists in here somewhere. I've got a set, but have not studied them too much.
Yeah, it is just a weaker strike, but it is also because they redid the master dies soon after 54. I'm thinking it was in 1955 that they re-did it, and it seems like they did it again a few years later. So if you think about it - they made the master die in 47 or 48 - they made die after die from that master hub till around '55 - I'm sure that isn't the only detail that was lost over the years. Like I said - I'm not sure of some of the dates - Doug would know for sure, and maybe he will stop by and set me straight. Speedy
Thank you. That would explain it. The 54-S really isn't too bad. It does have some good luster, just a VERY weak strike and doesn't come close to comparing to the '59.
First of all WELCOME TO THE FORUM. Not many say that anymore. As to the security of any slabs. China is now known to not only make faked coins but are putting many in faked, copied slabs also. You would have to verify with PCGS or whoever a slab is tagged by to see if it is real nowadays. Faked coins and slabs are appearing in many places and unfortuately many people that think their coins are for real have those faked ones just sitting in thier collections. With yours you may want to contact PCGS and ask about those. At a coin show some time ago a dealer I see there are lot showed me a slab. It was for a coin graded as MS something but I now forgot the exact number. It reall didn't matter though since the coin inside was the wrong denomination, wrong date and no where near MS anything. He did that to show people it can be done. So just be carefull out there.
Howdy vent, Welcome to the Forum. Shame you just joined, I lived in Salt Lake for 27 years, just moved to PA this year. Anyway, your coins - there are a couple reasons they look so different. 1 - the '54 was struck with worn out dies and has a weak strike. But more importantly, and you should like this part, what few know is that in '58 and '59 there are a very few business strike Frankies that were struck with used Type 2 Proof dies. Your '59 is one of those coins. As such, it may be a good deal more valuable than you thought it was. Now you're going to ask well why then did not PCGS note it as such ? That's because PCGS does not do variety attributions unless they are specifically requested to do so and paid to do so - it cost more. But if you ask and pay for it, they will do it and mark it on the slab. However, they will only do so with coins noted as varieties in the Red Book. This coin is not noted in the Red Book. So, if you wish to have it attributed properly then you will need to submit the coin to a different TPG and request said attribution. DO NOT crack the coin out of the slab it is in now. Sure you can crack them open, but you cannot crack them open is such a way that you can't tell they were cracked open. In other words, they are tamper proof. Now what you need to do is some more research on that coin, and take special care of it. I would suggest searching the Heritage archives as a start.
$24/coin more, which I think is steep. It also adds 5 business days to the already-slow turnaround time. They mark Red Book varieties at no charge; they just do it even if you don't ask. When you do ask (and pay extra), they do the extended attribution research many hobbyist / specialists do, using reference works such as Cohen, Breen, Logan/McCloskey, Overton, etc. which goes far beyond the Red Book. They have their limits, and I don't know if they'll do the attribution Doug mentions above. Ask 'em, or hit their website - or both. Hobbyists should do their own attribution first to determine if it is a valuable variety. If not, don't bother having them attribute it. It's not worth the trouble or cost for a common variety.
