To continue the great discussion on circulated Walkers begun in my previous thread - I now present Exhibit B. I won this recently on Heritage (so don't go cheating looking at the grade!). This is my first coin with a CAC green been - and I can categorically state that 100% of my CAC stickered coins are indeed PQ I believe this coin is much more original than my last one. Holding this coin side by side with my 1918S, the difference is amazing - much more than I would have expected, honestly. The learning continues. So, wager a guess on this one, give your opinions, and lets see if we can learn something more.
Honestly, that's the best looking walker half I have ever seen. I have always loved the look of circulated silver and this coin is the pinnacle. The toning is even and just "right". Congratulations on an excellent buy. I would venture to guess you will be hard pressed to outdo this one!
A word of guidance - if you wish to learn about grading these early Walkers in circulated states, you must first understand what they look like in MS states. For you cannot judge the amount of remaining detail on a circ coin if you do not know how much detail is supposed to be there in MS condition. And it is extremely important to always keep in mind that there are several date/mint issues that are known for weak strikes and these must be graded accordingly/differently than the others. There is probably more that you have to know about Walkers than any other coin if you wish to be able to grade them correctly. I would say that even the professionals make mistakes for this same reason. So go to Heritage, look up these coins like the 1919-D in say MS66, then open separate windows and look at one like the 1946 in MS66. You will see astounding differences. And this I cannot stress enough, you have to know what the design changes were and when they were made - there are many. This is even more important than knowing what date/mint issues have weak strikes. Otherwise you will find yourself trying to grade a given date/mint based on the wrong information. Here are a few of those changes - 1916-1917 Walker, low relief obverse Heavily textured fields and devices. -1918 Walker, revised collar details Details around Liberty's collar altered. -1919-1921 Walker, hand cut skirt lines Skirt lines apparently hand cut onto the master tooling. Early die stage examples of this date range give the impression that the coin has been re-engraved. 1923-1936 Obv skirt lines redrawn Not noted in Breen or Bruce Fox's book. Plain enough to see. New skirt lines added at the front bottom of the skirt. Skirt lines not as bold as 1919-1921, but it is not clear if that is because of wear to the tooling or if the tooling was recut. You can find the rest of these changes - HERE (scroll down three quarters of the way) This link is one that everyone there is should have. For the same is true of all our coins. The designs were frequently changed and unless you know what those changes are and on what coins they apply to and what ones they don't apply to - you can't possibly grade the coins correctly. This is only one of the reasons why so many people cannot grade coins accurately.
How true that is. I'm a really lousy grader of coins. And after going to that linked place I see that there is so much to learn about grading that I think I'll just stick to "Looks nice or looks great or not to nice at all" sort of expressions.
Excellent points, Doug. PCGS graded this coin EF-45, which I think is spot on. I have Bruce Fox's book, so that gives me a bit of an idea as to the strike qualities for each date, and I am collecting the later 2/3rds in MS-65+, so I have an idea of what the full design should look like (I know, the earlier dates are different, but its better than nothing). I looked at just about every Walker on the floor at FUN, so that gave me a decent idea of what they look like as well.
Beautiful walker, one of the best walking liberty coins I've ever noticed on this forum. My guess is a AU50 and I honestly think it graded higher than that!! :thumb:
For an XF example, this coin is remarkably free of large abrasions. I think you did very well. Doug's advice is solid and I would recommend Ambio's book on Walkers although it is focused on MS coins.
The general consensus among Walker collectors seems to be that Ambio's book is essentially worthless. He is a businessman, all hype, has no real passion for the series, gets many of his details wrong, and overall lacks any real purpose. His focus is on extremely high end investor type coins (indeed, the book seems geared towards deep pocketed investors), and it has no real value for the mainstream collector. The same holds true, in my opinion, for any of the other Ambio book's I've read. Bruce Fox's book on Walkers, although out of print and somewhat pricey, is the standard book on the subject (and is excellent!) I've heard Swiatek's book is good, but I haven't had the chance to pick that one up yet.
I think the criticism of Ambio's book is a bit harsh. He is a cataloger and you can read a lot of his descriptions of Walkers in Bowers descriptions (a bit annoying when he quotes his own book). He makes mistakes that I have noted but there is some good information there if you collect MS Walkers, which I do. I looked quickly at Fox's book at a show and did not buy it but on your recommendation, will order a copy. I have been meaning to see what else the ANA library has on Walkers. Walkers are a great series -- I am glad there is yet another Walker collector around here (there are a few here). Enjoy them.
