Am I making this too hard?

Please allow me to preface this post by saying I searched and found little to nothing on the forum for the past year, so if there is a thread I missed or neglected, please feel free to delete this post and/or send me to the thread. I don't want to ask the same question twice if it has already been addressed.

I'm interested in putting a set of uncirculated Franklins together. Being as such, for several Saturdays now I would go to my dealer and slowly and surely he would give me pointers in how to determine the XF from AU from UNC. Well, today I walked in and he decided to surprise me with a test to see how well I've been doing. Those Frankies in the 40's...nailed it! 60's...I didn't do too badly. Early 50's...still not up to 80% correct, but better than 70%. Mid-late fifties...not good. In fact, I failed horribly for those dates. I understand that those dates had worn dies and I'm not sure if it is because of this reason that I'm having so much difficulty with determining an UNC from AU. Heck, more than one occasion I labeled it XF or VF when it was supposed to be UNC. One step down is an understandable mistake in my learning eye, but two or three! Should be no excuse after three weekends of looking at Franklins. So, now that you read this paragraph and might becoming frustrated that you still don't know my purpose, allow me to ask, what are your suggestions for grading those Franklin Halves with weak dies, especially in late fifties, say from 57 and onward. And, just for your reference, below is how I go about looking at Ben and the bell. Please feel free to critique my methodology and thank you in advance for any advice you can give me in looking at those difficult Franklins.

Reverse: No reason why I start here other than because I like it better than the obverse.

Bell Lines-looking for at least 90% of complete bell lines on the two seperate rows without breaks, blendings, or nick marks.

Eagle-look at the definition of the feathers, and for feather tip number

Bell's Pass and Stow-can I read it clearly without magnification?

Truss support rope-Rope holding the belll to the truss to be bold and not worn or blended.

Field-look for obvious abrasions and marks

Obverse:

Franklin's cheek-is it defined to the point of having sort of a "donut appearance." Basically, I look to see if the cheek area is defined enough to have a divet in the middle. (Hope this makes sense)

Franklin's locks-should see three locks without wearing and blending between the borders of these three

Franklin's ear-should be visible and a small lock wrapping around it.

Field-same as above

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

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Weak strike vs. wear can be a tough one, and one I still struggle with even after decades in the hobby. Learning to grade takes time, practice, repetition. It will typically take an average person, a year of hobby time to learn the basics, five years or more to learn some of the finer points. You are on the right track. Talk more with the guy giving the tests. With coins in hand, and a good mentor, you'll learn it and learn it well. After a while grading will become second nature, but in the beginning there is a lot to take in.

 

Forget for a moment looking at wear....

If you focus on luster (or more properly the lack of luster that occurs by wear) -- particularly on the non-high-points, you will be a much better grader in the XF-AU range.

If you use this technique, you will find that telling the difference between wear and weak strike becomes less important.

Hope this helps....Mike

 

That sounds like a great dealer to know....do you mind telling who it is?

And I agree looking at luster should help too.
Good luck.

 

Yes, Please let us know

 

I am hesitant as I don't like to advertise on forums, but since inquiring minds want to know and I'm sure he appreciates word of mouth business, his name is Ron. He is the owner of Mobile Bay Coins of Mobile, AL. Him and his wife own the shop, making the entire experience very personal and friendly. He is very passionate about coins and doesn't mind the teaching what he knows. When I first went in he asked what I collect and why and even asked for a want list in case something happened to come in. Great dealer overall. And don't tell the government, but I enjoy spending about two hundred of student loan money each semester at his shop. It's small, but he has resources and knowledge, and that's what I'm after at the moment.

As for the luster, I didn't even think about it! I don't know why. I guess I was so focused on checking off those details that I ignored it. Thanks for the help.

 

Leadfoot's comment about looking for luster is the key to telling AU from UNC. Also, look for discoloration on the high points, rather than significant wear. Many of those later dates were struck with significantly less detail than the early dates. The same goes for the S mint coins - judging by just the details, you could easily call a BU coin VF.

For everything you need to know about the Franklin series, I highly suggest taking a while and looking at my (award winning) NGC Registry set, linked in my signature below. I tried to emphasize dates with weak strikes, and I filled my set with loads of pictures. I also tried to give help with grading, and show the progression of the master over the course of the series.

 

What award did it win?

 

NGC's #1 Best Presented Set of 2008

 

Practice some more and I like mikes answer. Plus I am glad to see a dealer work with a person like this. Nice dealer.

 

Oh, there it is, stuck in the middle. I didn't see it the first time!

Congrats!

 

That's a great suggestion. Do you have any guidelines to share as to what percentage of luster should be present for each circulated grade?

Thanks.

 

Sorry, but I guess I'm missing something. I would love to look at your Franklins but I can't find your signature below let alone the link. Is it below your post or at the bottom of the entire page? Thanks for everyone on the luster suggestions. I'll definately have to try that come next Saturday morning.

 

DimeGuy, the signature is the little bit of everyone's post below the line, above the buttons. But don't worry, I'll give you another link: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=6638

 

I would prefer an ANA/conservative grade.

 

Absolutely nothing wrong with that. But when it comes time to trade/sell, the buyer isn't going to use ANA grading. He's going to use the grade on the slab unless he can convince you it grades lower.

 

Going by ANA standards, yup.

The Canadians have the right idea. Many US graded AUs would barely grade EF, some not even VF using Canadian standards.