1868 two cent piece grade?

I am not familiar with grading these so I am curious to see what you guys with more experience would grade this. I have a grade in mind and I want to see if I undergraded or over graded. Thanks in advance for the help. The massive die crack reeled me in.

 

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Mmhh, I would call it a xf45.

 

Well I was struggling a little, @ first i called it xf40, then 35, then I stared some more and went back to 40. I think the die state has me confused...

 

I like the color, nice chocolate covered surface...I think xf40 all day long..with a shot to xf45 as mentioned before.

One negative is the gouge obverse in the field, but nothing distracting.

In summary a honest circulated piece.

 

Thats another thing that sold me on it was the rich dark color. I love chocolate colored coins, red doesnt really excite me. This series is new and I am working on grading these so I can buy raw to start a dansco. Of course I try to be conservative with the grade but I wanted some of you guys to chime in on it to see if I was in the ballpark. Thank you for your input!

 

XF details, cleaned.

I'm not usually one to bash a dealer, but my experience with these guys leaves much to be desired. They are well known to juice their photos. Though you will get the same coin in the image, it will look completely different in hand. In their defense, i will say that they are accepting of returns and have good customer service overall. They are just problem coin sellers.

 

Thank you for the input kirk! Atleast I feel better knowing I was grading in the ballpark... The cleaning I didnt recognize and still have problems recognizing unless it is an absolutely bad job. If you do not mind me asking your opinions again, would you say I am on track with a ms61 for the following?


You gentlemen have already been extremely helpful, hopefully I am getting calibrated to the grade on these!

I always think coins like this one have been cleaned as you can see the color difference around the high points. Maybe this is a slider?

 

There are several things to look at to determine if a coin is uncirculated or may have been cleaned. Two cent pieces are inherently challenging to grade overall because the strikes weren't always properly aligned, and they weren't always fully struck. The "we" on the top of the ribbon is a good starting point, but not always the best indication of grade. Take this coin for instance; now I don't know the TPG grade of this coin, but it looks like a fine example of a MS-65 RB to me. It has nice color, nice luster and is basically fully struck. This is an above average large date '64 and should be the benchmark of what you are seeking as a mint state example of the series. On the other hand, the 64 that you are asking about has a somewhat unnatural color, kind of an oily look and has a major distraction near the date. This can very easily be a mint made planchet flaw, or can very easily be damage. It's hard to say one way or another, but why is it so dark? Easy answer is that it has been cleaned; otherwise it would be the same color as the rest of the coin. This doesn't make the coin uncollectable in anyway, but it certainly limits the coins worth. It would be very easy to get burned on a tiny flaw like this. I would grade the coin AU details based on these observations and would price it more like a problem free VF if I were going for it.

 

I'm in the XF Details . Color looks messed with from an old cleaning .

 

I am definitely learning here. @Kirkuleez , I have been using the "we" in the motto as a point of grading, along with the left side leaves. I did notice the damage by the date and assumed it was a planchet flaw. The cleaning on this one is apparent mow that you brought the color of the damage to mind. Once again thank you for the informative response! @rzage I am guessing you are referri g to the first coin posted, correct? If so, I believe I was not far off from my assumed grade since all three of your answers have been xf.

 

Problem coin don't buy it unless you can live with a detailed coin. JMHO

 

Here's a 1864 I own . First set of images is from a cell phone The second set of images is from my true-view dino-lite The last image is a scale and this coin weighs 5.7 grams and I think this coin is on a pattern planchet ( copper ) from 1863

 

I strongly second this opinion. This dealer is notorious for selling over-dipped and cleaned junk through their attractive (and juiced) photos. They happily stand behind their return policy because they otherwise make a fortune off so many unsuspecting buyers.

When pictures look too good to be true, they are.

 

There's lots of different kinds of images out there .
You have to know yourself, the good ones from the bad .

 

@Rick Stachowski , what would you grade the one you posted? Im going to say ag, although as stated, they are far from my strong suit

 

Good ( 0-10 ) ....

 

Alrighty, I have to look at a few more of these to get a better handle on them

 

Yes the 1st coin . 2nd coin I'd go AU . But grading from pictures is a risky proposition . Is the color right , is it at a slight angle to hide hairlines or other damage . Especially since I din't put much faith in Great Southern I'd tend to be ultra conservative . Have you looked at coins at Heritage ? It's a good resource to see graded coins with good pics .

http://coins.ha.com/itm/two-cent-pi.../a/1229-98035.s?ic4=ListView-Thumbnail-071515

 

If I may.... the problem is that this isn't done out of the goodness in their hearts or as good/proper business, but is a survival mechanism.

 

Could t agree more, just pointing out the fact that if you go after it and don't like it, you can always return it.