1921 Peace Dollar (Grading Help)

Yeah, I've known that for some time Bone. But now, your secret is out :loud:

 

And that's the educational part Zane. Now stop and think for a minute about how you used to grade coins when you first came to this forum - and then compare it to how you grade them now. This is an exercise that is good for each and every one of us. It teaches us what we have learned over a period of time and how we apply that knowledge. It sometimes also teaches us what we have forgotten that we need to remember, and visa versa of course.

The point is that over time our perceptions change as our knowledge increases. But as it does we often tend to forget or overlook some of the basics because we think we know more than we really do. It's human nature, everybody does it. But the basic will rarely steer you wrong - always remember them. Don't let your eyes fool you into believing one thing is true because you see something else. Always remember that with a coin picture, everything can change in an instant. Pictures can be taken to show you what the taker wants you to see, and not show you what they don't want you to see.

We can all learn to overcome that to some extent if we consider the picture from an unbiased point of view. In other words, if you see what you think it luster on a coin, look for the the others factors on that coin that will confirm for you that the luster is really there or the ones that will tell you that the luster is not there and that it only looks that way. That's just one example.

But by doing this all of us can often save ourselves a lot of money. Think about it, in this day and age we buy coins to a large extent based on pics we see on the internet. How many people are there who swear that a seller showed a completely different coin from the one they received ? There are plenty. But it's not always true. Quite often they just listed a flattering pic of the coin.