Got a nice franklin for cheap off of ebay awhile back and kinda doubting its a ms 65 but the fbl designation looks right, what do you guys think? Leaning more towards a 64 or lower but idk. The full bells looks right though to me.
Do you really want it to be a lower grade? You're doubting it? Why? That's like getting a raise at work then you question it. Just take it!... Be happy with the MS65! Oh wait.. That's an ICG graded slab.. Now I know why you doubt it
I agree that the coin looks more like a 64. As for the bell lines, it depends on which standard you use. If you use PCGS "standards" then yes it is FBL, but if you use NGC standards then no, the top line has weakness to the left of the crack and I would not call it FBL.
Yea its an older icg slab. I think they were a little better awhile back. Their newer grades are almost always a point or 2 higher then they should be. Not really good with frankies just wanted another opinion. Thanks for any help!
Doing some research it looks like there isnt really any difference in sold prices for the same grades with pcgs and ngc for FBL's unless Im mistaken. Anyone else have an opinion on this? Why would you send your franklins to ngc if theyre gonna be tough on the fbl details?
When I collected Franklins, I only bought NGC coins because they were true FBLs. Dedicated collectors of Franklins often have a similar opinion.
Welcome to CT. I agree that this is a 64 but it's slabbed as a 65 so leave it be. As for the FBL, not in my book. Not a single FBL I have looks like this. They are much sharper and more well defined. But as I said, leave it in the holder.
@itm389, welcome to CT! Well, here's an alternate thought process, since you already indicated you got it "cheap" off eBay... Let's say that someone takes out an ad in a print newspaper (OK, I know no one is going to see it, but go with me on this) telling everyone: "Your sister (let's call her Sue) collects postage stamps"! Are you going to perpetuate the lie?...or try to extinguish it? Well you know damn well Sue is no stamp collector, so you take out an ad in that paper "No she does not!". Now, of course you can't prove she doesn't, since, just because you can't find her collection doesn't mean she doesn't have one. (Alternately, you CAN prove she does have one because you can just produce it. But I digress..) So, let's go back to this cheap coin in question. It seems that responders are in basic agreement that the grade is less than advertised & it is one of those questionable slabs (I have acquired a few ICG's because I got great deals on them). And then there's the FBL issue...whether it is or isn't... So, since you got this so cheap (on fleaBay) the issue is whether or not you perpetuate the problem & perhaps pawn it off on another collector down the road? Just food for thought! (I still have ICG coins, but don't have ICG slabs)
Is saying I bought the coin "cheap" offensive to you? Not really following what you're getting at. If I do resell this coin I will post pictures that show enough detail of the coin and not just focus on the grade. I have been under the impression that ICG slabs really dont have any extra value over a raw coin. Im sure people that know anything already know this. Not trying to start an argument just wanted to see what people thought about the grade and the fbl details. To my understanding it can be very hard to see if the fbl's are there or not through pictures only. Fairly new to numismatics and just trying to learn as much as I can.
I think that PCGS would call it 64 FBL. The reverse looks great but I'm not sure what I think of the obverse toning.
