This coin is why I have issue with the importance placed on TPG grading. This Barber screams eye appeal. Whether or not it has been cleaned is debatable as the photos don’t tell. But man.... What is not to love about this quarter? I’ll take every one of these that are culled due to suspected cleaning.
The photo is honestly impossible to accurately grade from but people will act like it can be. However, if you assume this photo is accurate (which it may not be) the one thing this coin doesn't scream for sure is eye appeal. Some may like it but it is not the look most people go for
Agreed. But then... Beauty is a personal and subjective thing, isn’t it? I was collecting Long before the TPG’s got the masses hooked on the value placed in their grading points. To me, this a a markedly beautiful reflection of our history. Spectacularly beautiful in fact. While I do not condone changing a coins appearance I find it foolhardy that so many will cull a nice piece over suspicion of a previous potential altering..... Probably why in fifty years of collecting, my collection is not brimming with slabs. The coin represented in the photos is a beautiful piece of American history to my eyes.
Historically speaking they're all great parts of history. For all the good the internet has done for collecting a downfall to me is how overly critical it has made a lot of people leading to this market we have today where a lot is kind of treated as junk if it's not the elite for the grade. In a way that's a good thing as people know what they want and are picky, but I agree sometimes overly picky. That said that coin could be one that would end up in a straight graded holder. The pictures are that bad but likely it is a details coin which clearly gets frowned upon in conversations. My issue is more the trying to imply its a 63 on the holder than anything else.
I love the intricate details of coins being nice and sharp, rather than worn. So for me I like the coin. If people take a perfectly good coin and say it's cull then I'll buy it all day long for cull prices. But for some reason they don't sell at culled prices.
The images are good enough to say that there is little to no luster left. The surfaces are dead. There is nothing wrong with buying it if you like it and understand what you are buying. It would look great in a Dansco. I have more than a few problem coins in my collection. If you pay a fair price and love the coin, it's fun.