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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 8101353, member: 19463&quot;]Exactly.&nbsp; Some of us greatly prefer toned silver to the fully cleaned coins that may even have been polished.&nbsp; The top level NGC slabs recognize this by grading surfaces separately.&nbsp; They also flag some coins as &#039;fine style&#039; or mention specific faults with a word or two. I know I am in the minority but, to me, the least important thing on that slab label is the letter grade VF and friends.&nbsp; In general, I would prefer a coin they graded F 5/5 5/5 to one MS 3/5 3/5 and am particularly hard on coins with poor surfaces.&nbsp; I may buy anything that is available if I want the coin but people who set prices make it very unlikely I will be buying a MS 5/5 1/5.&nbsp; They do not rate or mention the other feature I find most important but do not have a term that I can apply that defines it.&nbsp; I have gone on record several times as being no fan of coins with a reverse type of &#039;someone standing (or sitting) there&#039;.&nbsp; Some coins have nothing going for them other than grade (boring!) while others are interesting in some way that may require more explanation than would fit on a slab label.&nbsp; While I like your Hadrian, I would like it more if it had a reverse from the travel series or mentioning his adoption even if the figure was &#039;just standing there&#039;.&nbsp; From my 2021 top ten, the Trajan only made the cut because of the reference to Trajan&#039;s Alimentia program.&nbsp; I bought my Nerva sestertius despite it having a boring reverse, some damage and plenty of wear.&nbsp; I wanted a Nerva sestertius.&nbsp; While I would appreciate any of those features being improved, the one that would be most welcome would be a coin with the grazing mules wishfully retaining the legend regarding the remission of the vehicle tax. Perhaps what I am proposing in a 1/5 world is a &#039;not boring&#039; scale that would consider the added interest of things like historicity, branch mint ID, legend variations and a hundred other things that show up on coin types.&nbsp; The Brutus EID MAR reverse is as boring as it could be unless you know what those letters and devises commemorate.&nbsp; That elevates it to a 5/5 level in my book. It is worth repeating that you are 100% on target with:</p><p><br /></p><p>Best wishes for finding whatever it is you seek in 2022.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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