Grade my ABC Peso!

Hi,

I recently bought a 1939 ABC Peso which I am enjoying a lot. I'm not skilled at grading coins, so if you don't mind, I'd like to know you guys' opinion. I know grading over the internet is not the most accurate, but I think it's still interesting.

Thanks!
Ben

 

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I'll hazard an MS-63 Ben.......... Nice coin, and one that I've never seen before. Perhaps some history on this issue? I'm lazy, and the google thingy is tedious. I'd rather hear it from a fellow collector.........

 

Thanks! I was thinking somewhere around MS-62 or MS-63, so I'm glad at least one person agrees with me!

The ABC peso was minted from 1934-1939 in Philadelphia to back up Cuba's paper currency at the time. From my understanding, most of them were kept in government vaults in Cuba until they decided they didn't need them anymore and melted a lot of them. It's called ABC as that was the name of a group that worked to oust the then dictator Gerardo Machado (and put yet another one, Fulgencio Batista, in his place). I really like the Art-Deco inspired design and was lucky to find this one for a reasonable price at the Long Beach Expo. They're hard to find on the internet as eBay automatically takes down any Cuban currency, even if it was minted well before the embargo and by us.

 

MS-63 with rim nicks?

 

What's the composition Ben?

 

.900 Silver. It says that and how many grams it is above the coat of arms.

 

Totally missed that, as I was focused on the design. Still, not much of a take-away.

 

Most kool.

 

Overall, it's a very nice looking coin, with few obvious visual imperfections. The only defects that really stand out to me are the edge dings, this small bit of green stuff under the U in Cuba: and this scratch which is only visible in certain light and only stands out because of how thin it is:

In your opinion, do you think it would be likely to grade with, say, NGC, or not? Why?

 

My opinion is that the coin would grade 'clean'........everything looks natural and un-messed with.

 

Personally, though, I'd leave it be in its' present state. I love raw coins, and only buy graded ones when I want them graded. I never submit........I always make some other poor devil do it for me........

 

To paraphrase George Patton, no man ever won a war by dying for his country........he always made some other man die for his.

 

Thanks! At some point I might look into sending it in to NGC either through a dealer or if I ever get an ANA membership. I've never sent one in before either, as I typically buy them already slabbed if I want them that way. I think this one would look nice in an EdgeView slab, so we'll see . For now, it's in an Air-Tite, and I'm quite happy with it!

 

One more thing:

In the right light, I noticed that there are some fine scratches on the back of the woman's head area:



What are these? Would a TPG grader be likely to call them 'hairline scratches'?

Thank you!
Ben

 

Those appear to be surface hairlines so the coin would most likely end up in a details holder. This is one of my favorite Cuban peso coins and they are pretty tough in high grades.

 

I agree, they are little stinkers to find 64+ because of course, I want one and can't find one that will satiate my desire for Cuban silver.

 

One of the very nice things about a lot of Latin American silver coins, they are clear on what it should be.

 

That's what I was afraid of. What is the threshold between being marked down a grade or two and being put in a details holder? I haven't really gotten why the TPGs put so much importance on a such a small thing that can only be seen under an LED light at an exact angle.

Edit: take this (quite rare) one for example, that's graded PCGS MS-61 and was snuck on eBay



Do my eyes deceive me, or do I see surface hairlines in the exact place as my own?

 

Ya know? Sometimes, when ya light up a coin with a super mag glass, you begin to see things ya don't what to see. Just sayin'..........

 

This is the highest point of the coin. It could be the slightest amount of cabinet friction.