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Message:: [QUOTE="fiddlehead, post: 3291934, member: 31286"]So... here are two quarter eagles, same mint, same year, same grade w CAC, same TPG (PCGS).   Also happen to be the only two of this grade, year, and mint w CAC.  To me, being probably more familiar with the specific year and issue than I should be (i.e., I should probably be doing something more useful with my time, but hey, I'm having fun), these should not be the same grade.  I think they should be a grade different - at least.  One is probably a much earlier die state than the other (what I read is the the entire mintage of about 12,000 were struck with one die pair) - and to my eye there is much more circulation wear on the coin from the earlier die state (example #1, which has better definition in the stars, letters and numbers).  The later die state coin (#2) has poor, mushed letters and numbers but considerably stronger devices, i.e, what seems like less wear on both sides. So I ask you folks with far more experience than I, what am I missing?  Does PCGS grade down for strike?  Is there something I'm not getting about the coin that to me looks like it has better definition and when you really look at it, substantially less wear (especially on the hair "knots", beads, leaves and wings).  So, what can I/we learn from this? Example #1:[ATTACH=full]870457[/ATTACH] Example #2:[ATTACH=full]870458[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]