What do you think this 1945 P Walking Liberty half dollar should grade as? I do plan on getting it sent to NGC, so I'll have to see what it comes out to be, too. But, it's a nice way to test your and my grading skills (I'm still working on improving mine...). Some things that I'd like to point out, though they may already be apparent to many of you... any other details or corrections of what's below? + There are some carbon spots on the obverse and reverse of the coin. + The luster seems apparent in-person. That signature, frosty halo effect seen on some coins caused by a worn die overlaps the luster. + Some of what I thought were hairlines are actually die deterioration marks caused by a worn die. Not to mention, there's plenty of die deterioration doubling that's evident. The last photo is a closeup of the coin through a mylar flip (light glare from USB microscope) that shows the die deterioration lines. + Weak strike / worn die. As the third highest mintage year of Walking Liberties, this condition is probably common. Maybe they also didn't replace the dies as frequently given that WWII was still being waged. + On Lady Liberty's US flag cape, to the right of the letter "I", there are two squiggly marks. Upon closer inspection, those are die crack reliefs, and not PMD (err, PSD). + There are several small to medium (or large, depending on how NGC looks at it) bag marks. Many more small ones compared to medium ones. A large mark on Lady Liberty's torso. The number of bag marks seems to suggest that it can't possibly be a high MS grade (e.g. MS-65 or higher)... + The rim overall looks stellar. + The details of Lady Liberty's left hand is absent, but that's true of even very high grade ones. I believe that it's more of an inherent limitation of the coin's design than its condition. + The photo's lighting looks to be off compared to what's seen in real life. I'm not the best photographer, and it's a very long WIP to get that right. I'm not sure what sort of net grading would be given due to the carbon spots, or what sort of positive net grading would take effect due to the frosty appearance. Maybe they cancel each other out? I'm thinking MS-62 minimum (probably not worth it to send it in then), possibly MS-63 or MS-64 max if I'm lucky. But, who knows... maybe I'm off the mark on some of the details I noted above, and it ends up being MS-60. What do you think that it would grade as? Maybe if I'm lucky one of you is an actual NGC grader and will tell me exactly what it would grade as, given the images below.
Super weak strike, to the point where had you not suggested it's MS, I'd probably have said AU. No minus points for the "carbon spots." Hard to come up with a grade based on the photo, but 62 is probably right, just based on the big nick on Liberty's dress and the poor strike.
MS65 is my limit on that one, liberties hand looks a bit too weak. If the luster is as dull as the pictures show it could get 64. Just my thoughts.
