Here we go again

I saw this on Vcoins and just had to comment. I know there have been similar threads on this before, but I couldn't resist. I'm not going to name them, just post the info.

"Constantine I, Follis, Trier, AD 324-325, MS(60-62), Bronze, RIC:544"
I'm not sure how they came up with this 'grade' or if they submitted to a grading service. If they did, do grading services give a range like that?
It looks like most if not all of theirs have some grade attached to it. I don't have a problem if a dealer wants to list a 'vf' or 'xf' on an ancient, but this seems unnecessary. I would like to hear others opinions.

 

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Oh my.

Speechless.

 

There are tons of these types of coins on the HA auctions where the grade just doesn't fit the coin . Buy the coin, not the grade!

 

My first reaction to this coin's description is that I don't even know what "MS(60-62)" is supposed to mean when applied to an ancient coin.

My second reaction is that the description must be aimed at a collector of modern coins who is new to ancient coins, since maybe the MS grade means something to him/her. If you're new to ancients, grades like VF, good VF, about EF, etc., won't mean much to you, so maybe this dealer is catering to new collectors of ancients.

Finally, if you're even a moderately experienced collector of ancients, you're likely to ignore the MS(60-62) bogus grade anyway.

 

Since I've collected only ancients, I'm unfamiliar with this particular grading methodology, which seems better suited to modern coins. So MS means "mint state"? From the HA site I read this definition: "Uncirculated (MS-60, 61, 62): An uncirculated coin with noticeable deficiencies, generally either an overabundance of bagmarks, a poor strike, or poor luster. Although most price guides will give a price for coins in MS-60 condition, in many cases this is a very unusual grade, with typical uncirculated pieces often grading somewhere in the MS-62 to MS-64 range depending on the series."

Sometimes I see ancients described as "as struck," so I wonder if "MS" correlates to this more common description "as struck." But such language as "uncirculated" seems anachronistic for ancient coins. There were ancient hoarders, but not for aesthetic purposes.

More grievous to me is the photography of this VCoins dealer. I recognized the coin right away from its bright center and dark edges. If you look at the bronzes at this site, all of them are shot this way. On the one hand, that does establish an aesthetic identity for this dealer, which can be a positive--like a trademark. But a coin shot like this, seen in isolation, might appear to the unaware buyer as an attractively toned coin, not one attractively lit. I wonder if such a lighting technique crosses another "line" in the representation of the coin itself. Surely all the bronzes on this site don't actually look this way in-hand.

 

Actually I would really like this coin in my collection. Forget whatever grade the seller gave it...this is a nice coin!

 

Seems like the perfect time to revie one of my old posts from almost a year ago.

I'm telling you, it may seem funny now, but one day this could make me big bucks.
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I call BS. That's a 58+, maybe a 59, but not one point better!

 

Get your eyes examined, that's an MS-60* First Strike, DCAM

 

It's idiots like you that ruin this hobby.

 

It must be a mistake. If not, it seems a bit fraudulent. Maybe they mean that it was uncirculated for nearly 2000 years (during the time it was buried in the ground.)

 

Numiscorner....









That cleared the room.

 

What a great offer you've presented. As a token of my gratitude, with your email and phone number you've provided I will generously sign you up for countless websites and calling lists that are clearly not pointless scams/spam

 

Now that the cat is out of the bag. I don't know what they have to gain from this tactic. It almost seems like they are trying to skip the grading company and assign grades themselves. I do think it is misleading and delegitimizes the hobby by assigning impossible to know grades.

It can be yours for 130 euros.

I don't think it is, there are many like it.

 

What the heck is that white stuff in the left-hand soldier's armpit? Encrustation? Did he put on too much deodorant?

 

SGS?

 

Some people, like myself, sweat a lot. Some people, like myself, sweat so much that no deodorant is too much deodorant. Some people, like myself, think this little bronze man is wearing an appropriate amount of deodorant.


*it turns out I didn't know how to spell deodorant until composing this post.

 

Get your doctor to prescribe you Dry-Sol.

 

That's MS 67 money!