How do you grade a Cent like this?

I sometimes question the grading of errors. It just doesn't make much sense. Sure, call it EF, or AU, or UNC... but the numerical grades make less sense once you start looking at mangled pieces of metal.

All that being said, guess the grade on this puppy. I've had it for a while, but just now got around to photographing it.

 

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Beautiful! That is a Struck Through Cloth Mint Error!
AU58 RB?

 

Really cool. I don't think there should be a number on it but folks probably want it because of the fees they have to pay to get it in good plastic. I'll take a wild guess of 64. Struck thru cloth/rag? Fun coin.

 

Wow.

Is there unbroken luster across those grotesque high points?

I wonder if that splotch below IN would count as environmental damage, but on a coin this -- busy -- perhaps a TPG would let that slide.

I'll be curious to see the answer!

 

The dark splotch is just a dark spot. In hand, there is no evidence of corrosion.

 

As silly as assigning numerical grades to some errors is, you would grade this as you would grade any non-error coin.

Wear: Not seeing any.
Strike: Not bad. Lincoln Memorial is fully defined.
Luster: Meh.
Surfaces: No nasty marks or hairlines.
Eye appeal: Spots from a print on the obverse. Large spot at 10:00 is negative.

MS63RB, maybe 64RB.

 

I'll go low end MS, 62 maybe. Just a guess, I don't see much wear, but I also don't see much eye appeal outside of the error.

 

63 BN

 

Possibility?
A TPG may ignore the obverse for grading purposes and grade it off the reverse.

But a VERY intriguing strike through.

 

Great guesses everyone!

NGC called this MS-64BN, Partially Struck Through Cloth.

I got it because the pattern the cloth made looks really cool - and I really like the loose fibers at the edge of the cloth. The grade is relatively unimportant, but I thought it was an interesting exercise.

 

How's the overall luster? The highest I would have gone was AU-55.

 

The luster on the obverse is clear and unbroken across the high points.
The luster on the reverse is impeded by the dark toning, which makes it hard to judge.

This one is really tricky to judge AU/UNC, but I think it is UNC.

 

Answer: you don’t ;-)

 

Ah ok. I guess it looks nicer in hand than the pictures.

Also, does a problem-free MS grade mean the TPGs ignore corrosion as seen at 10:00 on the obverse and around ONE and UNITED on the reverse?

 

It means the spots aren't big or bad enough for them to say "environmental damage." Without the spots, they may have called it 65BN, since the spots should have a negative effect on the grade.

 

MS-64 BN

 

@physics-fan3.14, I just put your obverse picture in this thread, at post #49, to further illustrate the PMD there:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/1968-s-red-wddo-oo2.307172/page-3#post-2931103

 

AU55 for the parts that look like a coin