I have an 1892-S Barber dime that I recently acquired as a G-4 graded coin. (Photos attached.) Using the PCGS PhotoGrade examples, the coin is a pretty solid G-4 on the obverse. The confusing part is the reverse side. Generally, I'd say that it averages a F-12 with the 8 o'clock area of the reverse maybe grading at a VG-10 and the 2 o'clock area grading as high as a F-15 when you look at the corn and wheat kernel detail. Either way, they're better than the obverse! How does this happen? Is this something that happens often enough that there are "guidelines" for accurate grading of such a coin? Is it worth anything more than the G-4 price I bought it at? G-4 retails about $80 per PCGS, F-12 about $200. Your thoughts and expertise would be greatly appreciated!!! Dan
Hey Dan, welcome to CoinTalk! First of all, I suggest not using PhotoGrade. It is a good start, but it is better to use PCGSCoinFacts (pcgscoinfacts.com). They have pictures of more than one of the exact coin (considering date and mint mark) you have. This is better because the grade may be affected by the previous coin the grader saw, what the weather is, personal troubles, having a party the night before, having a headache, etc. so some coins that are better may be graded lower than it should be. Next, I would say that the obverse is a bit better than G4, maybe at an average VG6. It is true however that the reverse has slightly better details than the obverse, probably around a high VG10. If I were you, I would grade it as an average, and get a VG8. So in my opinion, you got a great deal. Let's see what the others say about it.
I hope someone will correct me on this if I'm wrong. It has been my understanding that when a coin is graded and one side of a coin grades F-12 and the other side grades VG-10 the grade for the coin reverts to the lower grade. In this case the grade would be VG-10. In the case of your 1892 S Barber dime IMO you can't grade one part of a coin as F-12 or F-15 and expect a higher overall grade. If you did that what would you grade the 8-10 o'clock position on the reverse of the dime. That section would be no better than G-4. I agree with @C-B-D that you coin tops out at G-06.
Thanks TM. I hadn't discovered PCGS Coin Facts yet but I checked it out and I do like the multiple options you can see of the same grade coin. Think I'll be going there for my grading examples from now on! By the way, my 1932-D BU quarter fell victim to one of those party going coin graders at ANACS. As I told Thomas, they graded the coin MS-63/60 back in 1979. I decided to remove it from the case and re-submit it to PCGS for a possible higher grade (or less confusing grade)..... it came back in a body bag... UNC Details Wheelmark. For the last 40 years I thought I had a little treasure -- didn't realized that it had shrunk even littler! Wish I'd known this back in '79 when the prices were peaking.
Last I heard, a coin's obverse carries more weight than the reverse when a TPG grades a coin. So an "average" would most likely not be correct.
Thomas, the reason that my line of thinking went down the multi-grade path is that in 1979 I had a 1932-D quarter that I sent to ANACS for grading. It came back MS-63/60. I know that the coin grading field has come a million miles since then but it seems logical to me that if the grade differs on the 2 sides of a coin the documentation on that coin should reflect the difference. Now pricing is another matter that the market will determine as it always does. How that price would be determined probably defies a hard and fast formula. Since most people display the obverse of a coin I'd think that its grade would carry extra weight. Bad news in my case! I'm not saying you're wrong. You know way more than I do. I just wanted to put some more food for thought out there and explain how I got to my 2 grades scenario.
I think g-6 is the right grade. Better than a g-4 but not a vg because of the obverse which I’d grade at vg
Agree with CBD and Mainebill. If the obv is an 04 (and not an 03) the reverse is a 10 max. And probably an 8. Either way since there is no 07 grade, and the obverse usually is more important, the net grade would be G-06. From the photos provided I can't tell if those marks are scratches that would details the coin.
And the marketplace has given us a verdict........ G6 plus a smidge (a technical term). The coin sold for $93. Made enough for a good hamburger but eBay and PayPal made sure it wasn't a steak!!
