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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;MercuryBen, post: 2756596, member: 44521&quot;]Okay, I&#039;ll play ball now that this discussion has moved to the topic of the Joshua II Merc. First, for everyone&#039;s reference, I&#039;ve attached the TrueView.&nbsp; It is a better photo than the HA close-up.</p><p><br /></p><p>I will preface my comments with the statement that I have not seen this particular 39-D in hand.&nbsp; I have seen numerous 1939Ds in hand in 69FB, 68+FB, 68FB, 67+FB, and 67FB, and have compared those coins to the TrueViews.&nbsp; I also own several toned dates in 68FB, including the 39D. </p><p><br /></p><p>With that background, in my opinion, I do not believe the Joshua II 39-D warrants 69FB.&nbsp; On the other hand, I do not think it is wildly overgraded, and would say it is a solid 68FB. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>SURFACES</b></p><p>One should be careful not to overemphasize the minuscule hits, which would be very difficult to discern in hand without a strong loupe. Overall, the surfaces are nice, but not pristine, and would likely grade 67+ or 68 without the color.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p><b>STRIKE</b></p><p>The strike is actually quite poor for a FB coin.&nbsp; Take a look at the flat T and R in Liberty -- in fact, the top of the T is almost completely gone.&nbsp; The hair and the feathering is average.&nbsp; The central bands are full but not &quot;McDonald&#039;s arches.&quot; Without outstanding other qualities, I personally would not grade this above a 67. However, PCGS seems not to care much about strike for Mercs beyond FB.&nbsp; I have lamented this in other posts, so will not rehash here.&nbsp; It is what it is.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>LUSTER</b></p><p>Difficult to tell from either the TrueView or the HA photos, but the luster appears to be very nice, albeit inferior to other 69s and some of the 68+s and 68s I have seen in hand and TrueViewed.&nbsp; I will give the benefit of the doubt to the coin and say it has 68 luster.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>EYE APPEAL/TONING</b></p><p>The coin has gorgeous, original toning in my opinion.&nbsp; The toning is easily 68, and could be higher if I saw it in hand.</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>OVERALL GRADE</b></p><p><br /></p><p>There are several 68FBs and 68+FBs I have seen in hand that I would prefer over this coin.&nbsp; I think it is overgraded at 69, but is a very solid 68 and a reasonable 68+ if you ignore the terribly weak lettering (as PCGS has done).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>As for pedigree, the fact that this was in the Joshua II collection has no bearing on my opinion.&nbsp; There were some magnificent Mercs in that collection, but it had its share of dogs as well.&nbsp; The 44D with black spots on the obverse is one of the worst 44Ds I&#039;ve seen in 68FB.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]632538[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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