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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 2185590, member: 112&quot;]Kirk it&#039;s my belief that there are a great many coins out there with scratches and damage that have been cleanly graded by the TPGs because they could use the adjustment marks &quot;excuse&quot;. </p><p><br /></p><p>As for pre-strike being evident and distinguishable - is it really ? Or is that just the explanation they use to get folks to buy into it that they are adjustment marks ? As opposed to problem coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>Think for a minute. The thinking goes that pre-strike adjustment marks are lessened in severity as a result of the strike. But based on my experience and observations they are more than lessened, they are almost always obliterated, with only minor traces of them being left behind. Also, if a coin has its weight adjusted after striking, and then it undergoes wear, the look of the adjustment marks are greatly diminished by that wear. That is because when a coin suffers wear the metal is not worn away from the top, (at least not until it reaches VG stage) it is pushed down, squashed down, thus covering up and greatly lessening the adjustment marks. The fact that the metal is indeed pushed down instead of being worn away is confirmed by the weight of the coins being for all intents and purposes the same it was when the coin was struck.</p><p><br /></p><p>The point I&#039;m getting to is that the explanation given, the thinking, that explains the look of pre-strike adjustment marks, (and yes in most cases adjustment marks were made pre-strike, but definitely not always), is pretty much identical to the look of a coin with damage that has suffered wear. So there is no way to know one from the other.</p><p><br /></p><p>You also have to realize that very few coins ever had their weight adjusted. Yeah, it happened from time, that is documented. But for the most part the planchets were the correct weight so they didn&#039;t get any. Then take into account how many of the few coins that did have their weight adjusted, still exist. Since the number was small to begin with, it has to be even smaller due to attrition. The end result is that there are going to be very, very, few coins with adjustment marks still in existence. </p><p><br /></p><p>But now think about how many we see all the time. The two things just don&#039;t jive. And that lends a great deal of credence that a lot of the coins don&#039;t have adjustment marks at all, but damage that is being called adjustment marks.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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