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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;NPCoin, post: 405306, member: 5629&quot;]Yes and no.</p><p><br /></p><p>It depends on the standard you use as well as whether you are talking technical grade or market grade.</p><p><br /></p><p>Take for instance, the Barber Half from the fifth edition ANA standards:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Now, let&#039;s add the general grade description for MS-70:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Now, let&#039;s separate the technical grade from the market grade:</p><p><br /></p><p>1. A flawless coin exactly as it was minted&nbsp; <span style="color: SeaGreen">TECHNICAL</span></p><p>2. no trace of wear or injury&nbsp; <span style="color: SeaGreen">TECHNICAL</span></p><p>3. Must have full mint luster and brilliance or light toning.&nbsp; <span style="color: DarkRed">MARKET</span></p><p>4. Any unusual die or <b>striking traits</b> must be described.&nbsp; <span style="color: SeaGreen">TECHNICAL</span></p><p>5. The perfect coin.&nbsp;&nbsp; <span style="color: Purple">YEAH RIGHT!</span> :goof:</p><p>6. Has very attractive sharp strike and original luster of the highest quality for the date and mint.&nbsp; <span style="color: DarkRed">MARKET</span></p><p>7. No contact marks are visible under magnification.&nbsp; <span style="color: SeaGreen">TECHNICAL</span></p><p>8. There are absolutely no hairlines, scuff marks or defects.&nbsp; <span style="color: SeaGreen">TECHNICAL</span>/<span style="color: DarkRed">MARKET</span></p><p>9. Attractive and outstanding eye appeal.&nbsp; <span style="color: DarkRed">MARKET</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Now, consider a coin that is perfect in every way with regards to #1, 2, 7, and 8 above, excepting the fact that the coin is weakly struck.&nbsp; The technical grade assignment <b>must</b> be MS-70, with the notations &quot;<i>weakly struck</i>&quot; in accordance with #4 above.&nbsp; That is pure technical grading.</p><p><br /></p><p>Once you take into consideration #3, 6, and 9, and reconsider #8, you may now derive the market grade.&nbsp; The market grade <b>cannot</b> be MS-70 because it would fail #6 for strike.&nbsp; Yet, this is market acceptability, not minting technicality.&nbsp; The coin is still &quot;as minted&quot; and that is what technical grading cares about.&nbsp; In fact, #4 and #6 starkly contrast and contradict each other.</p><p><br /></p><p>How can you have a notation of the coin being &quot;weakly struck&quot; when the coin does not fit the (market) grade to begin with?&nbsp;&nbsp; This is what happens as you mix market grading standards with technical grading standards.&nbsp; You end up with apparent contradictions.</p><p><br /></p><p>That is until you realize that you have the choice here:&nbsp; You may designate the same coin as (technical) &quot;MS-70, weakly struck&quot;, or as simply (market) &quot;MS-64&quot; (or even possibly MS-63).&nbsp; Now that is a huge difference.&nbsp; <b>YET</b>, if you truly look at this as a whole picture, (technical) &quot;MS-70, weakly struck&quot; gives <b>a lot</b> more information about the true condition of the coin than (market) &quot;MS-64&quot; does.&nbsp; Even (market) &quot;MS-69&quot; will not suffice in communicating the true condition of the coin, as (market) &quot;MS-69&quot; would presuppose an exceptional strike, which this would not be.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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