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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 4705723, member: 19463&quot;]I commend NGC for their attempt to give people a feeling that it is not only about wear by adding their two /5 ratings.&nbsp; Al&#039;s two Trebonianus tets make a point.&nbsp; One is 5/5 for strike while the other is 4/5.&nbsp; The difference I see is weak letters obverse left and reverse right.&nbsp; Where I differ with many of us is that I would rather have the 5/5 coin with enough wear to make it &#039;only&#039; VF.&nbsp; For the most part, I could be talked into coins graded F (or better) 5/5 5/5 simply because what happened to coins during their period of use does not bother me anything like the things that downgrade the surface numbers.&nbsp; Both of these coins have a porosity common on billon.&nbsp; NGC is very hard on fine scratches which I assume neither of these have.&nbsp; Scratches are harder to see in plastic so I consider it a good choice to warn people. </p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/grade.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/grade.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/grade.html</a></p><p>In 1997, when I was writing my grading pages, I seriously considered trying to quantify the problems I saw using a 0-10/10 scale reserving 0/10 for coins that required a paragraph to describe fairly.&nbsp; I decided against it because any &#039;new&#039; system would just add confusion to the already messy situation.&nbsp; A big company can do things that I could not.&nbsp; I also considered an even more complicated system that did not try to equate an amount of porosity to an amount of scratches to a patina state by ranking more different categories.&nbsp; I recall years ago seeing a discussion on that idea (was it by Paul Rynerson?) but at the time the difference between EF and MS had not entered the ancient game at least to the degree we see today and the problem did not seem as important since many dealers I patronized simply did not handle coins that they were ashamed to sell. Over time we stopped seeing many coins that were less than VF on the label while there were coins that were attractive (to me) at VG previously.</p><p>For those who have not visited my pages, I copy below a small section from &#039;Conditions of Preservation&#039;.&nbsp; I apologize for the way formatting was lost with this cut and paste but this shows 10 of the 42 coin examples for things that happened to coins after they left the mint.&nbsp; There were also 42 images in the &#039;Conditions of Manufacture&#039; section showing things that happened before they left the mint.&nbsp; NGC looked at it differently with Strike and Surface but that did accomplish the same goal of making people aware that there is more to grading than wear. </p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/gearth.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> VF <b>Earthen/Sand Patina</b></p><p>Maximianus post reform radiate</p><p>Patina can be combined with hard soil deposits that produce an attractive contrast. This is preferred to patina worn away from the high points.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>aVF <b>Contrasting surfaces</b></p><p>Commodus sestertius</p><p>This contrasting tone is from wear on high spots through the patina to the metal below. This example also shows scratches on the portrait.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/g86.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/gthick.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> aVF <b>Thick Patina</b></p><p>Carausius antoninianus</p><p>Felicitas rx.</p><p>Too much of a good thing can cause detail to be lost under an overly thick surface coating.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>F <b>Chippy Patina</b></p><p>Julia Domna sestertius</p><p>A hard even patina can be ruined by chipping or wear around the edges. Collectors prefer patinas that are solid and stable.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/gchippy.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/g85.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> VF <b>Uneven, patchy patina</b></p><p>Decentius centenionalis</p><p>Partial, uneven patina can look worse than no patina at all!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>EF <b>Patchy silver wash</b></p><p>Probus antoninianus</p><p>Horseman spearing rx.</p><p>Coins that were originally covered with a thin silver wash can lose part of the coating leaving a very uneven and unattractive mix of colors.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/gpatchy.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/gfinger.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> VF <b>Fingerprint</b></p><p>Septimius Severus denarius</p><p>Mars rx.</p><p>Ridges at the upper right of this coin could be the result of etching by an ancient fingerprint over the centuries or handing by a modern coin cleaner with strong chemicals on his hands.</p><p>VF <b>Porous</b></p><p>Trajan as</p><p>Coins without patina on the surface can show a fine texture or porosity. This is common on coins found in rivers but can also be the result of cleaning with harsh chemicals.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/gporous.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/g74.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> F <b>Surface pitting</b></p><p>Clodius Albinus sestertius</p><p>Minor pitting or heavily porous surfaces obscure detail on many bronze coins.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>G <b>Patchy, rough surfaces</b></p><p>Septimius Severus as</p><p>Minerva rx.</p><p>Uneven, patchy and ugly surfaces ruin the appearance of many coins.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/g73.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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