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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Lehigh96, post: 418636, member: 15309&quot;]The purpose of this thread is to examine the NGC star designation in order to determine the consistency in it&#039;s application by the NGC graders.&nbsp; I have always been a proponent of the TPG&#039;s and their grading consistency despite the opinions to the contrary of other collectors.&nbsp; When I view a coin by NGC or PCGS that I think is incorrectly graded, I always try to determine why the multiple professional graders assigned the grade on the slab.&nbsp; Usually, I can understand the reason for the assigned grade.</p><p><br /></p><p>However, I have found this same process increasingly difficult with regards to the star designation.&nbsp; Is the apparent inconsistency the fault of the NGC graders or am I misunderstanding the requirements for a coin to receive the star designation.&nbsp; Let&#039;s look at the rules.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="color: Blue"> NGC lists their sysnopsis for the star designation as:</span></b></p><p><b><br /></b> </p><p><b>Synopsis</b></p><p>&nbsp; The NGC Star Designation identifies coins with exceptional eye appeal or characteristics&nbsp; &nbsp; that distinguish them from other coins of the same technical grade. This does&nbsp; &nbsp; not mean that they just miss the next grade, but it can mean that they verge&nbsp; &nbsp; on the next designation. For example, an untoned PF 65<a href="http://www.ngccoin.com/images/pc_star_blue_bkgd.gif" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.ngccoin.com/images/pc_star_blue_bkgd.gif" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.ngccoin.com/images/pc_star_blue_bkgd.gif" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></a>&nbsp; &nbsp; Cameo coin is not necessarily close to the PF 66 grade, but may be close to&nbsp; &nbsp; an Ultra Cameo designation.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="color: Blue"> Furthermore, NGC has listed the following guidelines with respect to the star designation:</span></b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Recognizing a Star</b></p><p>&nbsp;Mint State Star designated coins can be either untoned (also referred to as&nbsp;&nbsp; “white” for some issues) or toned. In order for an untoned coin&nbsp;&nbsp; to qualify it must have full vibrant luster, be free of any obvious planchet&nbsp;&nbsp; irregularities, and display no bothersome spots or blemishes. Making the determination&nbsp;&nbsp; on a toned coin is bit more complex. Because Star Designations require unanimous&nbsp;&nbsp; consent, in order for a toned coin to receive a Star Designation it must first&nbsp;&nbsp; be considered attractively toned by all graders who inspect it. As with untoned&nbsp;&nbsp; coins, it must have full luster that is unimpeded by the toning. It must also&nbsp;&nbsp; be free of any obvious planchet irregularities and any distracting spots or&nbsp;&nbsp; blemishes. The toning color can be of a single color or multicolored but cannot&nbsp;&nbsp; have any areas that are dark brown approaching black. </p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="color: Blue"> Lastly it is important to reiterate that the process is unanimous.</span></b></p><p><br /></p><p>It is also of note that Star Designations are applied only with the unanimous&nbsp;&nbsp; consent of NGC&#039;s graders. If there is a single objection to a particular&nbsp;&nbsp; coin receiving a Star Designation upon quality control inspection, it loses&nbsp;&nbsp; the star.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now that we understand the rules, let us look at some coins.&nbsp; I would like to proceed in a three step process.&nbsp; First we will look at Jefferson Nickels, followed by Roosevelt Dimes, and finally the Morgan Dollar finally.</p><p><br /></p><p>The photo below displays 4 Jefferson Nickels.<span style="color: Red"><b>&nbsp; Only one of the four Jefferson&#039;s received the coveted star designation.&nbsp; </b><b>Please provide your guess for which coin has the star and your reasons why that coin starred or reasons why the other coins did not receive the star.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: Red"><b><br /></b></span> </p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels/JeffersonNickel1939-DRevof38NGCM-6.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels/JeffersonNickel1942-SNGCMS672183-10.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels/JeffersonNickel1943-DNGCMS67Star-15.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Jefferson%20Nickels/JeffersonNickel1944-SNGCMS66Omah-7.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><ol> <li><b>1939-D Rev of 38 MS67:&nbsp; </b>A fantastically target toned Jefferson on both sides with sandy peripheries followed by vivid thin bands of apple green, violet, pink, and sunshine yellow yielding to bright white centers. A lustrous clean beautifully toned nickel.</li> <li><b>1942-S MS67:&nbsp; </b>The surfaces of this coin are spectacular. The obverse fields are essentially perfect and this war nickel is well deserving of the assigned grade. In addition, the obverse fields are graced by soft blushes of captivating iridescent lavender and lime green toning. And just when you thought you were done, you flip it over and are greeted by a stunning reverse. Immensely attractive toning including gold, patches of lime green, cobalt blue, violet, and magenta leave the observer in awe.</li> <li><b>1943-D MS67:&nbsp; </b>Both sides of this very lustrous gem exhibit beautiful pastel toning. Bright golden centers are surrounded by lavender, sky blue, and yellow with hints of mint greeen.</li> <li><b>1944-S MS66:</b> Somehow in the vast sea of bright white gems that is the Omaha Bank Hoard, this toned beauty appeared. The obverse has spectacular lemon yellow, lime green, pink, orange, and light purple. The reverse displays sky blue peripheries with a golden yellow center.</li> </ol><p>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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