The yearly deadline for the PCGS Registry Awards, (June 30th at 5:00 pm EST) has come and gone. I noticed in the “Kennedy Half Dollars Complete Variety Set, Circulation Strikes (1964 – Present)” has a new winner! Mr. George Huber of VDBCoins.com (known on this forum as giorgio11) has been working on his set for many years now, and it has paid off! Mr. Huber deserves the recognition of this award for the time, money, dedication and persistence in tracking down and acquiring some fine examples of the different coins in this humble series. Congratulations for being tied for “The Number One Finest Set of All Times”! http://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistry/alltimeset.aspx?s=52604
Good grief, I really don't understand grading. Look at the 1971 P mint. The date and reverse lettering is flat and fading into the edges of the coin. It looks like an Au or even XF as far as detail. It's great that George was able to compile this set, nothing against him, but I'm sure my Mint Set acquired 1971P has WAY better detail than that example...do they really award toning that much bonus points?
Mr. Huber’s example of the 1971 (P) Kennedy half dollar in his set is graded MS66. PCGS might (and I use the word might loosely) be off by one or two points, but if you think that Mr. Huber’s 71 (P) is a XF-45 to AU-50 then you are correct when you say “Good grief, I really don’t understand grading.” Now, if you think your Mint Set acquired 1971 (P) is WAY better detail then Mr. Huber’s MS66 example, go ahead and get PCGS to grade it. If your 71 (P) Kennedy grades just one point higher (MS67) then Mr. Huber’s MS66, I will pony up $ 1,000.00 for it (most collectors of the series will probably double my offer but I'm on a budget). There is a possibility that you do have a 71 (P) that would grade MS67 at PCGS, PCGS has graded 6 at that level so far with known better and chances are that all six of them were found in Mint Sets. The probability that your Mint Set 1971 (P) Kennedy half dollar will grade MS67 or higher at PCGS is slim at best but heck, you will never know until you spin the wheel or roll the dice and send that puppy in.
I submitted one coin to PCGS and honestly feel they did an unacceptable job grading my coin. When I started coin collecting in the early 70's grade had EVERYTHING to do with details. That no longer seems to be the case. Coins with so much tarnish you can't even SEE the details (heck, they look like they have a bad case of leprosy in some cases!) get graded MS66 and up... I fully agree Caleb, I don't understand grading in today's market...I'm ok with that.
