I purchased an "1892" Columbian Expo half dollar that was slabbed in error by PCGS. It's really an 1893, as you can tell from the photo of the coin. I checked to make sure that there were no cracks in the slab and there are none. The PCGS certification number comes up as an 1892 in the system. I'm not too concerned of any fakes or a coin switch, as the grade appears to be correct. There's original cartwheel luster, amazing toning, etc. What I am wondering though is if the graders missed some other details. Though, someone else other than the graders was probably in charge of the data entry. I see on the obverse to the left of the bust what appears to be a struck through error. I took a photo of it (shown below) but it may be difficult to make it out from the image I took, but it's really easy to tell in-person. Otherwise, I'm surprised that such a deep and long 1/2 cm gash/scratch would grade. Any thoughts on that? Thanks in advance!
Cases like these are almost always just a error by the slabbing department. They basically just selected the wrong year for that one when they printed the label.
Here's a better picture of the scratch (also added to first post) - should this be an MS-62 grade if it's a 5mm scratch on the non-relief field? Or, is it a struck-through error?
Funny, I had that exact coin in my watch list. I almost pulled the trigger on it. Glad a board member snagged it.
IMO, that is not a scratch, it is a "hit". Your coin is an AU-58 (these are now graded as MS-62's). Therefore, the hit is insignificant. Without the friction all over the face and fewer tiny marks and the dirt, IMO the coin would have graded at least MS-63 (and has a shot at 64 due to the attractive color.)
Doubt 'struck through'.......Lovely coin though. I've a soft spot for Columbians......especially naked ones........
It looks as if a screw got pressed down onto it during the striking process. If it's a hit, it looks like a screw/spiral object hit it, or something else hit it in a series of in-line hits. If it isn't a struck through error during the strike, could it be a planchet defect?
