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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 748473, member: 112&quot;]It depends on who you ask. Personally, I look at it the way you do - a die crack is a flaw, plain and simple. And any flaw must affect the grade of the coin. But it is also a matter of severity. It has long been my opinion that any major die crack, or series of die cracks, should limit the grade of a coin to no higher than 64.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then the question comes up of how do you define a major die crack. Well to me, that definition depends on the size of the coin, the smaller the coin then the smaller the crack has to be to be considered major. I kind of use my own rule of thumb, 25% of the diameter of the coin is major. And the smaller the crack then the less affect it will have on the grade of the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>That said, not everybody subscribes to my way of thinking, including the TPG&#039;s. While I don&#039;t agree with it, it is not unusual to find coins with major die cracks graded in the upper grades - 65 to 67. But I can&#039;t recall ever seeing one graded by NGC or PCGS as 68 or higher.</p><p><br /></p><p>This has been discussed several times in the past. And in those discussions it has been pointed out that my way of thinking is outdated, that today&#039;s grading standards no longer employ the very basics, the foundation of grading standards. That things like planchet quality and die cracks no longer matter when determing the grade of a coin. </p><p><br /></p><p>Well, I will never agree with that. The standards as written, and they are standards that are only 4 or 5 years old, say they do matter. As do I.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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