Released the Ancient Green Giant!!!;)

I agree. NGC can stuff their VF. Who cares what NGC's VF is? These (ancient) coins are individually all so completely different the whole idea of a standardized grading system is ridiculous.

Again nice coin

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I'm surprised - I think NGC graded this one spot on. It's a very attractive VF, though, and a good addition to any collection.

 

It is a nice coin; that was never in question. The question is how to apply grading standards that are woefully inadequate to the coin. I originally posted VF 4/4 and they said VF 4/5 which is amazingly close by my standards. I downgraded the coin due to the two cracks and minor fissures across the reverse surface. They did not let such things bother them. In all honesty, I might be inclined to use the services of NGC if they did not use those plastic coffins and if they did not charge so much for opinions without warranties.

IMHO a VF coin should have fully separated laurel wreath elements but requires no detail within the leaves. This one barely qualifies but I decided the cause was a bit of flat strike so I dropped the first numeral to a 4. The obverse is a definite 5 surface but most sestertii of this period have metal issues like the ones on this reverse. If we call this a 5, what do we call a coin with no fissures?

For the record, I consider the $200 a bit on the high side but not at all out of line considering some of the absolute junk I see offered for that much and more. This is a very nice coin and does not need inflated grading to make it a winner.

A related question: The coin is weighed to .01g but slabbed so it can not again be weighed. Has anyone ever weighed a NGC coin after it was freed? I have owned two scales supposedly accurate to .01 and I own two reference 50g weights for use calibrating scales. The two weights are .06 different in weight from each other and the scales differ but by different amounts depending on what range they are weighing. I'm not sure it is reasonable to expect a cheap scale to be any more accurate at .01 level but wonder especially about the weight being so sloppy. If you want your eyes opened on such things, look at your US 5 cent coins that are supposed to weigh 5.000g (three 0's). Don't weigh old worn coins just new looking ones. One digit would have been plenty.

 

I don't even like plastic coffins on modern US coins. It just takes away from the pleasure I get from holding a coin in hand. But I can certainly understand why it's done. It adds a measure of security to be able to verify authenticity. For MS coins, it lends some legitimacy to slight differentiations in grade say between MS64 and MS65. But again for modern US coins you are dealing with identical coins, struck with identical(or very close) dies using a uniform process.

Slabbing ancients seems almost sacrilegious to me. Too many die variations for the same coin, many have spent centuries exposed to the elements so there's more of a range of decomposition than you will find on modern coins. I know there are some fake ancients out there, but it doesn't seem as prevalent.
Besides part of the appeal of ancients to me is to actually hold the coin in hand and wonder who touched those same surfaces thousands of years ago.

So TJC...I salute you for releasing the Green Giant!

 

Doug, my cheep digital scale weighed Mr. Maximinus Thrax the same as NGC.

 

I think the best thing in this whole thread is the fact that the coin has come out of that god awful slab!! Ancients should NEVER be slabbed. Who are we to stop the ongoing process of patination.

 

I disagree, I believe that there are a few RARE cases where I'd like to be in a slab.

If I ever came across a truly mint state tet for example.

 

I respect that......but I think there are other ways to safely store coins such as the one you mention without slabbing ..........and handling with cotton gloves would prevent damage and still enable a good fondle of the piece. Ancient Joe hasnt slabbed his beauties and they are worth more than my house.