Requesting Help: 1973-D Eisenhower Dollar PCGS MS68

On the PCGS Photograde App, they showcase a 1973-D Eisenhower Dollar graded as MS68. However, when you look in CoinFacts the highest grade they have listed is MS67. I cannot find any information for a 73-D in this stellar, legendary grade. I was wanting to find out its certification number and perhaps some history on this piece. I've even checked registry sets, but this particular one is not included in any of the top 5 sets. Why would this coin be listed in Photograde but nowhere else?

 

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Maybe it's not privately owned, maybe it's part of the legendary PCGS Grading Set? One could imagine that if that were the case, there would be no population report for it or a cert number for it. It might only be listed as an example MS-68 internally at PCGS.

Of course this is all just speculation and guessing.

 

Tough date to find without scratches and dings.

It's better than anything I've ever seen for the date.

 

Why not just email them and ask?

 

I've just got one thing to say about a 73d in 68. Or should I say an "R.O.U.S."

 

Good question, because the only MS68 Ikes listed in PCGS Population are silvers, 1971-1974 and 1976-S. Top Pop for all other Ike issues is MS67. Doesn't appear that NGC has designated any, either.

The only thing I can think of is there once_was a 68, and PCGS has since downgraded it and failed to remove it from that particular reference. Or, they're suffering from Craniorectal Syndrome.

 

Because I never get a response from them. I've sent 3 inquiries in the past and never once did they respond.

 

If it is true that it was downgraded then I guess it would have to be the case that someone sent it back in, still slabbed, for a reconsideration? Assuming this is what happened, and I can't imagine why anyone would do that (crazy!), PCGS would definitely need to remove the 68 from Photograde. This enigma has me intrigued.

 

It is possible for this coin to exist if it's struck on a silver planchet as a few other coins are. Clad planchets suffer from too much chatter for the likelihood of finding a 68. Just my thought.

 

This is exactly why I am so intrigued by this coin because it appears that virtually all the planchet flaws were struck out. Could it be possible that a higher pressure was used on some of these accidentally since they were only produced for mint sets that year?

 

Ok, I decided to go ahead and e-mail PCGS regarding this Ike. Hopefully they'll respond.

 

They won't downgrade for reconsideration, can only upgrade or they'll send back in the same slab if not.

 

Gotcha. That makes sense.

 

They reserve the right to downgrade anything anytime they have a coin and have said so on the CU forum in the past. That said it is very rare that that could happen

 

Tough series to find without scratches and dings. They were big coins and usually not carefully treated.

 

http://www.pcgs.com/Reconsideration

If that's the case then I take huge issue with them claiming: "There's no risk of losing your original labeling if your coin does not upgrade" or "This program is a win-win for collectors. You keep your original holder if your coin doesn’t upgrade; if it does upgrade, your coin receives a higher grade and fresh labeling."

There's no asterisk next to those comments and nowhere on the page does it state they can downgrade at their discretion.

I understand if they got a coin they found to be mislabeled (Lincoln matte proof comes to mind). If they get a random coin though that is correctly labeled but clearly overgraded that some owner thinks has a chance at upgrading (lol) then I think it would be awful for them to downgrade that coin with the claims they make about this service.

 

They've said they can, of course you get the payout if they do so practically speaking it is probably not something that they would do unless someone had asked them to evaluate for it. I would suspect that they had said it to leave their options open if something came back in that they really felt was hurting their brand.

The other thing though to is that if you're sending it in for another look you think it is an upgrade not a downgrade, so the coins that may have a risk of it will probably not be the ones sent in for it anyway.

 

Yep that was my thought as well. If you are THAT biased about your own coins (we all are a bit biased about at least some of our coins I think) that you send in a horrible for the grade coin for upgrade then you deserve everything that comes to you lol

 

Perhaps they meant crackouts? The guarantee stands for when the coin is in the slab. But when it is not in the slab, then you run into trouble.

 

The '77 and '78 issues are often seen cleaner than this "MS-68". Even the '74-D, '76-D types I and II, and the '76-P type II can be found cleaner. The '73-P is even worse on average than the '73-D but there are a few pretty clean '73-P's.

The '73-D is just plagued by scratches and dings. They come fairly nice but they all have scratches (and usually a few retained scratches).

You can find a nice Gem in 100 original sets but to get an MS-66 you'll need several hundred. MS-67's are tough. I'd grade this one as an MS-67++.