Should this Bust Half Straight Grade?

Just noticed this 1822 half in a AU58 holder. Not interested in trashing a grading service or anything like that, but wondered what y'alls would think.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Thought AU-58 was a straight grade .

 

I reckon my title should have been, "Should this half have straight graded?"

 

I had a conversation with a successful professional coin dealer and former major TPGS finalized about something similar. He had a better date gold eagle he was sending to a top-two TPGS. The coin was all scratched up (not hairlines - scratches). I told him not to waste his money because IMO, ANY MAJOR TPGS THAT WOULD STRAIGHT GRADE THAT COIN SHOULD BE RUN OUT OF BUSINESS!!!!!

In his opinion, the coin will come back as either an A-58 or MS-60. We'll see. I hope it is not a case of watching the TPGS "bottom line" rather than protecting an uninformed buyer.

 

Do you have whole pics of coin ? Thanks !

 

What TPG graded it?

 

thats kind of a silly two grades to pick. 58s are significantly higher quality than 60s. Usually it would be 58 or 63ish. Thinking something could be a 60 basically means no chance at 58

 

Interesting as the OP's reverse is scratched up noticeably so how did it end up with an AU58? This always stumps me as why didn't it get a details slab as opposed to an AU58?

 

It's on Ebay, 1822 bust half, PCGS AU58...I don't care if someone posts a link, I can't get it to work.

 

My guess is there was an ugly black spot there, and someone scraped it off in an uncouth manner. No, the coin does not deserve a straight grade.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1822-50c-P...199565?hash=item2f512a73cd:g:8KwAAOSwHMlfj25n

Call Matt at DLRC and ask him if the scratches are as noticeable in hand as in the pics. He'll be happy to pull the coin and answer you.

You can also save yourself at least 75 bucks (before any haggling) by buying the coin direct if you should decide it is worth pursuing.

 

Yeah, that's crazy, not interested! I'm sure the seller got a really sweet deal on that problem coin for sure! I wonder what the TPG has to say about it??!

 

It looks like a break in the luster that is highlighted by the lighting. Or it could be tooling/smoothing. It is more likely the former, but I have seen weirder

 

So you feel like it could pass as circulation contact or a planchet issue? I guess that is really my question. My first thought was that someone scratched a spot off.

Thanks, really I'm not seriously chasing coins in this price range, though I plan to buy one sometime when I find the right one.

 

I can’t tell for sure from the pics

 

Appears to me that someone tried to clean it to improve the luster, screwed up, and stopped. More pictures would have been nice. Just my opinion.

 

EXACTLY! The dealer who said 58 or 60 doesn't know how to grade. A 58 later deemed MS is going to bottom-out 63/64, easy.

 

baseball21, posted: "thats kind of a silly two grades to pick. 58s are significantly higher quality than 60s. Usually it would be 58 or 63ish. Thinking something could be a 60 basically means no chance at 58."

eddiespin, posted: "EXACTLY! The dealer who said 58 or 60 doesn't know how to grade. A 58 later deemed MS is going to bottom-out 63/64, easy."

Unfortunately, I don't have the time or inclination to attempt to educate either of these professional grading "Ex-perts."

I will say that there is a huge difference between "grading theory," how things should be done, and what actually is done by those over-paid, long-time professional graders/dealers who according to you don't know how to grade.

The coin I posted about is a slider. It has a definite change of color (friction) up the leg. Thus it has an AU-58 amount of rub. It would be a pleasing coin except that it has a bunch of actual horizontal scratches across the standing figure. I told the dealer ICG would grade it AU-58 Scratched. He told me that IHO, the coin will be straight graded at any top TPGS BASED ON MANY THOUSANDS OF PREVIOUS SUBMISSIONS and his experience as one of the top professional graders in the country. He does not grade coins as you or I; so if it comes back straight graded WE are the dummies who cannot grade COMMERCIALLY!

fretboard, posted: "Interesting as the OP's reverse is scratched up noticeably so how did it end up with an AU58? This always stumps me as why didn't it get a details slab as opposed to an AU58?"

"Details" is a matter of opinion. We have all seen damaged coins that were straight graded. Many of these coins are hundreds of years old. The obvers is the important side of a coin. The small area that is scratched is a tiny percentage of the reverse.

 

Years ago I had this 1911-D quarter eagle come back in a body bag for "improper cleaning." The only thing I could figure from that was a spot on the reverse where a spot might have been lifted. Otherwise I could not find anything wrong with the coin that would have prevented it from getting the AU grade it deserved. I've seen worse in Mint State holders.

 

Here we go again with the nonsense. If you honestly believe a 58 could become a 60 or vice verse well..........

The more you decide to spend your time attempting to punch down on people the less inclined I am to care what you have to say about anything