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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ken Dorney, post: 3553186, member: 76086&quot;]I was at a show yesterday where I looked at some slabbed ancients.&nbsp; I was interested in two coins, both Trajan Asses with similar Pax reverses.&nbsp; Both are common but had aspects I appreciated.&nbsp; One was graded &quot;AU, Smoothed&quot;, the other &quot;VF, Smoothed&quot;.&nbsp; The higher grade example on magnification was heavily micro-pitted with a lot of breaks in the patina and priced at $300.&nbsp; The VF had a smooth patina, good surfaces and no major problems (aside from the very slight smoothing) and priced at $150.&nbsp; Honestly I disagreed with assigned grades and felt both were &quot;VF&quot;.&nbsp; I bought the so-called lower grade example.&nbsp; I was a no-brainer.&nbsp; I really dont understand why both were graded so differently.&nbsp; Such arbitrary grade assignments are confusing not just to me with decades of experience, but must also be to those who arent familiar with what they are looking at.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>But I must admit, it took me a lot of time and magnification under various light to spot the smoothing.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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