Star for Striking Designations?

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by physics-fan3.14, May 25, 2017.

  1. physics-fan3.14

    physics-fan3.14 You got any more of them.... prooflikes?

    The Star applied to NGC coins can be a little bit confusing to beginners, but it can be a useful tool.

    First, it is applied to coins with exceptional eye appeal (which is subjective). If a coin has great toning, the Star will be applied, such as with my EF-45* Bust Half below. Strong, flashy luster will also sometimes earn the Star.

    The Star is also applied to coins which just barely miss the next higher designation. However, as far as I know, that only applies to PL/DMPL and CAM/UCAM. A coin with a great one-sided cameo will get a star, or a coin with a nicely mirrored side but a lustrous other side will get a star. An example of this is my very unusual 64 Kennedy, graded 64* shown below - a coin which just missed PL.

    So my question is, then - why is the Star not applied to coins which almost meet the strike designations, but don't quite? It seems like a similar case to the PL/DMPL. There is a noticeable premium for well struck coins (especially ones which are usually softly struck). For example, take a look at the reverse of my 1953S Franklin below. It is graded 66+, and the bell lines are well above average for the date (but not quite FBL). I paid $600 for it a few years ago; if this coin were FBL it would easily approach $100k. Now, I'm not saying it is anywhere near that level - but Franklin specialists are willing to pay a premium for well struck coins that don't quite meet the FBL criteria. I would assume that Jefferson, Mercury, and SLQ specialists do the same.

    I'm not necessarily saying this strike Star should exist, I'm merely pondering. Any thoughts?
    JPA1012 reverse.jpg IMG_1758 copy.jpg IMG_2591.JPG
     
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  3. jtlee321

    jtlee321 Well-Known Member

    I see where you are going. My thought is that NGC probably awards the star to a coin that is fairly obvious. Meaning a coin with one side a PL and the other side not, or a PL coin with one side being DMPL, or a spectacularly toned coin. Sometimes the toned coin is only on one side at which they will typically holder the coin with the toning that warranted the star towards the front of the slab.

    If you try to award a Mercury Dime that almost has FB but not quite, with a star, it might be a bit confusing as to why they awarded it. The FB indicates a full strike, but that full strike does not mean the coin has great eye appeal. Some SLQ's can have a full head, but still have a weak shield.

    It may also come down to distance. Meaning from how far away can you see that a coin has great eye appeal and stands out amongst the others. A coin awarded a star is typically easy to spot within a dealers case without having to get a loupe out to inspect it. It just jumps out at you. That of course is all just my opinion.
     
  4. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    Interesting idea, but isn't that basically what MAC has been trying to do? If they were going to start doing that I would rather they just put it on the label like almost fbl ect or use a new designation. Their * already confuses a decent number of people with how they implement it in practice and how it covers multiple categories, adding another category to it I think would just end up confusing more people then helping.
     
  5. jwitten

    jwitten Well-Known Member

    I've often wondered what it would take to get a star on some of my toned gold coins. Seems like it is pretty rare, and some are pretty spectacular.
     
  6. Lehigh96

    Lehigh96 Toning Enthusiast

    They use the star designation for gold coins, I used to own one.

    [​IMG]
     
    IBetASilverDollar and jwitten like this.
  7. Lehigh96

    Lehigh96 Toning Enthusiast

    Jason, I think this is a really bad idea for one reason. What would you do when you encounter a rainbow toned coin that just misses the strike designation? Give it two stars? As an example.

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    I really think they would need to create a new designation for what you are proposing.
     
  8. physics-fan3.14

    physics-fan3.14 You got any more of them.... prooflikes?

    Like I said, just throwing out ideas. Not necessarily advocating for it, merely pondering.
     
  9. heavycam.monstervam

    heavycam.monstervam Outlaw Trucker & Coin Hillbilly

    Imo, strike isnt as big of a deal as what it used to be. Yes, you still have your 53s FBL and 45p FB coins that will garner attention. It seems that, regardless of strike nowadays, PL/Cam/Rainbow is what they make all the fuss about. Which is probably why the tpg award the star for those qualities mainly.
    Just my 2 cents from a guy who has only been doing this for 5 years
     
  10. ddddd

    ddddd Member

    I don't think that would be any more of a problem than we currently have. There are already cases where a one-sided PL Morgan can have colorful toning.

    I believe you only need the one star to represent the idea that something like a one-sided PL toner has above average eye appeal.

    In terms of using stars for strike designations, I think it's an interesting idea. However I agree with @jtlee321 that those coins don't always have great eye appeal. So I would not be in favor of using a star.
     
  11. iPen

    iPen Well-Known Member

    My guess is that NGC will award the star designation when only one grader agrees but loses in a tie break with the third grader.

    So for instance, if grader A says PL and grader B says star (super close to PL), grader C will break the tie - if grader C says star, then it's a star; if grader C says PL, then it's a PL.

    In another instance, if grader A says DMPL and grader B says PL, grader C will break the tie - if grader C says PL, then it's a PL; if grader C says DMPL, then it's a DMPL.

    If even the third grader can't agree, then maybe it's the "average", or star grade. So perhaps PL vs DMPL turns into PL star.

    Again, just my guess on this system.
     
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