Remembered the poll this time! How good is CoinTalk compared to the TPGs? Let's find out! Over the next several months, I'll be posting a continuous stream of Guess the Grade threads. I will be using photos from the Heritage auction archives (please do not cheat!). All you have to do is guess the grade! I will be attaching a poll to each thread. Please select the grade that you think best represents the coin (to avoid bias, please select your grade before viewing the rest of the thread). Also please post your opinions about the coin, and it would be most educational if you could explain why you chose the grade you did. Around Christmas, I will tally up the results and see how we did. This thread is an offshoot of a recent thread where I compared CT grading to the TPG, seen here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/how-good-is-cointalk-at-grading.343417/ We're going to cover a wide range of material, and some of it may be out of your wheelhouse. However, if you are a confident grader, you should be able to accurately grade almost any coin.
66. This has what the 1900 Indian cent didn't -- clean prime focal areas. Great, flashy luster and clean fields. Strike is good, although the reverse die is quite worn. It's probably been dipped once upon a time, since it's a white coin, but wasn't heavily toned at the time, or the luster would be impaired.
I'll post the grade reveal tomorrow, to give everyone a chance to participate. There has been low turnout for this group, because of Christmas.
With 32 guesses, CT called this a 65.8. PCGS and CAC called it a 66. Significantly, over 62% of graders got this one right - and at most you were only a point off. This is one of the best results we've seen. I think Messydesk nailed it with his description of the grade, so I'll just quote him here:
I'm getting so many of these right or very close that I'm in danger of beginning to think I know what I'm doing! Gotta be careful about that with FUN just around the corner and some money in my pocket.
