The Official CoinTalk Grading Experiment 9

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 feel free to post your opinions about the coin, and it would be most educational if you could explain why you chose the grade you did.

In order to give everyone time to respond, I'll reveal the grade Sunday evening

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.

 

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Very clean coin. I went with 64 due to a couple of obverse marks. I wouldn't object strongly if a little higher. Pretty.

 

Upon closer inspection, you can see some very minor nicks, but overall, the coin has the appearance of a gem grade coin. Liberty Nickels always seem to be rather lack luster, even at the higher grades, so I am going with:

MS65

 

It is a very nice coin. MS 65, but might be a 64 due to the series track record by tpg's in general.

 

Very nice coin. I'd be proud to own it.

 

65

 

Yes, clean surfaces, but almost no remaining luster or visible toning. Knowing this may be due to the pictures, I like it at MS 64.

 

This one is really nice. MS-66

 

65. A couple significant enough marks on the obverse to hold it back. Nice coin.

 

Flat no luster going with MS 64

 

I think 66 is within reach as well.

 

I went with MS 65
I see something to the left of the star at the 3 o'clock position (can't quite make out if it's a small struck through area or minor damage) and some scattered hits throughout, but nothing that would keep the coin out of the gem range.

 

Solid 65. Very well struck (full left corn on the reverse, full obverse stars), good eye appeal, scattered little ticks and such on the portrait, decent luster. Little planchet flaw or strike-thru at 3:00 is no big deal.

 

First impression, 65. Guess I'll go with that.

 

I'll go with 64, due to the ticks on the cheek and the tiny obv dark spots. I don't think the planchet flaw by star 11 affects the grade.

 

66

 

66

 

Wow. Wow! WOW!!

I suspect the coin is more lustrous than these photos let on. Absolutely no distracting marks, and very few marks at all. Combine that with one of the best strikes you’ll ever see on a Liberty nickel, and I’m scratching my head at all y’all who said 64.

IMO, anything less than 65 should be sent back in as a mechanical error. Luster is probably not enough for 67, hence my guess of 66.

 

We've had a pretty good number of guesses so far, but don't forget to vote!

I'll close this one out this evening, so today is your last chance to participate.