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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;calcol, post: 7829148, member: 77639&quot;]OK, it’s not Lizzie Borden.&nbsp; I’m referring to the face of Ms. Liberty on St. Gaudens double eagles … specifically the normal relief business strikes issued 1907-1933.&nbsp;&nbsp; When looking at a potential purchase (and I don’t have many<img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie3" alt=":(" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />), I can’t help but examine her face closely.&nbsp;&nbsp; In most cases, it looks like the poor lady was the victim of a vicious beating.</p><p><br /></p><p>On other types of coins with St. Gaudins’ design … ultra-high relief, high relief, proofs, modern re-creations, Ms. Liberty’s face is nicer.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ms. Liberty’s face doesn’t count for much in grading … it’s only a small percentage of the surface area of the devices.&nbsp;&nbsp; So, her face even on a high-grade coin can look like hamburger.&nbsp; A couple of examples are below.&nbsp; The first, believe it or not, is a 1907 Arabic date MS68 from the Simpson collection.&nbsp; The second is a 1907 Arabic date MS66+.&nbsp; And similar, awful faces are common for every date and mint.</p><p><br /></p><p>What about the fabled legal-to-own 1933 double eagle?&nbsp;&nbsp; It’s MS65 and the third pic.&nbsp; So, are there some OK faces?&nbsp; Yes, they do occur.&nbsp; The fourth photo shows one; it’s a 1911 graded MS66+.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>So, what’s the cause of Ms. Liberty’s mutilation?&nbsp; Post striking damage plays a role, more with lower versus higher grade coins.&nbsp; Poor striking and poor die creation and management are possible culprits.&nbsp; It’s possible that working hubs had some of Ms. Liberty’s features polished off or that insufficient pressure was used when creating working dies from hubs.&nbsp; Die mishandling or filling may play a role in some cases.</p><p><br /></p><p>I reject 95+% of St. Gaudins double eagles because of&nbsp; Ms. Liberty’s face.&nbsp;&nbsp; Maybe the grading services should have a suffix on the grade for examples with decent faces.&nbsp; How about NF for nice face?&nbsp;&nbsp; A MS63NF coin would get my full attention … even though I probably wouldn’t be able to afford it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cal</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1345044[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1345045[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1345046[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1345047[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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