Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Lehigh96, post: 1811394, member: 15309&quot;]Doug,</p><p><br /></p><p>I own the first edition of THE PCGS OFFICIAL GUIDE TO COIN GRADING AND COUNTERFEIT DETECTION and they address the subject of toning and its relationship to grade.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I think that passage is carefully worded and purposefully vague so that they can handle the subjectivity inherent to the topic of toning/eye appeal.&nbsp; They go on to list the different types of toning and discuss which types are positive, neutral, and negative and are equally as vague in those passages.</p><p><br /></p><p>NGC does not publish their grading standards, however, they started the star designation in order to recognize a coin that has exceptional eye appeal due to toning (et al).&nbsp; This would lead one to assume that they don&#039;t factor toning into the numerical grade of the coin.&nbsp; My experience is that attractive toning can and does result in a numerical grade bump.&nbsp; The Morgan Dollar shown below is a good example.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Morgan%20Dollars%204%20Sale/MD1885-ONGCMS64GF1553549-009_zpsd393fc53.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Morgan%20Dollars%204%20Sale/MD1885-ONGCMS64GF1553549-009OH_zpsedb9d655.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>If this coin did not have incredible toning, I very much doubt that anybody would grade this coin any higher than MS63 given the condition of the obverse focal area (cheek).&nbsp; When NGC encapsulates a coin with the reverse showing forward, they essentially change the established focal areas of the coin IMO.&nbsp; Typically, the grade of the obverse is more important to the overall grade of the coin when there is a disparity between the grades of the obverse and reverse of the coin.&nbsp; So while the coin shown above might have a grade (Obv/Rev) of (63/65), by flipping the coin in its holder the grade becomes (65/63).&nbsp; If the coin were untoned, the MS63 obverse would limit the grade of the coin to MS63 since the obverse controls the overall grade.&nbsp; Since the coin is attractively toned on the reverse, NGC seems to consider the reverse of the coin more important than the obverse.&nbsp; The result it that the MS63 grade of the obverse is averaged with the MS65 grade of the reverse and the resultant overall grade becomes MS64 with a * designation to further recognize the exceptional eye appeal of the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, I don&#039;t work for NGC and don&#039;t know their grading policies.&nbsp; What I have stated above is my opinion about how they grade toned coins based on my experience in dealing with these coins.&nbsp; In general, I find that many toned coins, specifically, toned Morgan Dollars are overgraded by 1 point.</p><p><br /></p><p>PS.&nbsp; Doug, I am aware that you would not grade the reverse of the coin shown above MS65.&nbsp; I used MS65 because that is how I think NGC would grade a coin with those surfaces and that toning.</p><p><br /></p><p>Paul[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in