I have been watching e-bay on the price of Franklins. I have seen repeatedly where a MS64 FBL goes for 20% more than a MS65 (non-FBL). I understand the designation but don't understand the premium on FBL. My belief is that the reverse on a FBL was a good strike but for it to be MS64 FBL, the obverse must be a poorer strike for the two sides to average out to a MS64. Any comments?
The FBL means that it has a better strike....sometimes it might be better to have an MS64FBL than to have a MS65. Also on some coins like the 1953-S it is soooo hard to find one with FBL's that it is $$$$$...also coins from the 60's are hard to find in FBL. Speedy
Hey Speedy, Have you ever cracked the slab without damaging the coin? I've seen some nice slabbed Franklins but I don't like slabs and I want to find a way to remove it from the slab.
I've only cracked 1 slab....that was a PCI and it was hard but I hear that they are the hardest to crack. Yes--you can crack it without damaging the coin....I would sugest starting the cracking up near where the label is and try to work down. They say that PCGS and NGC are pretty easy to crack. Hope this helps-- Speedy
Try using one of these: It is called an end nippers. I bought it for cutting the wires in a chain link fence, but since then i have used it for cracking slabs. Just start at the top and cut around the edge and you will be able to avoid damaging the coin. Always go slowly (to avoid damage) and wear gogles, since shards of plastic can be damgerous.
There are several things besides quality of strike that could limit a coin to a grade of MS64. A coin can be fully struck and still only grade MS64 - or even less. They use the bell lines as a designation on Frankies because it is hard to find them with full bell lines. But having full bell lines doesn't really mean the coin is especially well struck - it just means it has full bell lines. Other parts of a coin with full bell lines can actually be weakly struck and have less visible detail than other coins without full bell lines. The same is true of all the special designations. But not everybody knows that. What they know is that FBL is the designation used for Frankies, so that somehow makes them special and thus they often have higher prices than coins that are graded even higher. It's just the way the market works - which doesn't mean it has to make sense.
