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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 1413808, member: 112&quot;]That&#039;s not what I mean Hunter. Let me see if I can explain. See below.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>That&#039;s part of the problem you are having Detecto. For there is a lot more that goes into determining the grade of a coin besides how many marks are on the coin. For example, even though the 63 has a lot more marks, if it has better luster, a better strike, better eye appeal, and fewer hairlines, or even if just 1 or 2 of those things were better than the 61 - then it would be deserving of the higher grade.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are a lot of different criteria the go into determining the grade of a coin. Some of you may not even realize what all of them are.</p><p><br /></p><p>1 - quality of planchet</p><p><br /></p><p>2 - how well centered the coin is</p><p><br /></p><p>3 - quality of strike</p><p><br /></p><p>4 - quality of luster</p><p><br /></p><p>5 - hairlines</p><p><br /></p><p>6 - contact marks</p><p><br /></p><p>7 - size of the contact marks</p><p><br /></p><p>8 - eye appeal</p><p><br /></p><p>9 - size of the coin</p><p><br /></p><p>10 - location of marks and hairlines (and it is different for every coin)</p><p><br /></p><p>11 - condition of coin surfaces</p><p><br /></p><p>12 - condition of the dies</p><p><br /></p><p>13 - wear</p><p><br /></p><p>All of these things go into determining the grade of a coin. And each one has a different level of importance.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now, say you have 10 graded coins. All 10 are graded MS64, but yet each one of them looks entirely different than each of the others. One has more marks than any of the others, one has better luster than of the others, one has a particularly bad mark right on the cheek, another has 3 so-so marks right on the cheek, another has a very weak strike, another is fully struck, etc etc.</p><p><br /></p><p>On any given coin, 1 of these things can outweigh all of the others. On any given coin, 2 or 3 or these things can outweigh all of the others. Or you can 6 things that are good and 6 things that are bad on any given coin. It is always the combination of all of the criteria added together that determines the grade.</p><p><br /></p><p>And this is what I was getting at about pictures. If you use only 1 picture of a coin in any given grade, that 1 picture can fall anywhere in the possible combination of criteria listed above. So that 1 picture can be very misleading when you try to compare another coin that you are trying to grade with that picture.</p><p><br /></p><p>You can have a 100, or a 1000, different coins all graded MS64. And every single one of them is going to look different than every single one of the others. Every coin there is, is unique, 100% unique. No 2 coins, even of the same grade, will ever have all of these criteria listed exactly the same. To grade a coin you have to weigh all of these things and their importance and see the coin as a whole.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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