Seasoned collector/dealer. Hardest series to grade and easiest
Vetter
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Question for those that have been collecting or dealing for some time now. What series do you find the most difficult to grade and which one do you find the easiest? Let us know why.
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The most difficult to grade coins are the gold Indian quarter eagles and half eagles due to their incused design and the lack of a raised rim to protect their fields. The buffalo nickels are a close second because many dates with mintmarks are very weakly struck and have the appearance of a much lower grade even when they are technically mint state.
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I agree with @PerryHall.... Running a close third would be the Walking Liberty Half dollar... due to the intricate and complex design-obverse and reverse. One of the easiest to grade - IMO - is the Lincoln Wheat Cent. Cheers, RickO
I'll go with Buffalo nickels. Based on my experience, I think it's easier to learn (or teach someone) how to grade Indian Quarter Eagles and Half Eagles than it is, the nickels. The main reason is that the gold coins tend to be much more uniform.
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Most difficult- Buffalo Nickels
Easiest - Lincoln Wheat Cents
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Distinguishing between a 69 and a 70 is something I'd assume is hard for moderns.
Most Walkers aren't fully struck. Even if there's a full thumb, feather detail is weak. Only the 2016 gold centennial coins got that right.
I'd say Saints are one of the easier renaissance era coins to grade but there are so many AU coins in MS holders. Knee rub that wouldn't be tolerated in other series are tolerated with Saints.
I'll take Indian Quarter Eagles and Half Eagles, though they get considerably easier to grade in 64 and up.
Walkers, as ricko mentioned, give me fits in that 64-67 range. It seems they come back what I expect about half the time. Worst I ever had was one that I thought was a shot 7, came back 64. Second time through grading went 66, third time, 66+. I called it a day at 66+ CAC.
Buffs can be challenging and have a somewhat steep learning curve, but once you figure out how those 20's mintmarked dates typically look fresh off the dies (terrible!) you've fought half the battle.
Other than those already mentioned by others, I'll pick early american copper. It can be tough to guess what kind of issues they'll accept versus what will result in a details grade. There's definitely a curve that favors straight grading the earlier issues more frequently, I'm guessing due to poorer production standards in the early days of the mint. But I haven't quite nailed down the curve just yet.
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I agree. I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned the early period coins. They have a similar problem to the Buffs with poor strikes due to the more primitive presses. With the coppers, you also have a lot of leeway given for surface issues that aren't tolerated in later series.
Seasoned collector for limited collection, maybe, dealer not. Of the 3 I collect and have the full set, Morgans the easiest, then Peace $s and agree WLHs are the toughest with the weak strikes, chatter on Liberty's hip/leg area and eagle's front wing strike.
** Other than those already mentioned by others, I'll pick early american copper. It can be tough to guess what kind of issues they'll accept versus what will result in a details grade. There's definitely a curve that favors straight grading the earlier issues more frequently, I'm guessing due to poorer production standards in the early days of the mint.**
Part of the problem is that PCGS is very inconsistent in how they grade these and what they accept. They used to be looser than they are now, imo.
The most difficult... I have to agree with Buffalo Nickels. The learning curve on Indian quarter eagles and half eagles was pretty steep but I've still not managed to figure out Buffalo Nickels yet. I still call many MS pieces as AU due to strike issues.
I've found 3C Silvers to be pretty tough too. They're small, and pretty thin too so I dont think they come fully struck either.
Lastly, Early Copper... they get easier in the Late Date series, but pre-1816 copper is a bit of a learning curve since planchets were not uniform and the striking process was more inconsistent.
The easiest... I cut my teeth on grading Lincoln Cents, quickly followed by Indian Head Cents. So, I have the most experience grading those. I found Morgan Dollars pretty easy to grade too.
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Buffalo Nickels and Standing Liberty Quarters among non-gold coins.
The hardest to grade for me are Standing Liberty Quarters. I consistently under grade them.
Buffalo nickels are hard because of the horn. I think that too much emphasis is placed upon it because sometimes it's not well struck. If the rest of the coin has the surfaces of a VF, but the horn point is not there, it's still a VF in my opinion.
I can't see where the $2.50 and $5 Indian gold coins are that tough to grade. The hard part is finding a $5 coin that really is Mint State. A lot of the pieces that get grades of MS-63 and especially below are sliders.
Easiest, Lincolns, Franklins, Mercury Dimes, toughest, Walkers, Buffalo's, Indian Cents.
For me personally, the easiest are Barber coins; V nickels, Barber dimes, quarters and halves.
Far and away the most difficult; Buffalo nickels. Strike quality is all over the place, and varies from year and mint mark.
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I find Washington quarters in the middle MS grades MS63 to MS65 the hardest, Morgan dollars are the easiest by far.
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I have a very hard time grading walking liberty half dollars in circulated grades especially the early dates 1916-1933. vg or vf? Peace dollars are a close second.
Morgans dollars and Wheat cents are the easiest.
Agree with above list.
Also would add Classic Head LC.
Poor planchets, striking, some terrible looking coins are mid grade.
Buffalo nickels tough
Morgans easy
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Is that due to stacking marks or actual wear from circulation or mishandling? I would think stacking marks up to say about MS 66 would be expected and accepted as to the nature of the heaviness of the coins hitting other coins in the rolls or bags.
I would imagine the most respected graders here would be the dealer/collectors who have held thousands of coins inhand, graded and raw, and not from pics.
Buffs are hard and a couple of years ago would have been my selection, but I now think the early cents to be the hardest, especially from photos, which makes up the majority of my grading tries.
Jim
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Morgan and Peace dollars are relatively easy. Buffs are tough, but early copper is really tough for me when it comes to grade/no-grade calls.
Just got this one back; “No grade for you!”…
Environmental damage….I’ve seen far worse in straight grade holders. This is a tough sleeper date and was really looking forward to having it in a straight grade VF holder.
Early federal coinage with weak strikes are the hardest for me. I think Morgan Dollars are probably the easiest.
Newfoundland halves as most difficult. I don't collect nickels anymore.
Lincoln cents and Barber halves have been the easiest to grade for me.
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Okee dokee. I'll delete the post.
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You would think that someone would maybe recreate reproductions or modern gold coins...put 250 of them in a cavas bag.....and see what a 250-count bag moving around does to a bunch of pristine coins in terms of bag marks and rub.
Would be a real interesting experiement that would shed light on what actually happens instead of guessing.
Its more than that. Its when they fall off of the press. Clad coins are most resistant, that's why you still have 1960s era clad still circulating.
Some of them barely exist in MS condition.