Home U.S. Coin Forum

Question on Grading (scratches on coins)

A little while ago I mentioned receiving my 2002 Uncirculated set and that the JFK had scratches between each letter on the Obverse. I believe someone mentioned that this is due to the planchet not being hot enough (something similar to that) I'm actually looking for the word that was used to describe that.

Other than that, let's say the coin was otherwise perfect, how would those scratches effect the grading?

Going through some of the proof sets I decided not to send in for grading. I noticed they too have some sort of small, tiny scratches. None of these scratches appear on the face but appear in the background of the coin. I would imagine these were imperfections in the planchet, how would this effect the grade on the coin?

Last question from this newbie.... You find a Quarter in your change, it's been circulated but it looks in immaculate shape, nothing is warn on the coin. Again, perhaps a little imperfection in the background but no imperfections on the focal areas. How do you determine if you want to have this sent in to have graded? Ideally, can you describe how you would come to the conclusion that this coin might grade a MS65...66...67...or better.

As always, your input would greatly be appreciated.

-David

Comments

  • i often thought proof and mint sets should have a seriel type# so you know when and how many where punched,this would tell you what kind of strike to expect..ex 00091 would be a much better coin than 80921 does everyone think im crazy?i am anal retentive but just a thoughtimage
    TRADERBOBZBLOG
    An open mind will support transformation.
    Recognize life is full of change
    and celebrate the opportunity.
    image
    "There is always a way to collect,Never surrender the hobby"
  • dorkkarldorkkarl Posts: 12,691 ✭✭✭
    i say they shoudl engrave the serial no. right on those proof coins themselves!

    as for dakra's 2nd question, you can in theory find ms-65 and better coins in circulation. you might know better, but a 3d party w/out prior knowledge would be unable to know. probably an extremely tiny fraction of old coins in "unc" actually avoided circulation, but were put away before encountering enough friction to cause actual wear.

    K S

Leave a Comment

BoldItalicStrikethroughOrdered listUnordered list
Emoji
Image
Align leftAlign centerAlign rightToggle HTML viewToggle full pageToggle lights
Drop image/file