Lucy's 2nd submission results.

LucyBop

I had the 48d with an outside shot of ms65, and the 50p as another chance at ms65. At worst I had all the coins going ms64fbl. PCGs in their 5 second gradings said this:
1 1948-D 50C MS64FL
2 1950-D 50C MS63FL
3 1950 50C MS63FL
4 1961 50C MS64FL

On my last submission I had a 52d go ms62, the coin arrived earlier today and this coin is far better and even has less wear then 3 other ms64fbl coins that I have. I was very hopeful for the 50p, this coin was and is a knockout! Well, I will be sending another batch, I have a 58d that I really believe will go ms66fbl, a 59d that has a shot at ms65, and it's time to start submitting my roosies so I can update my Registry set. I really can't say PCG's grading has gotten tighter since I am new to this and still studing the Franklin half but, I would have ranked that 50p with my 58d ms65fbl. I have better luck with the Proofs. Lucy is still happy as these coins were not expensive, the 48d that I bought, the dealer wrote on the stapled coin holder that it was an ms60, I knew better.

FC57Coins

Lucy:

Those grades aren't really all that bad. The '50 coins are tougher than most people think because there were no mint sets made that year, so all the coins come from rolls and a lot of them will have "roll friction" marks on them which could knock them down if they're significant enough. I think you're seeing the real reason why gem Franklins are climbing in price, even when a coin looks pretty darn good to the naked eye, under scrutiny, it's hard to find those that are clean enough to be considered true gems. Keep climbing that registry!

Frank

LucyBop

What throws me off in determining what a ms64/65 really is, is that I am finding coins that are better then several of my already graded ms64's, the 50p has very clean fields, no rubing at all on Frankies face and very minimal contact marks. It sorta baffles me that I have to find a better example just to get a ms64. This coin was purchased at a local show for $20. They same dealer also had a graded 50d that was ms64fbl, the raw coin was the better coin, his 64fbl was what I thought a low end barely made it 64 because it was bagmark galore. But I am not giving up, I may just have to corner the market on all the ms62/63 Frankies!

darktone

Hi Lucy, sorry you are not happy with your submission results. The grades are only PCGS's opinion-if you like the coins keep them in your collection.
mike

LucyBop

When I consider what I paid for the coins and also that the submissions were free, I did good. When I joined PCGs at the recent Long Beach Convention they took one look at the HepKitty and gave me 8 free submissions instead of 4. Now I will be paying and these grades will sting alittle bit more.. I am trying to get my Registry set to 90% so I can get even more free gradings, and I have all the raw coins to do it, they just are not hitting as I thought they would, but atleast they have all gotten the fbl desgination.

FC57Coins

Lucy:

Generally speaking the MS65 Franklins will "look" almost perfect to the naked eye. It might have one or two minor noticeable dings on it without taking a glass to it. Under magnification you will see one or two significant marks, and several minor marks, but they should be generally not be in a significant area of the coin. You can have maybe one major ding on the bell, and possibly one or two on the portrait. Generally speaking a hit on the cheek of Franklin's portrait is a sure fire ticket to MS64 land, though I've seen some toned pieces with minor hits on the cheek that are concealed by toning. The MS64 will look like an MS65 to the naked eye, but under magnification you will see more hits on the coin with maybe one or two more noticeable hits on either the bell or the portrait. The key to getting to know what each of these looks like is to try to look at as many graded coins as possible and get the "feel" of what they look like.

MS64:




MS65:





MS66:





Hope this helps. Remember - the difference between MS64-66 can some time be miniscule, and a lot depends on the eye appeal of the coin.

Regards,

Frank

LucyBop

And your description Frank describes the 50p perfectly, I have several ms65's and agree with your assessment. Bagmarks can be visible on a 65 as well as a 66 but as you know they must be very minimal (if there at all) and non-distracting. The other thing about the 50p is it has awesome eye appeal. It is the best looking brilliant coin I own. I passed on a ms66fbl at Long Beach cause it had a huge hit on the lower-mid row of bell lines and it was distracting to me for this ultra gem grade. I saw a ms67fbl 59d at Long Beach and on this gem I could not find one mark, one distraction, one of anything but only a beautiful monster GEM!

FC57Coins

Eye appeal counts quite a bit - You'll find in this series that just because a Franklin has a high "technical" grade, doesn't always mean that you have high eye appeal as well - there are many "bowzers" in MS65 and 66 holders - sometimes a good MS64FBL will look tons better. It just takes time to seek out the great beauties out there.

Frank

robertpr

Lucy I have a pair of MS63FBL's that I made on a PCGS submission. In my opinion one should be 64fl and the other should be a 65 or 66fbl. The second coin looks flawless, but has minor toning which partly mutes the luster. I'm thinking of breaking it, dipping, and sending to NGC.

FC57Coins

Robert:

Be careful dipping Franklins. Sometimes the toning is so deeply etched that you'll wind up ruining the coin. Perhaps the better approach might be to take a look at the coins you have side by side with some MS64-66's and see if your hunch is right, and then tackle the dipping question when you're satisfied that your assessment is correct. You might also look at the price differential to see if it's even worth bothering with the process since you've already submitted the coins for grading once.

Frank

Gilbert

Can I jump in here? You guys may have been collecting Franklin halves a bit longer than I, so if I sound presumptious, please forgive me?

LucyBop,

Do you have Tomaska's book? I ask because, he provides essential info on what is to be expected of certain dates. IMO, if you don't have the 3 split hairs on '48 - '50 dated coins, MS65 and particularly MS66 may be optimistic. Then there can be a great difference in appearance between those dates and the subsequent dates. Frankly, I'm a little surprised at some of Frank's MS66s, but notice the difference between the '48 (which is quite a detailed coin, and what I look for in the first three years) and the '51-S (an almost impossible coin fully struck) and the '52 (strong profile, but notice the weakness centrally, which is to be expected as we proceed up thru '59). With '60 you can again expect strong profile and details, except the hair definition and bell lines will never look like the '48.
The "S" minted coins are going to be market graded and most probably all of the EDS and most defined are already in strong hands, but, you have to exercise extreme patience and be resolute, in not accepting those coins that don't meet the expectations consistent with the way they were minted. I know, it is a pi$$er, and it is taking a lot longer to assemble this 35 coin set, but for me, I absolutely want my set to represent the best the grade has to offer. To do that, I MUST know what I can realistically expect each year and mint to provide. Thanks for hearing me out.

LucyBop

Hello Gilbert, good input. Yes I do have this book and the 50p has excellent detail. I thought it had a chance at ms65, but figured it to be a ms64 without a doubt. You are correct that in 48 and 49 the details were higher as the master die was new. And yes, as they wore Frankie lost some of these details until the master die was remade in 1960. This is very obvious as I look at my collection. Though my mint state Frankies are not hitting the grades I was hoping for, I still am glad that they are fbl and encapsulated. I like all my coins slabbed even though I have tons of raw coins. I have various ms64's that I can say justy barely made that grade or just missed ms65, the coins I have been submitting are very choice and I can only say now that they are high end ms63's.

beorn

hi lucy,i,m interested in the turn around time on your submisson.i have a group of 67 coins that they have had for 19 days and no word yet,just curious if smaller groups go thru quicker...thanks...beorn

LucyBop

My first submissions took 3 weeks, my 2nd took 12 days. Both were 4 coins each...