Cam / DCam

buc

I recently viewed a group of Franklins that had been submitted by the dealer of my local coin shop, which he had submitted for possible upgrades. He was able to upgrade one, but my question was about the comment about the note left by the grader. He stated that the one coin that did upgrade from cam to dcam was pcgs's minimun for the dcam grade and to compare the others to that coin and notice the difference in the contrast. Is the difference in the contrast or the amount of frost on the devices the determining factor?

homerunhall

I'm not exactly a cameo expert, but I believe that both amount of frost and contrast are determining factors. This cameo thing is not new. I remember a 1964 Kennedy half with thick milky white frost selling for the unheard of price of $32 on a coin shop bid board in 1966 when non-cameos were bringing $11. I would say that the amount and creaminess of the white frost is the most important factor, but contrast is important too. It's a little subjective, but if you put a DCAM next to a CAm the difference seems clear to me.