I'm trying to learn circ. Walker grading... can anyone give me pointers on this coin?

DennisH

I recently bought a few rolls of circ. Walkers in an effort to start learning how to grade them. Alas, it's not going as well as I'd hoped.

Although I do have a wide range of grades to look at, I'm not at all sure what I'm looking at. Take this coin for instance. Is it a high-end VF or an XF40? And if it's a VF, what does it lack to be an XF?

Thanks in advance for any and all comments and suggestions! Although my learning curve is happening pretty slowly, it's already been a lot of fun.

BillJones

That coin looks like a VF-30 to me, but I'm more conservative as a grader than some folks. I'd suggest the you buy a copy of the ANA Grading Guide and then start comparing the photoes in there with as many coins as possible. That how most of us learned to grade coins. Except back when I was kid it was Brown and Dunn and then Photograde.

ThatImpalaDude

At best it might be a VF-30. It isn't an EF-40. The eagle's wing feathers arent distinct enough for an EF-40 grade, and the skirt lines are too weak. Hope that helps.

Steve

ThatImpalaDude

Get a copy of "The Complete Guide to Walking Liberty Half Dollars," by Bruce Fox. It has an excellent section on circulated grading as well as good info on each date/mintmark.

Steve

DaveG

I certainly wouldn't claim to be an expert (and I don't have the greatest monitor), but here's what Bruce Fox says:

VF-20: OBVERSE: Liberty's left breast will have a full, but weak outline. This is the major determinant of the grade. Liberty's body will be somewhat rounded, especially her left leg down to her knee. From the knee down to the ankle it will be flat. Weak skirt lines up to and including 1921 will still be the rule and will not lower the grade. REVERSE: All the eagle's wing feathers will show. The eagle's body will be smooth but somewhat rounded. The eagle's pupil will be weakly visible.

VF-30: OBVERSE: Liberty's left breast outline will be complete without any areas that could be considered weak. Both breasts will begin to exhibit 3-dimensionality. The gown line crossing Liberty will be partially visible. The area from the knee to the ankle of her left leg will begin to exhibit some roundness. REVERSE: The eagle's pupil will be clearly visible. There will be separation between the breast and leg. A small number of feathers will be visible on the eagle's breast.

EF-40: OBVERSE: Liberty' breasts appear to be more raised and rounded than on the previous grades. There is noticeable wear on the head, breast, arm and left leg. The sandal is well detailed and complete. Most of the skirt lines are visible on the post-1921 issues. REVERSE: All of the eagle's wing feathers are distinct and bold. Approximately 1/2 of the eagles' leg and breast feathers are visible. Feathers show on the edge of the eagle's neck. The center area of the eagle's breast will be flat. Note: traces of mint luster may be present near the rim.

EF-45: OBVERSE: This grade has all the qualities of the EF-40 grade, except there will be much less wear on the head, breast, arm and left leg. Unless cleaned or darkly toned, there will be some luster. The sandal will be very bold. The specimen will appear to be AU-50 at first glance, but will exhibit a little too much wear in the above noted areas for the grade as well as not having adequate mint luster. REVERSE: The eagle's breast will display over half of the breast feathers in bold fashion. There will be a small flat area at the center of the breast and leg area. The wing feathers will be well outlined and bold and only show a small amount of wear. The eagle's neck feathers will begin to show definition in the center.

Based on what I can see, I'd say that your coin looks like a nice VF-30, but would probably be sold as an EF-40 (there's a lot of grade [or price, depends on how you look at it] inflation for the earlier Walkers).