Step Right Up And Grade This Bust Half Russ Imaged!! *Slab Grade And My Opinion Posted*

stman

I thought I'd let Russ image a Real coin with his new camera. He did a nice job on this one.
Please say what YOU feel it should grade. Not what NGC might or might not have said. Not what PCGS
might or might not have said. It has a bit more color, not a wild colored coin, but very pleasing IMO.

Edit to add, if you want to throw up a grade what you think the services would grade it that's fine too!!

topstuf

Is "gimme" a grade?

Toning or rub on boobs?

FatMan

Ok stman, I'll keep you from killing your own thread.

My uninformed opinion is AU58. She sure is a pretty one.


edited: I see TopStuff save the thread before I could.

DHeath

Light rub on the cheek and breast. Fairly strong strike. The clasp is decent, the reverse is crisp, and the motto strong. Luster around the stars and devices close to the rim. Little in the exposed areas. Light scratch above the eagle, but not hurtful, just worth mentioning. Based on the image, I'd grade it AU58. Pretty coin.

stman

<< <i>Toning or rub on boobs >>



Toning.

busco69

I'm with Fatman I say au-58 also

coinlieutenant

AU58. Very nice.

JrGMan2004

AU vs. MS is so tough to tell from pictures However... especially knowing you and your taste... I would grade it AU55ish, but my guess would be an AU55 PCGS holder or an AU58 NGC holder...


Edit to correct a typing mistake...

CHESSNUTDOG

AU59 (thats right 1 point for pure beauty)...Absolutely beautiful bust and if you ever decide to sell let me know.....Mike

JRocco

Hey stman, nice coin. If that is really just a touch of rub I would have to go 58 on it---that is a tough 58 though----more like a 59 1/2. BUT, if you caught the TPG's during one of their loose cycles, like the one PCGS is trying to reverse at this time by being ubber tight, that could go into a slab anywhere from 62-65. I give it that range because those plastic companies can't grade early material for sh*t, and just give WAG's anyway.

cmanbb

stman...............................nice coin

I think..............and I use the term loosely, the coin is an AU58 with the slightest little rub on her cheek, the drape line on her left breast
and the eagles right wing (at the very top). The luster seems to be weak it the field in front of her chin and throat only, BUT these coins are VERY difficult to grade, prior to the modern technology (of that time) and prior to 1836. A nice original coin that I would be proud to own and place in my date set.

Russ

Are you guys kidding with AU58? Looks MS64 to me.

Russ, NCNE

coinlieutenant

I see boob rub....but I love the coin.

coinlieutenant

I guess I am off since you imaged the coin!!

mgoodm3

nice pics.

Russ

<< <i>I guess I am off since you imaged the coin!! >>



Not necessarily. I could be messing with you guys.

Russ, NCNE

LeeG

A real beauty and great pic. Looks like some rub on the cap too. Would like a 62 but got to go with the consensus on 58

JRocco

<< <i>

<< <i>I guess I am off since you imaged the coin!! >>



Not necessarily. I could be messing with you guys.

Russ, NCNE >>



Be nice now Russ---If you really started messing with some of the guys on this board, sales of Prozac would go up nationally.

ER

<< <i>....My uninformed opinion is AU58. She sure is a pretty one. ......... >>



Exactly what FatMan said.

LincolnCentMan

AU58

David

Russ

I will say that if I were going to own a Bust Half, this puppy would be right at the top of the list. Regardless of grade, it's a marvelous coin that would please even the pickiest collector - like, for example, Stman!

Russ, NCNE

TUMUSS

53

drwstr123

I love coins and photography. Mix together and get pure beauty. Thanks for the pics. MS-63

JRocco

<< <i>I love coins and photography. Mix together and get pure beauty. Thanks for the pics. MS-63 >>



I agree- digital photography has really come a long way. Let me add that this is really a nice pic Russ- it is tough to get the clarity, and colors you did without over or under lighting the coin. Wish I could take a pic like that.

stman

And the true answer is (if there is one) ........









Sorry folks, gotta go out and get some work done. I'll check back later.

Russ

<< <i>Let me add that this is really a nice pic Russ- it is tough to get the clarity, and colors you did without over or under lighting the coin. Wish I could take a pic like that. >>



Thanks! Truth be told, though, you're looking at the end result of hundreds of images. Combine a tough coin like this with a new camera that I'm still learning, and it took a while to hit on the right combination of settings and lighting. It was an excellent challenge.

Russ, NCNE

DennisH

Looks AU58 to me.

SDCollector

Beautiful coin and great pics. Is that a scratch on the reverse above the eagle?

DHeath

Good pic. The hair detail below the headband is terriffic, and the luster in the hair is evident. Nice looking coin and pic.

Baley

Beautiful coin and nice pictures.

Grade?

Full strike or nearly so, full luster or nearly so, just a few contact marks, notably a peck in her upper chest and a short skitch above the eagle, a point off for each and another point for the cumulative rest of the tiny marks and just a bit of action in the fields, I have no doubts this coin is Mint State, I'd grade it by the image as MS62 but could probably justify a point in either direction, if Stman paid 58-60 money for the piece, I rekon he got himself a bargain

DickyBetz

AU55

Baley

53... 55.. LoL and worth "bid", right? hahahahahah

roadrunner

Technical grade and my grade as well is AU58. There is of course rub, as 99% of all slabbed "mint state" bust halves have.

The coin should slab out no lower than MS63 imo. The luster appears to be "burnt" and pebbly in the photo but I think that's only the way you took it. The coin looks really nice in any event and a MS64 grade would not surprise me nor a MS62. This coin has lots of strike issues in the hair curls that make it looked more rubbed than it is. The eagle's brow and right wing tip do have the typical "MS63/64 type of rubbing so common to these.

Just last week I saw an NGC MS63 with about 60% luster and tons of tics. This one has nearly complete field luster which is usually when they give up the MS grade regardless of how the high points look.

roadrunner

JRocco

<< <i>Thanks! Truth be told, though, you're looking at the end result of hundreds of images. Combine a tough coin like this with a new camera that I'm still learning, and it took a while to hit on the right combination of settings and lighting. It was an excellent challenge.

Russ, NCNE >>



Still impressive and I got to admit that I have taken hundreds of pics of some busts with a nice Nikon also and still not had results that nice---Kudos Russ

Bustman

Au58

Cladiator

MS59

Killer banner ST.

Nice pic Russ.

pursuitofliberty

Great coin ST ...

By the picture ... AU58 or MS63 ... in hand ...


hmmmmm ...


well, why don't you just send it to me for inspection!




In plastic ... very well could be MS63


Would I pay decent to strong Unc money for it raw? Based on the pictures ... most definitely.


Thanks for sharing, beatiful coin!

coinfreak499

That's a nice one

It's a slider IMO. I would say AU58.

Myqqy

I would say au58, and very nice looking!

stman

Thanks for the compliments and replies folks! It is indeed a very pleasing piece. I didn't submit this coin and rarely do as many here are
aware grades don't mean that much to me these days. I'm also not one to have wishful thinking on coins I own. I'm actually rather tough on them.

If I were to grade this image I guess I might think there is some rub/wear, as there kinda looks like there is. In person, I Do not
see the luster break. It is full and un-broken IMO. I don't see any rub either. I guess with a high power loupe I might have seen just the slightest
bit on the cheek, but it's nothing. As many of you know many of these in mint-state holders have very obvious rub. And finding a true mint-state
Bust half is very tough. The coin is in a PCGS AU-58 holder. When I first looked at this coin and didn't see the luster break, my first thought was there must be an "issue" that it was quietly net-graded down for. I did not see any issues. You can basically take my opinion or not.

Russ

I became intimately familiar with this coin over the few days I had it, and I agree with Stman's assessment. In-hand, I could find no luster breaks or other issues. There are plenty of Bust Halves in MS holders that don't hold a candle to this one.

Russ, NCNE

RickMilauskas

I have to admit, that is one beautiful coin. I'd have to side with the AU 58 crowd but I'd be hard pressed to find a prettier bust half.

Sounds like once again we face the dilemma of ...

do you grade a coin of a certain series strictly by the grading standards criteria or...

do you grade a coin of a certain series using grading standards criteria as a guide but
based on characteristics and tendencies of that series (ie poor strike, rub due to stacking etc.)

my3cents

I would have said at least a 63...maybe I've been infected with gradeflation

beautiful coin

FatMan

<< <i>I became intimately familiar with this coin over the few days I had it.
Russ, NCNE >>

That might explain the rub then.

Russ

You know, right after I posted that I knew some smartass would come along.

Russ, NCNE

coinlieutenant

Good one fatman....very good!!!!

cmanbb

As I have learned over time..........................these CBH are tough to grade. Even the experts have commented over the years, that pre 1836 coins are difficult to accurately grade, and even moreso pre 1821. The coins minted during this period could/can/do show drastic differences from one coin to the next when strike is involved. It's unfortunate that this coin probably belongs in an MS holder, but will probably take many submissions to get it there............................

That's all I have to say about that.

nwcs

AU 58 is my guess

mozin

AU58 by the pictures.