Copper, Brown Verses Red/brown

oldwestgold

Is there a % of red the TPG's use to distinguish between brown and red/brown on copper. I noticed on Eagle Eyes website many of the Strand Collection of Indian head cents are in RB holders, both PCGS and NGC, but Rick says they are brown and priced as such (lower), and indeed many do look brown. However some have just a trace of mint red, at least from the photos. I've never been a fan of the RB tag, the coin should be either full red, or brown. Sometimes there is a big price spread between BN and RB, and if the TPG's are messing this up, money will be lost. Just hope it's not mine.

RW

As stated by PCGS...

A copper coin that has from 5 to 95 percent of its original mint color remaining (RB). Thus, a Brown coin has less than 5% original red still remaining and a Red coin has more than 95% of the original red color still remaining.

LeeG

This is subjective though, just like grading.

droopyd

<< <i>As stated by PCGS...

A copper coin that has from 5 to 95 percent of its original mint color remaining (RB). Thus, a Brown coin has less than 5% original red still remaining and a Red coin has more than 95% of the original red color still remaining. >>



I've not seen any 5% red coins getting RB designations -- seems to me that 10-15% is the least amount of red allowable before it goes from BN to RB.

PerryHall

What are the EAC standards for RD vs. RB vs. BN?

Coxe

Since they do not do computer grading, I don't buy any quantitative definition of RB. It is entirely subjective but perhaps with grading set models to standardize the thresholds somewhat. I have had a fair number of BN half cents from both of the top two TPGs that definitely had more than 5% of the original red remaining. I think you have to be impressed at arm's length by the red content and luster to qualify for RB. OTOH, I have also had RD half cents from both of them that were IMO no-way fully original. That comes down to appeasing the market. EAC gets in the middle of all of that. For later stuff, it's all different. Lincolns will tend to be more original. Rick could speak to Indian Heads. I haven't looked at a lot of them.

messydesk

The 5-95% numbers imply precision without accuracy. Unless each coin is imaged and there is a reproducible analysis of this image that leads to a %, what it really means is that a coin with more than a little brown can't be red and a coin with more than a little red can't be brown, where "a little" is the graders' call. PCI used to quantify redness, brownness, whiteness and tonedness on their labels with a percent. It could be used to indicate your coin is turning in the holder, I guess.

Tvac897

What exactly is a red coin?