Waterspotting on Copper

mnemtsas2

Anyone got a feel for the effect that water spotting has on the grade of mint state copper at PCGS? The spotting occurred when the coins were minted and has subsequently toned (ie it is not PMD). Is it safe to assume a flat deduction? By this I mean what I'd grade a 66 would drop to a 65 with moderate spotting while a 65 would drop to a 64 for the same amount of spotting?

Walter

I'm assuming this is about Perth mint copper, I think it does count as post mint damage as it's usually just some water on the coins during minting and the toning comes after it's left the mint. Basically, if someone had opened a roll back then and stored the coin properly, it wouldn't have the spotting and so I'd consider it PMD.

It definitely has an effect on the grades.

IloiloKano

In my opinion, when you get into gem grades, anything that detracts from pristine beauty will be taken into account, though not so much for choice grades.