Designations FSB, FH, FS, FBL?

morgansforever

Just curious who came up with these, and why these particular designations.
Why full split horizontal bands? What about the vertical bands on the fasces?
How about Full Hair, instead of Full Bell Lines? Full Steps, Full Pillars? FS on 80's Lincoln cents, most are mushy.
What about all the other coins? FBF, Full Breast Feathers on a Morgan?
Your thoughts...........

keyman64

Why not just FS for Full Strike and call it a day? It would apply to all.

ricko

The areas designated by the acronyms are generally the points of wear on a coin that deteriorate the fastest - thereby indicating the degree of circulation. Cheers, RickO

keyman64

<< <i>The areas designated by the acronyms are generally the points of wear on a coin that deteriorate the fastest - thereby indicating the degree of circulation. Cheers, RickO >>

But assuming a Mint State example, it demonstrates the fullness of strike, not the degree of circulation...

morgansforever

My main foucs is where did these designations originate, and why these devices?
Were these in use before the TPG's came about in the mid 80's?

roadrunner

Specialist collectors and dealers in times well before PCGS realized that these striking features were weak on most coins examined. The FSB on the Merc dime gained popularity in the 1970's. But it could have been well understood long before that. These particular striking features were simple ways to indicate a coin was probably well struck for that date...but in many cases not fully struck. You will also find many designated coins (FSB, FBL, FH, etc.) that don't have fully struck bands, bell lines, or heads. Trying to find a fully struck SLQ would be quite a chore. Even those with FH's tend to have weak rivets on the shield. Since the strike of a coin exists on a sliding scale, it is indeed a slippery slope assigning an FX or FXX label to a coin. Since the first coin was struck collectors have always desired fully struck specimens even if they didn't assign a catchy label to what they were doing. And some of those collectors were dealers as well. Harold Kritzman pushed FSB Mercs in the 1970's as both a collector and as a dealer looking to make a niche.

roadrunner

TwoSides2aCoin

Because of the insistence of collectors , designations are a must.

Mowgli

<< <i>

<< <i>The areas designated by the acronyms are generally the points of wear on a coin that deteriorate the fastest - thereby indicating the degree of circulation. Cheers, RickO >>

But assuming a Mint State example, it demonstrates the fullness of strike, not the degree of circulation... >>



I have circulated Mercs that still have full split bands.

Mowgli

If you haven't yet collected with an emphasis on these various designations for a full strike, I would recommend not doing so unless you like spending the extra money or competing in the Registry.

A 1953-S or 1954-S FS Jefferson nickel costs more than a complete slabbed set in the same grade. A nice Dansco which looks pretty good in MS 63-64 costs a few hundred dollars. A similar thing can be said for Franklins in FBL or Roosevelts in FB. One coin can be worth the entire set w/o the full strike slabbed in the same grade.

My bias is probably in that I prefer coin rarity to condition rarity.

BTW - full split band Mercs have been around for a long time and seems to have less arguments as to when one has FSBs. Some of the other full strike designations have more disagreement even on coins that have been slabbed with the designation. This is particularly mind boggling when one looks at the cost differences for standing liberty quarters in full head and the arguments that ensue as to whether there is a full head. Too rich for my blood especially when these coins can be spectacularly beautiful without a full head.