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How do you feel about the AU 50 grade?
learningcoins
Posts: 73 ✭✭
I have never liked it, it bugs me to know it is the lowest AU grade. I always look for 55-58. Anyone else feel the same?
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I feel the same way.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
The 1916-D Dime in used to have was an AU 50. It was nice to have an AU coin even though it was a 50. I was happy to have it in my BU set. They are just a bit better than XF45, but they have luster and obviously less wear. I have no problem with the grade.
President, Racine Numismatic Society 2013-2014; Variety Resource Dimes; See 6/8/12 CDN for my article on Winged Liberty Dimes; Ebay
I kind of like au50 on type coins and better date material. Its also nice for resale, as some dealers try to buy 53 and 55 material as a 50. This helps eliminate that shenanigan.
Oddly as a proponent of the grade I only have 5 examples in my collection.
It's just another grade that was arbitrarily assigned to the lowest end of an equally arbitrarily assigned sub-section of the grading scale.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Yeah, but... originally AU meant "almost uncirculated" - the connotation of there but for a tiny bit of rub it was MS.
If you think of AU50 as XF47, you are probably closer to how it's used - just another circulated grade. And AU53 is really XF49.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
those are some nice looking 50's
Then you must really hate the MS60 grade! For me, it just comes down to the price levels. If there's a huge jump between AU and MS, there's often a jump between the AU grades as well (like the 1892-S Morgan). In many cases, an AU58 isn't much more than an AU50 so I would try to get the former. All else being equal, I'd certainly rather have the AU coin than an XF one.
My simple rule of thumb; If it's "iffy" it's "fiffy."
My set contains a fair number of AU50's - examples like this one are definitely not "iffy".
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/gold/liberty-head-2-1-gold-major-sets/liberty-head-2-1-gold-basic-set-circulation-strikes-1840-1907-cac/alltimeset/268163
I'm OK with it.
Proof Buffalo Registry Set
Capped Bust Quarters Registry Set
Proof Walking Liberty Halves Registry Set
There are exceptions to every rule.
I bought this as an AU50 (OGH) and have been happy with it.
Picture by TomB. Obviously, the "scratch" is on the slab and didn't come out since it is in an older holder and engrained
So, I go by the coin and not the grade (unless I am throwing my money away, chasing others in the modern registry sets
)
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
I do not care.... If I like the coin, that is all that matters. An arbitrary opinion in the form of a number is not relevant to me, as a collector. Cheers, RickO
Looks much better than a 50.......nice half.
Years ago the AU-50 met a really nice coin that had a minor rub on the high points with about 50% of the coin's luster intact. Today it often means a dull, perhaps over dipped, washed out coin that was once graded EF-40 or 45.
This is just one more example of "grade-flation." It's unfortunate, but when I see the AU-50 on a coin today, I go in figuring it's not going to work. Sometimes I get a pleasant surprise, but mostly from older holders.
I am a collector who has built a collection of better items around the AU grades, and my comment here are based upon 40+ years of experience.
This 1794 half dime is in an AU-50 holder. It was once in an OGL holder which I had re-holdered because it was scratched. I don't think that you could buy this coin in a recently graded AU-50 holder today.
It's a good grade, has been on the price sheets forever or seems like that. I have had a few XF45 coins that upgraded to 50. The unfortunate thing is how some dealers and collectors try to buy the in between grades and even coins that are all there for the grade significantly behind Greysheet. In an honest numismatic market that is not reasonable.
I don't mind it, but it really just feels like a strong XF to me.
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I fully agree with Bill Jones. Today's AU50 (or even 53 in some cases) is just the XF40/45 of the 1970's and 1980's....though in most cases probably the XF45. If you really have to squint to see the luster on your AU50 coin, it's probably not all that much of an AU. Bill's AU50 1794 half dime above has about the same amount of luster as an AU58 1803 half dime I owned about 10 years ago. And that coin later upgraded to a MS62 - with only about 15-20% luster...at least it had no obvious wear.
How do I feel about the AU50 grade? I just think of them as XF45's. The AU grade for me doesn't really begin until about the 55 level. I consider the XF grade to be anywhere from VF35 to AU53 today. You can find some essentially XF coins (sometimes AU's) in VF35 holders.
I have no problem with the grade or AU 50 coins. It matches up perfectly with the CDN and price guides. The intermediate AU grades are more of a modern development. I view AU coins as either AU or Choice AU. So AU 50 and AU 55 wb more consistent with that.
Among those crass enough to rate women's beauty on a scale of one through ten, I think we would be hard pressed to find one that likes sixes, sevens and nines, but not eights. Of course, every eight is unique. I don't see why coin grades should be any different.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I never let a grade get in the way of good judgement.
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There are a lot of really nice coins graded PCGS50.
I go by the look of the coin and not the number on the label.
I like them just fine so long as they have good eye appeal for the grade.
I own a couple and these particular coins have tremendous eye appeal to me:
"Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
While I agree that 90% of today's AU50 coins are "really" XF, it all depends on the individual coin and, if it's for sale, the price.
Great quote
Never let a grade get in the way of good judgment
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
yeah, fifty sucks
Really?
As the coin is properly graded re wear, has some original mint luster and has not been net graded, I'm fine with it.
What I don't like are four different grades in the AU classification. Would you pay more for an AU 55 than an AU 53, more for an AU 53 than an AU 50, or more for an AU 58 than an AU 55? Can you tell the differences between each individual sub-gradient here? Can we reach a consensus in this matter? Probably not.
I'd be okay with two sub-gradients of AU, as a high end AU coin is clearly superior to a low end AU coin (assuming no net grading is involved).
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Thanks CAC agreed and gave it gold.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
That's an amazing 1794 half dime Bill.
As far as an AU50 grade, if depends on the coin of course, but I definitely prefer it to an XF.
It's still in the group of Almost Uncirculated and I like that group.
The four distinctions within the AU grades become more important price wise as the coin gets rarer and more expensive. This is especially true for coins that are hard to find or unavailable in Mint State. For example I have a 1795 $10 gold in AU-53. The coin has more luster than your average AU-50, but it also many light circulation marks. None of them amounts to anything, but taken together, they are enough to keep the coin out of the AU-55 category. The coin also has original surfaces and most all of its design detail. Given the value of this piece, which well into the five figures, small distinctions within the AU grades do matter.
On the other hand if you are looked at most Walking Liberty Half Dollars in the 1940s, the four grades within the AU range are not very important. Mint State examples are easy to find, and most "sliders" are only a concern if you pay the Unc. price for one. An AU-58 is worth a little more than an AU-50, but the differences between 50, 53 and 55 are almost nonexistent.
Bill..................Do you have a picture of the 1795 $10 gold in AU-53.?
50 can be okay.
Luster under that dark toning around the stars.
and FWIW, my least favorite grade is MS60, with AU53 right behind it
Now ....53..... is simply NO GOOD AT ALL !!!
I have just two 53s in my entire half dime set. One day they will be replaced!
No real opinion on any particular grades. My position is that there are appealing and not-so-appealing coins in every grade. I really look at each coin for what it is, and not what I want. Not sure if that makes sense now that I said it out loud, but there it is.
au55 is OK but that au53 grade seems so out of place.
isn’t au50, au55, and au58 enough??
four au grade is too many
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
How about 50+
AU-53 ...
Sorry, that's too much hair splitting for me.
Nothing wrong with AU50's. They can be very nice coins. As Mannie Gray said above, 90% of them are XF45's. It doesn't make them "bad." Bill's AU50 1794 half dime is in that 10% that aren't XF45's. In fact, his coin is not an AU50 either.
Gorgeous. .thanks for posting that beauty.
This one suits me fine at AU50:
How do you feel about the AU 50 grade?
I like it better than EF45, but not as much as AU53
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
learningcoins, I bet quite a few AU55-58's your looking at now used to be AU50's.
Did someone say 50+
plop!
I'm a fan.