*** Grade in 1st post *** GTG, NewP Key Date Classic Commem

I really enjoy nice toning on coins, almost to the point that I forget sometimes to look at white ones. I've been looking for a Grant commem for a while and for some reason I thought it would be fun to get the "with star" variety. Normally I despise gimmicky "made for collector" nonsense, but..... oh I dunno. I just like this one. Only 4256 were made this way, making it one of the more difficult classic silver commemoratives.
Well, they're not exactly easy to find, especially if you try to get price, a halfway decent looking coin, and availability to all line up. I've probably looked at 20 or 30 that didn't measure up. This one seemed to be perfectly acceptable and it arrived in the mail today. Guess the grade, if you'd like.
Here's the result:
Comments
i like white commems - 66
65.
64(+)
Hey! I was going to say 64+....
(One of the few + coins I own is actually a Grant 64+. It's a bit more...rustic?....than this white edition. And seems to be missing that star thingy. But I think they look like grading room brothers....)
I don’t love the coin, but I don’t dislike it, as I do many Grant Star commemoratives. So my guess is MS65+.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
66
Love an MS65 coin with a dirty look. I would gtg to be 65.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Your patience paid off and I'd say you have a keeper. It's fantastic.
I'll guess 66.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
Added thought: I was a little worried about the "busy" marks over "Pluribus" in the blown-up picture. But I went to CoinFacts, and the same marks appear to be on the top graded (67+) coin shown there. Must be die marks or clash marks?
So...I may have shot low....
(Edited to change IGWT to Pluribus....and fix English).
I’m not seeing many contact marks. Can’t tell how much luster there is from the photo so I’ll wag a 66.
That's nice! 65
I'm guessing 64. Nice coin! On a slightly different related tangent, it seems like the no star version has no shortage of harshly scrubbed examples.
I'm going with 65. So many Grant's seem to have that yucky brown toning.
These are especially tough to grade by pics as they often come with heavy die polish. Gotta eyeball that in hand. With that being said I’ll WAG at 64.
Enjoy your NEWP!
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
65 nice but not seeing any luster.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
That area made me look too. It looks like a die clash to me and the appearance is consistent with the lettering opposite the area you're looking at. There are also tons of die polish lines which are most visible in the fields around Grant's head.
From you sir, that's a high compliment for a coin. Fussy, fussy.
It's not lustrous the same way a cartwheel Morgan is, but it's flashy enough. Certainly not dull.
Good stuff so far. I'll post the grade later tonight.
65 congrats! Not familiar with the coin, where's the star? Thanks!!
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
BOOMIN!™
Wooooha! Did someone just say it's officially "TACO™" Tuesday????
Right above the N in GRANT.
And he’s a CAC denier
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
For those following along at home, here's a close-up of the clashed area. Thank goodness it isn't an area of incuse lettering on the rim!
Didn't know JA was regrading Commems.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
BOOMIN!™
Wooooha! Did someone just say it's officially "TACO™" Tuesday????
I'll go 66.
Oh my holy *$#%! does this have to turn into a CAC thread????
While I don't have much of an affinity for the design, it looks like there is a lot of luster and few marks, so I'll guess MS66.
Nope beautiful coin, didn't know about the star. Wish it was mine. Congrats, seriously.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
BOOMIN!™
Wooooha! Did someone just say it's officially "TACO™" Tuesday????
.
Arright, here she is:
Wow, what do think held the grade back?
@bolivarshagnasty, great question!
As I critique the coin, I see it as a 65. Strike on the center hair and leaf groupings is a tad soft. Luster is pretty good for the issue, but not as good as is often seen on other commems. Mostly, I think the massive quantity of die polish lines in the obverse fields held it back a bit. They're randomly oriented in disordered groupings, most likely to repair evidence of the nasty clash. I know graders supposedly account for this, but my personal opinion is that some of them just don't like die polish lines. This opinion is based largely from what I've observed in Peace dollar grading. In any case, it seems like a darn strong 64+ for a coin that is expensive enough even in details grades.
PCGS awarded your coin the "+" and the "STAR" grade!
Sweet.
I like it and would have given it a 65+.
On a related note, I saw that the history channel will be running a Grant docudrama (?) starting the end of May.
This nice coin looks very clean and properly graded. I recall QDB once saying he had seen rolls of Grants that had turned brown sitting in a coin dealers window in NYC in the 1950s. A small number of Grants are nicely toned but the majority were dippped at some point and of course the die polish lines on most of them makes it very unusual to find coins with strong luster.
Commems and Early Type
A beautiful coin . . . key in the series . . . possibly undergraded . . .
I'll have you show it to me at the next SLC show you attend. Or . . . I'll come north . .
Drunner
You got it, but maybe send me a reminder about the next show. I usually hear about it the week after.
That is a very nice coin.... I am way too late for a GTG, (how did I miss this one?)...But would have guessed 65....That coin would have got my attention at a show....Cheers, RickO