Grading Lincoln Wheat Cents Questions:
Matt04
Posts: 215 ✭✭✭
Hi Everyone, I'd like to start learning and understanding how Wheat Cents are graded! I'd love to hear from those who are experienced with Wheat cents and determining grades on them.
Instead of Referencing TV's I'm gonna go with more accurate imagery from GC.
What are details to look out for on the cent?
What areas/issues deduct points when grading?
Referencing the attached photos below:
What details standout to you?
Thank you
68 RD
67+ RD
66+RD
65 RD
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Those look like very nice coins. You’d be better off looking at large quantities of images of lower quality examples which will be much more likely to exhibit common flaws, such as spotting and contact marks, as well as more subdued luster and inferior strikes.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
The surfaces on the 68 have an “orange peel” quality and I’m sure look phenomenal in-hand.
The 65 has several decent gouges on Lincoln’s coat (lapel and shoulder) and cheek.
One important thing to note is that the dies were redesigned over the years, so comparing a 1917 and a 1950s issue may lead to false conclusions, esp. re: strike fullness.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
IMO the reverse print on the '17 would make me pass at 68. Likewise the incomplete strike and spots on the '50-S. I see the '51-D as being good for the grade, The '53 is a mess, no way I'd go 65.
http://macrocoins.com
Common grading points for gem wheats are luster, spotting, marks, strike, and color.
Pretty much every gem wheat is a "blazer" with strong luster and good color. Spotting (seen on the 65) is a common issue that drops grade, as do marks. Color can be a positive factor (see the 66+).
As Mark said, take a look at large quantities of these in middle grades (64,65,66) and then branch out in the lower and higher directions. You'll start to see a pattern.
Test yourself with GTG on MyCollect, use the special setting where you can do Lincoln Wheat in only MS. Shoot for 70% accuracy on your tests of 50+ coins.
Coin Photographer.
Great advice.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
Old Lincolns that grade high and are red will have a peace fuzz look to the surfaces, the strikes will be superb like on that 1917. Clean as whistle. You also have to know the dates and how they come, the die state of the dies being used (you want EDS), and also the era. The master hub wore down over the years hence you see the transitions in what the cents look like. Here is a cent with the obverse using the same Hub but years later.
There maybe spots or hits that bring the grade down. Without a doubt for the high end Lincolns they have a "POP", a "Bam" with a stunning luster and look that you can't help but just know it when you see it.
You will see strike weakness in the lapel on the obverse and in the "O" in "ONE" on the reverse, this will limit your upside.
At the top grades (67+ and up) it is more about the luster and eye appeal under the market grading that is employed today. That MS68 is badly overgraded due to the conspicuous spot on Lincolns collar and spots in the rev field, but because the luster and "look" is all there (in the opinion of the grader) it got the grade. Notice the difference in the fine details you see in the 1917 vs the 50's dates, because the master was used for so many years without being redone cents from the 50's through most of the 60's lack those fine details on the obv. Even early strikes will not show the fine details like the early Lincoln cents do.
You also have to understand that the different mints had years with great quality production and years with garbage. Take the Philly mint for example, great strikes and coins from the 09 to early 40's (with a couple of exceptions) and the quality of the strikes (and planchets) was much worse during the later 40's into the 70's. Just the opposite with the branch mints which are known to have very poor quality in some of the early years (especially the 20's and 30's) and then stepped up their game after the mid 40's.
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In case you aren’t aware most, or at least a good portion, of the TrueViews and photos in CoinFacts were done by the same person who is snapping the photos for Great Collections. The big difference is the TV’s were taken outside of the holder.
- Bob -
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