How many complete steps do you see?
Aspie_Rocco
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This is not a pcgs graded coin but this description is accurate 
How many complete steps do you see?
This is a private poll: no-one will see what you voted for.
2
Comments
To be honest I only see four. Other people might disagree, but the bottom fifth step looks to be too convoluted on the right side. Did PCGS grade this as a FS?
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I see 4 to
Top step plus the four under it equals five.
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Changing my vote from two to zero.
You don't think the top step is full?
This is not a PCGS coin. It was graded by another company.
It is a coin going for over $3,000 exclusively because of its “full step” designation.
I have recently been doing a lot of introspection in hopes of deciphering the difference between my rigid ASD traits and reality, regarding nickels designated as “full steps.” I am looking for other opinions since I recognize that I may be too strict following the “letter of the law”
Are there steps there? Yes in my opinion. Are they full? Unequivocally NO in my opinion
I do not see a single complete step. Nicks, hits, steps bridged, incomplete (not fully struck). Not even one is complete or “full” in my opinion as per PCGS definition.
https://www.autismforums.com/media/albums/acrylic-colors-by-rocco.291/
I see 4 rough looking steps.
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There are two tops steps. Which one? (They look like a twizzler.)
I see top and 2nd and 3rd I'm giving with a maybe. There is a reason 5 step Jeffs are so valuable.
Jim
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I see 4 steps. But that may be because of the lighting. I believe there are 5 steps possible. Here's a photo of a photograde photo of what full steps looks like:
The top step and second step are full, the other four have contact marks that bridge multiple steps or are merged with another step.
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I collect Jeffersons. Full steps dont interest me. Full strikes do. Not the same thing btw
To me It would be like asking for this
Then getting and paying full price for this
https://www.autismforums.com/media/albums/acrylic-colors-by-rocco.291/
I only see 4 steps
The problem I have is with the steps under column 2. I would have to see it in hand if it is there then it is FS
You can see the original PCGS page with the photos using the wayback machine.
https://web.archive.org/web/20150121083238/https://www.pcgs.com/news/tips-from-the-grading-room-part-3
Nice link @Clackamas1
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5 full steps. Many will have 6 steps depending on the date/mm and die style.
PCGS stopped assigning the FS designation to meet their published criteria a long time ago.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety," --- Benjamin Franklin
Samson has done messed with that column. It seems there are four.
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The top ‘step’, broken by design by the two center pillars, is not a step.
I count (4).
If the top fifth step is actually considered a step, then I see three full steps, otherwise, I only see two.
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Something to consider: the view of the steps depicted on the Jefferson Nickel is of the back entrance to Monticello and not the more dramatic front. As such, the rear has one less step than the front. If that top step, technically referred to as a "Stylobate" in classic architecture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylobate isn't counted as a step then no 6-step coin could exist.
Some methodologies use the word stylobate to describe only the topmost step of the temple's base, while stereobate is used to describe the remaining steps of the platform beneath the stylobate and just above the leveling course. Others, like John Lord,[4] use the term to refer to the entire platform.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety," --- Benjamin Franklin
I only see 4 steps.
3 steps,,,
I see 5 steps, if you claw your way to the top.
The fifth step being the landing, I consider it a step.
https://www.autismforums.com/media/albums/acrylic-colors-by-rocco.291/
I was working on this coin last night and now I saw this read.
And now the what if factor. If I may.
. Same steps.
Remember that even when a step is complete, the TPGS will not call it "full" if it has any defects whether Mint made or otherwise.
That may be their stated criteria in the PCGS Grading/Counterfeit Detection guide but it certainly isn't the way they grade/attribute the coins submitted to them. It is the reason I sold my FS Jefferson Collection and turned my attention to the Proof issues. JMHO, but far too many coins assigned the "Full Steps" designation didn't qualify according to that stated definition.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety," --- Benjamin Franklin
You aren't counting the steps correctly. A "STEP" is the thin horizontal line. You can have hits on the thicker vertical riser part of the step and still be considered a "Full Step" Nickel. As long as this thin horizontal line that runs between the thicker riser of the step is unbroken it is considered "Full Steps"
If you look closely the thin line in where you would actually "STEP" on the steps. The thicker riser is the part that makes the difference in height from one step to the next. You don't actually step on a riser.
This nickel is considered Full Steps because the thin lines (steps) are unbroken even though the horizontial risers have hits. It has 5 "Full Steps"
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You can disagree on wether you think that the above coin is a Full Step or not,,,, I am just saying that this is how PCGS and NGC and ICG are now counting steps. The line is the step,,,,, the riser doesn't count. A coin can have a hit on the risers as long as it doesn't go deep enough to break the step line. PCGS requires 5 full steps from 1938 - 1989 and 6 full steps from 1990 to date to get the FS designation.
It doesn't matter if you have 1,2,3, or 4 steps so I see zero.
Just because steps are present does not mean they are complete. As a Jefferson obsessed collector I say that no coin in this thread is a true full step. It is extremely disappointing to see that grading companies are incorrectly calling coins full steps. This damages reputations and collector’s idea of what constitutes full steps, as clearly shown by the poll choices made here.
Have some oranges
Bravo to the discerning collectors that chose zero steps!
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This has 5? I see four. Am I looking at this wrong?
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I see two. The hit on the third should nullify it.
The first step is the very top step that the 4 pilliars are sitting on. You are starting your count on the second step.
How about this coin,,,,, is it Full Steps?
So the top/patio deck counts or doesn't count. If not then I only see four, if so still not FS because the top deck is crushed and the bottom step has holes in it.
With that being said I wouldn't be surprised if it got the designation because overall it looks pretty complete.
It looks like the tailgate of a rock truck.
It shows six steps, but the top step is broken.
https://www.autismforums.com/media/albums/acrylic-colors-by-rocco.291/
That coin is absolutely FS in my opinion. Unless it somehow graded AU58
Collector, occasional seller
The above coin is graded MS66 FS with 6 full steps.
I believe you @GRANDAM. It is a nice very well struck coin on both sides. 41 D usually comes pretty nice but yours is exceptionally crisp
https://www.autismforums.com/media/albums/acrylic-colors-by-rocco.291/
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe the point of the designation is to provide a readily usable marker to identify nickels with strong strike. You can't get full steps without a strong strike. All designations need a technical definition and you have to draw the line somewhere (pun intended), and I get that some purists absolutely want perfect steps, but isn't perhaps a little leeway justified if the intent of identifying strong strikes is met?
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Sorry, but you are wrong. You can have Full Steps and have a Monticello that is very weakly struck.
In my travels, this is not the case with Jeffs.
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Tommy
Those look like hammered strikes with worn dies but if that was the case then steps shouldn't be there.
These could be partially greased-filled dies. The gunk in the dies would force the metal to flow elsewhere, with the steps being the recipient of the added pressure. With nowhere else to go, the metal would have to push strongly up into the step area and give these excellent strikes.
For my part, though, I would have preferred to see the sharpness of the windows be the category, as there are so many weakly struck reverses. If we look at a proof (1951), we can see that there should be sharply defined windows and doors, with stucco textured onto the walls. Yet, even this strike should not have FS. If you zoom in on the bottom step you can see some bridging there. Does the lack of an FS accurately describe this coin?
I kind of think the steps are a step in the wrong direction, as it were. There is too much niggling about an obviously well struck set of steps with a single post-strike ding that bridges two of the lines. The FS rating is gone, but this pickiness does nothing to assess the overall quality of the original strike. (from a 1950-D)
I know the coin below is a Proof, but I use it to illustrate what a true six-step Jefferson Nickel should look like. It should alleviate any disagreement about what the top step is --- it is the "Stylobate" that the pillars rest on. Absent that no true six-step coin would be possible. This image also illustrates what the step area would look like to conform with the stated definition of "Full Steps" from the PCGS Grading and Counterfeit Detection" book. Frankly, I'm perplexed that so many otherwise competent Numismatists are confused/misinformed/ignorant of these points.
As I posted earlier on page one, this is why I sold my Full Step Jefferson Nickel collection many years ago. The FS attribution on these coins is consistently inconsistent at best and a joke at worst. I still have raw coins and am interested in the series but cannot justify spending money on what appears as a fantasy in many holders, a "Full Step" coin.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety," --- Benjamin Franklin
Here are a couple of wins but no FS, maybe a little stucco on the 56.