Capped Bust 25c & 50c grading ? for the experts

Comments

• lordmarcovan Posts: 43,897 ✭✭✭✭✭

  April 1, 2005 8:38AM

  I don't know how prevalent weakly-struck clasps are, but if the rest of the coin looks nice enough, a soft strike there wouldn't especially bother me. (I personally am one of the folks who go for luster before strike when judging eye appeal, but others may differ.)

  
  
  

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• Bear Posts: 18,953 ✭✭✭

  April 1, 2005 8:57AM

  I look for four things. Luster, sharpness of hair curles
  
  and rub on the bust and cheek areas and full struck legend.
  
  I really never thought of the clasp, but it may well be a good
  
  measure of the strike sharpness.

  There once was a place called
  Camelot

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• Varlis Posts: 505 ✭✭✭

  April 1, 2005 9:09AM

  On a bust quarter or half in that grade range, I would focus on the drapery folds down around the bust rather than the clasp itself. In my experience, the presence of strong folds/creases there is a better grade indicator than having a "full clasp." Another good measure of how full the strike is (on small-size quarters, at least) is the outline around the shield on the reverse. On large size quarters, the reverse motto is tricky because in some varieties they tend to come weakly-struck. I don't know about the percentage of non fully-struck clasps on high-end AU or MS coins, but I have seen lots of EF-range coins with very sharply-struck clasps, but worn drapery lines near the bust and incomplete shield lines.

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• Bustman Posts: 1,911 ✭

  April 1, 2005 9:14AM

  I'm with Bear. Luster, color, no rub, strike. I consider it a strong stike if the hair, stars and legend are all there.

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• OKbustchaser Posts: 5,551 ✭✭✭✭✭

  April 1, 2005 10:17AM

  It really has to be determined on a date/variety by date/variety basis. Some die pairs don't show a clasp even in AU+. Others show a strong clasp in the VF range. Same with stars, legend, or curls. That's what makes determining wear versus strike a challenge.
  
  For example...
  
  1814 O-103... AU-53 no clasp but 1827 O-116 VF-20 stronger clasp.
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Just because I'm old doesn't mean I don't love to look at a pretty bust.

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• WACoinGuy Posts: 1,110

  April 1, 2005 10:32AM

  Mine (an XF 1833 quarter) has a pretty good clasp. I don't know if that's common or not for this year -- it's just part of my type collection.

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• roadrunner Posts: 28,313 ✭✭✭✭✭

  April 1, 2005 11:25AM

  Only 1-5% of all bust halves will show a full or nearly full strike on the stars, hair curls, drapery folds, eagle, legends and top of cap.
  If you get the clasp too, great. But I'm still looking for those top 6
  items (95% struck) and have full luster/no rub.
  
  roadrunner

  Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold

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