Another guess the grade thread, with a twist

newsman · January 14, 2009 6:19AM

Which one of these grades higher?

This one:

or this one?

If you know where these images came from, please give others a chance to guess.

Hussulo · January 14, 2009 6:28AM

The top pictures are a bit blurry to make out.

The bottom one is quite a nice grade a bit of a week strike on the bottom right (top right on second pick).

Even though I can't really see the top one, I'll say the first one is higher graded?

I don't know this series, but for a bit of fun I'll go Au58 top Au50 bottom?

olmanjon · January 14, 2009 6:44AM

Here is a thumb in cheek guess. I agree with the weak strike on the bottom one. Don't know the series either. The crown seems to have a lot of detail. The top one however, has more detail on the rims. I get the impression of a fake on the top one. Just for fun.

IloiloKano · January 14, 2009 7:53AM

It isn't possible to say with any certainty, since the top picture has heavy JPG compression artifacts (where pixels in the image change hue and/or intensity at thhe fastest rate).

When you post an image with "details", pixels around those details (by very nature of images) will change drastically in hue and intensity very quickly. Look around the edge of the top coin for the easiest to detect JPG artifacts manifested on the assumed uniform background behind the coin.

It may reduce the filesize to use higher JPG compression, but if you use too much, you will lose a whole lot of image quality. With broadband modems so prevalent now, I hardly ever use high JPG compression anymore, and I would recommend that others avoid it as well.

newsman · January 15, 2009 6:25AM

Both of these coins are from Tuesday's Heritage sale. The top one (1754R 150 reis) is graded NGC 50 and realized $431.25. The bottom one (1754R 600 reis) is graded NGC 35 and realized $299. Sorry for the image quality -- the pics are Heritage's.

I haven't seen either coin in hand, but judging by the pics, I'd say the top coin is overgraded and the bottom one undergraded. IMHO, the top coin's got too much loss of detail on the high points on the reverse for an AU -- the mintmark and the band across the globe. There also seems to be some wear at the tip of the crown on the obverse. My guess is that NGC credited a weak strike for the loss of detail and bumped it up for what appears to be some traces of remaining luster. The bottom coin, in comparison, has a sharp crown and considerably more detail on the globe, the band and the mintmark. The only real problem is the strange wear spots on the rosette on the obverse and the corresponding area on the reverse.

I'd give the top coin an EF40 and the bottom one EF45. As for value, both are equally scarce (probably no more than 15,000-20,000 minted) and have similar Krause values in EF, though the smaller coin appears for sale less frequently. If it were me, I'd probably pass on the first at that price and take the second, which isn't a bargain, but was fairly valued -- though my opinion could change after seeing the coins in hand.

Another guess the grade thread, with a twist

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