Guess The Grade... a study in subjectivity. (Grade Posted)

[texasrichard]

First off... neither belong to me.

 

To be fair try to do this without doing a search to find the answers as all that would prove is that you know how to search out info on the computer.

 

Here are 2 Missouri 2x4 Commems... each nice in their own right. Can you guess the grade of each ? Which do you like and why? Is one worth a significant premium over the other ?

 

 

[Dcoin]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that its the same coin. That said i like the look of the first pic a little more.

[texasrichard]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that its the same coin. That said i like the look of the first pic a little more.

 

You ventured out on the limb before anyone here or at PCGS has... for that you are commended.

 

However, they are different coins and I can't do much with the pics as I borrowed them...

 

I would say that across the street if I'd of posted one of these as a NEWP... What do you think ? I would have already had a bunch of responses telling me why the grade was too high... too low.... or whatnot.

 

Let's see if there are any other replies after awhile....

[RGT]

There are a few things about it that make me think that it's not the same coin. The top picture makes the coin look somewhat dull with possibly some high point wear. The bottom picture shows a coin with much better luster. Neither picture is good enough to guess within five points of a grade to me. Overall, I like the top coin better.

[Dcoin]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that its the same coin. That said i like the look of the first pic a little more.

 

You ventured out on the limb before anyone here or at PCGS has... for that you are commended.

 

However, they are different coins and I can't do much with the pics as I borrowed them...

 

I would say that across the street if I'd of posted one of these as a NEWP... What do you think ? I would have already had a bunch of responses telling me why the grade was too high... too low.... or whatnot.

 

Let's see if there are any other replies after awhile....

 

Oh well, isn’t the first time the limb breaks under my feet.

 

The circular toning patter seemed to match in both pics.

 

[texasrichard]

again, not much I could do about the pics...

 

Does anyone else want to chime in? If not I'll post the grades.

[texasrichard]

Coin # 1 Currently has a bid of $ 10,000

 

 

 

Coin # 2 Currently has a bid of $ 1,300

 

 

I know you can't tell for sure from pics..... maybe in hand there are notable differences ?

[TomB]

I had seen the first coin (PCGS MS66) in-hand so I disqualified myself from the process. However, the lighting and style of the images was soooooo different in the pair that you posted that it would be tough to really get a feel for the pieces relative to one another. Having said that, it is apparent that the MS64 coin has a fairly large luster graze behind the portrait on the obverse that might limit the grade.

[texasrichard]

In looking at the pics on Heritage I don't think the close ups of the 66 likely do the coin justice; and likewise maybe the pics of the 64 make it look better than it is???

 

I don't know, just from these pics I sure couldn't see the huge difference in value that they will likely end up at.

 

Since I buy most of my coins via Pictures it really puts me at a disadvantage.

 

Thanks all.

[James_OldeTowne]

The problem with this type of comparison is that the coins were clearly photographed under vastly different conditions. The first was overly lit, and any luster that might actually be on the coin is drowned out. The second had better lighting, but from a different angle and probably different number of light sources from the first.

 

The imaging makes the first coin "look" like only AU-55, but I'd guess it's graded a high MSXX.

 

The second "looks" like MS-63, to me.

 

From the standpoint of aesthetics, though, the second coin looks much nicer. But again, it was imaged more "properly" than the first.

[BillJones]

 

 

Here's an MS-64 Missouri 2*4 that is in my collection. The Missouri is a very tough commemorative coin, and in some ways a bit overlooked IMO. Frankly I view the Missouri coins in much the say way as I view the Sesquicentennial and Monroe half dollars. The design is such that many of the MS-65 and higher graded pieces really are not worth huge premium one has to pay for them.

 

I did not try to comment on the merits of the coins that started this thread because I thought that the photography on the second piece did not do the coin justice. I hated the look of that coin, not because of the “halo” but because of the shiny dipped out appearance it had. The second photos justified my view of the first photo. The MS-64 is a decent coin IMO. And please don’t take that as a back handed compliment. To me very few Missouri commemorative half dollars can be called “beautiful.” The design was OK, but the overall execution of it by the mint leaves something to be desired IMO.