Date/NoDate boundary on low-grade coins?

[jonathanb-migration]

I think my question boils down to this:

When it comes to listing a date for low-grade coins, does the grader need to agree on the date "beyond any doubt" or "to the preponderance of the evidence"?

 

Here's the rest of the background:

I have something that I honestly believe is a 1914-D cent in AG. It has nothing but honest wear, but it has a LOT of it. You can read the date when you "catch the light just right", but it's far from crystal-clear. Mostly I was able to compare what I can see and rule out all the other options (a 1914 date looks nothing like a 1919 because the 9 has that huge descender that the 4 lacks, etc).

 

The coin is worth nothing without a dated slab. Given that I'm submitting some other stuff anyway, is there the slightest reason to submit this one also?

 

If I did submit it and you couldn't grade it, would you actually return an AG NoDate lincoln in a slab? That seems sort of silly...?

 

Thanks!

[RMontgomery]

Jonathan,

 

NGC requires that we be able to determine the date of the coin beyond a doubt. There may be times when this is evident without the date showing completely, due to known die characteristics, but above that, we do require that the date be evident.

 

In the case of your 1914-D 1C, if we were unable to determine with certainty that the coin was a 1914-D, then we would return it with no service performed, refunding your fees for that coin.

 

Rick