The results are in..... posted by Texan's Coins

[CSJournals-migration]

50/50

 

I got an email from NGC yesterday saying that my coins had shipped. I went to the website to see how they did. It was so so.

 

San Francisco Old Mint - PF70 UC

Jamestown - PF70 UC

 

Not too bad!

 

1963 D Franklin Half - MS63

1961 Franklin Half - PF65

1949 D Franklin Half - Unc Dtl - Improperly cleaned.

 

It was an interesting experience. Not quite what I was hoping for, but I will just have to be a little more picky with what I send next time.

 

Happy collecting everyone.

 

Marcus

 

See more journals by Texan's Coins

[Mokiechan]

Marcus,

Good for you on the two modern commemoratives. As for the others, experience is the best teacher and your next submission will be better yet.

 

Malcolm

[Texans Coins]

Thanks for the encouraging words, Malcolm. I can't wait to see them in their holders.

[TD Henson]

Marcus -

 

I agree with Malcolm - the first time out is the hardest, although I think 2 PF70's is pretty awesome!!

 

My first time out, with another grader, was pretty rough and I didn't score above an MS 63... You'll learn what to look for and what to avoid. I still have quite a bit of my education in front of me, I'm sure, but heck that's the really fun part of third party grading.

 

My biggest mistake normally is confusing eye appeal with grade. I've seen some really awesome looking coins that are really just junk once you pull out the 10x loupe. In fact, last night I was looking at a really nice 73-D Roosevelt Dime I plucked from a mint set - no doubt that it's a full torch and by eye appeal it looks to be a slam dunk MS 67 FT, peel back the covers with the loupe and the dreaded embedded patch of scratches appears in the hair! I missed it twice and didn't catch it until I graded it the third time - now I think it's an MS 65 FT.

 

It will get better from here - stick with it and learn/refine your grading skills!

 

Happy hunting!

 

Todd

[SPHansen]

Nice score on the coms.... I'm currently trying to learn how to accurately tell a cleaned from an uncleaned coin...

 

[Texans Coins]

I think what I need to do is just look at more coins. The more I look at, the more experience I will get. Also, as Todd said, I was mistaking "Eye Appeal" for grade. I have some more Franklins that I did not think looked as nice, so I did not send them.

 

One thing that I am definitely lacking as a collector is a grading eye. You kind of take it for granted when you buy nothing but certified coins. But, I have plenty of time in my life to learn and that's what we're all out to do, right? Learn as much as we can!

 

Happy collecting.

 

Marcus