New Designations

[coin928]

I recently saw a Panama 1/2Balboa graded by NGC that had the additional designation of HELMET RIM COMPLETE on the label. This got me wondering about several things.

 

1. Is this designation typically applied to Panama coins of this design, or does the submitter need to specifically request it?

 

2. How does one go about requesting new designations?

 

I am particularly interested in US/Philippine coins, and with respect to this topic, all of the coins minted between 1936 and 1945 with the Commonwealth reverse (date side). The banner containing the words COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES is rarely fully struck. The word OF is virtually never present and the entire left side of the banner is often partially struck or even completely blank. I have several coins though that are exceptionally well struck and have full banners, complete with the word OF. What can I do to have a FULL BANNER designation added to the label when I have them graded?

 

Thanks

[Max Spiegel]

Thanks for the question. The incomplete and complete helmet rim varieties are widely collected as distinct issues and are listed separately in Krause's Standard Catalog of World Coins as KM# 12a.1 and KM# 12a.2.

 

We do not differentiate striking softness on the label for those Philippines issues although that may be factored into the grade.

[coin928]

Hi Max,

 

Thanks for the information on the coin from Panama. I didn't realize that it was a distinct variety and not a general indication of the strike quality.

 

My real question though had to do with the addition of new strike designations. We have Full Head (FH) for Standing Liberty quarters, Full Bell Lines (FBL) for Franklin Halves, Full Torch (FT) for Roosevelt dimes, and so on which are additional modifiers to the numeric grade. As I understand it, the fullness of strike does not enter into the assignment of the numeric grade, but it certainly can factor into the value of a coin. The USPI coins I mentioned generally exhibit a weak strike, so when I can find one that is fully struck, I'm willing to pay a premium for it. It would be nice if these coins could receive a "Full Banner" (FB) designation to help establish their value.

 

Is there a process for requesting a new quality of strike designation?

 

Thanks.

[Max Spiegel]

There is no process to request a new strike qualifier, but we are constantly reviewing these designations. At this time, we do not use any sort of designation (other than the standard BN, RB, RD, Cameo, Ultra Cameo, etc) for World coins.

 

Thanks for the interest.

 

Max