Can an underweight coin be graded MS

[dooly]

Can an underweight coin be graded MS ?

 

IE: a coin is found below the "Mint/Book" stated weight but looks to be MS range would it or could it or should it achieve the grade

 

Just a question which came to me and i was wondering what you thought

[Conder101]

Yes. Weight has nothing to do with it. MS is whether or not there is wear on the coin. An underweight coin may have weak details, but if there is no wear it is still MS. It may not be able to reach the higher end MS grades where strike quality and eye appeal starts to become important though.

[dooly]

cheers .. ? would a coin with weak details still not be the correct planchet at the time of striking and the issue of the weak strike not be from the die

[PerryHall]

cheers .. ? would a coin with weak details still not be the correct planchet at the time of striking and the issue of the weak strike not be from the die

 

The planchet can be of the proper weight and yet the strike can still be weak if the press and die spacing are not properly adjusted.

[lcoopie]

I guess so

 

I've seen clipped coins in MS holders

 

 

 

[BillJones]

Early U.S. mint copper coins (struck prior to 1800) often were under or over weight. That fact does not affect the grade of the coin. If it has no wear, major defects and it is not corroded, it’s a mint state coin.

[Conder101]

A weak strike on a full weight planchet can be the result of improper die spacing, or if the dies are spaced properly but the planchet is underweight that can also cause a weak strike, but it has nothing to do with whether or not it is MS.

 

Early U.S. mint copper coins (struck prior to 1800) often were under or over weight. That fact does not affect the grade of the coin. If it has no wear, major defects and it is not corroded, it’s a mint state coin.

EAC grading would make deductions and give it a lower net grade for those problems but defects or corrosion do not stop a coin from being MS. The sole criteria for MS is wear. No wear, MS. With wear, less than MS. (Unless of course it is an important or rare coin, then that slight wear is "rub" and you still call it MS.)

[e1cnr]

How do they define MS in UK?

 

The reason I ask is it seems many of the coins I get from Europe and UK look as if they have been rubbed with steel wool or sandpaper to make them shiny, and if that did not work then dipped in some sort of acid - are those MS coins?

[coinman_23885]

Of course it can. Planchet weights can vary. The weight of the coin is not related to its grade (unless of course the reduction in weight is due to wear, in which case the wear lowers the grade, not the weight).

[dooly]

How do they define MS in UK?

 

The reason I ask is it seems many of the coins I get from Europe and UK look as if they have been rubbed with steel wool or sandpaper to make them shiny, and if that did not work then dipped in some sort of acid - are those MS coins?

 

I personally think they make it up and have little or no idea what MS (AUNC/UNC) is .. with my past purchases the worst for shining coins are Germany and France .. also a lot of coins minted in the UK were given a Dark tone at the mint which people think is muck/tone which us unlike the modern shiny stuff and shine them up .. also a lot of coins from old collections have a funny copper colour because there was a trend of a form of treatment which coated the coins .. not sure what it was called .. but you see a lot of early copper coins with this

[JStull]

Can an underweight coin be graded MS ?

 

IE: a coin is found below the "Mint/Book" stated weight but looks to be MS range would it or could it or should it achieve the grade

 

Just a question which came to me and i was wondering what you thought

 

Since a lot of the older, or antique coins; i.e. coins minted in the 19th century and early 20th century, can be underweight by an acceptable amount due to circulation wear, yes they can be graded MS if the coin has the details that would warrant a MS grade.