What grade do you think these are and are they polished? 0

[Shadow Rose]

My grandpa left me some coins and i was just wondering what grade they seem to be. I have about 40 or 50 coins that that are sealed in rather bad cases which im changing out. I'm debating on doing the bag of early to mid 1900 coins that i have as well. I mainly wondered if they were polished and if possible to narrow down their mint states. I just thought maybe you all would be interested in helping.

I'll update this whenever i have some more scanned. 

The first on here are booker t washington half dollars. Grandpa had written GBU for all but the first one but since gbu is between multiple mint states i dont have a clue which one they actually are. Unfortunately i am terrible at telling the difference between ms grades and its extremely confusing. One site said gbu is 65 and 66 and then another said 67 and up which just made me more confused while trying to grade these.

Thanks for the help!

Resolution on each coin is 2100 or so incase you want to zoom in a lot.

https://imgur.com/a/InodWL0

Edited August 29, 2020 by Shadow Rose

[RWB]

Might help to post the photos here. Some members, including me, will not open or download unknown data sources.

:)

[Shadow Rose]

1 minute ago, RWB said:

Might help to post the photos here. Some members, including me, will not open or download unknown data sources.

Ah sadly the pics are like 522 mbs due to the resolution and each coin is like 30 mbs which is higher than any site allows x.x

[RWB]

3 minutes ago, Shadow Rose said:

Ah sadly the pics are like 522 mbs due to the resolution and each coin is like 30 mbs which is higher than any site allows x.x

Can you resample down to 1200 x 1200 pixels, then post. It is a starting point.

[Shadow Rose]

Just now, RWB said:

Can you resample down to 1200 x 1200 pixels, then post. It is a starting point.

I'm not sure how i do that. Is there a site that does it?

[kbbpll]

Yeah, 500+mb is not something I'll download. I notice they are bmp files, so in addition to reducing the resolution, save them as jpg. I'd still recommend trying to use a camera instead. Doesn't your scanner allow selecting DPI and file format?

Edited August 29, 2020 by kbbpll

[Shadow Rose]

37 minutes ago, kbbpll said:

Yeah, 500+mb is not something I'll download. I notice they are bmp files, so in addition to reducing the resolution, save them as jpg. I'd still recommend trying to use a camera instead. Doesn't your scanner allow selecting DPI and file format?

It does but i'm not 100% sure how to switch between the settings atm. Ill see if i can change it by tomorrow. Unfortunately my camera isn't good enough for coins.

Edited August 29, 2020 by Shadow Rose

[Just Bob]

1 hour ago, Shadow Rose said:

I'm not sure how i do that. Is there a site that does it?

If you have MS paint, you may be able to open the pictures with it, then resize and save as a jpg.

[Shadow Rose]

1 minute ago, Just Bob said:

If you have MS paint, you may be able to open the pictures with it, then resize and save as a jpg.

Ive always wondered how people use ms paint like that.

[RWB]

[RWB]

These should help. They are only 700 pixels wide so they can't take much enlargment but they will give the OP something discuss with members.

I also made high quality JPG 11000x19000 and Medium 2500x4400 images.

[Shadow Rose]

24 minutes ago, RWB said:

These should help. They are only 700 pixels wide so they can't take much enlargment but they will give the OP something discuss with members.

I also made high quality JPG 11000x19000 and Medium 2500x4400 images.

Thank you!

I figured out how to resize and brought them down to 2100ish resolution but its individual coins. Gonna see if i can get them all on one page on imgur.

Got it. Deleted the drive links and put up the imgur album.

On the plus side now i wont have this problem in the future.

Edited August 29, 2020 by Shadow Rose

[RWB]

Much better. You have 1949-1951 P-D-S sets of the commemoratives. I don't see anything exceptional - just average Uncirculated pieces with typical bag marks and scrapes. Others will be able to give you more information.

[Shadow Rose]

7 minutes ago, RWB said:

Much better. You have 1949-1951 P-D-S sets of the commemoratives. I don't see anything exceptional - just average Uncirculated pieces with typical bag marks and scrapes. Others will be able to give you more information.

I have all 3 1948s to.

[RWB]

The scans don't show any signs of polishing or other deliberate mishandling.

The series extended from 1946 to 1951, and struck at all three mints. From the NGC guide:

"For the initial offering year of 1946, 200,000 sets were issued, and an additional 800,000 coins were minted in Philadelphia. While many of these coins were likely melted in 1951, no records were kept as to the quantity of each date and mint mark that were destroyed. Sales were abysmal, and many coins were either released into circulation or melted. Nevertheless, all three mints coined this type annually through 1951 in ever-diminishing quantities that went straight to speculators and those few collectors who stayed with the program each year. Only the 1950-S and 1951(P) coins had significantly larger mintages, around half a million each, but again these coins were mostly returned to the Mint in later years for melting. All Booker T. Washington halves minted after 1946 aside from the 1950-S and 1951(P) issues are better coins price-wise due to their significantly lower mintages that range from 6,000 to 8,000 coins each."

Typical prices are about $50 to $100 but coins dated after 1946 might bring more depending on condition. In my opinion, these values are on the edge of whether or not it is cost effective to have the coins authenticated and graded by NGC. Scans do not present enough information to make good grading judgements, so there might be a really nice piece among the coins you have.

Others on this message board are much more involved in the "slabbing" routine than I, and can probably be of greater help to you.

[Just Bob]

Before collectors, dealers, and third party graders began using all 11 mint state grades, Gem Bu (GBU from your first post) was usually considered the equivalent of MS65. At that time, MS65 was a pristine coin with very few marks. I don't honestly see any of these coins as MS65, even by today's more relaxed standards. Most would be MS63 or below, in my opinion. Other members may have a different opinion.

That is not to say that I don't like them, though. I have always had a thing for commemoratives, even though I only have a few in my collection.

By the way, judging by the pictures, I don't think that any of these, or the gold commems from your other post, have been polished.

Edited August 30, 2020 by Just Bob
left off a letter again

[gmarguli]

Overall they appear to be MS63-MS65 quality. The TPG are very loose on grading commems, especially the BTW which frequently come poorly struck so what look like marks on the portrait is just areas not fully struck up. 

This is one coin that dealers frequently can't grade and will buy them at low generic UNC prices (and sell gems at lower unc prices). If you're looking to sell them, consider running them through Great Collections who have discounted grading fees with the TPG. 

[Shadow Rose]

9 hours ago, RWB said:

The scans don't show any signs of polishing or other deliberate mishandling.

The series extended from 1946 to 1951, and struck at all three mints. From the NGC guide:

"For the initial offering year of 1946, 200,000 sets were issued, and an additional 800,000 coins were minted in Philadelphia. While many of these coins were likely melted in 1951, no records were kept as to the quantity of each date and mint mark that were destroyed. Sales were abysmal, and many coins were either released into circulation or melted. Nevertheless, all three mints coined this type annually through 1951 in ever-diminishing quantities that went straight to speculators and those few collectors who stayed with the program each year. Only the 1950-S and 1951(P) coins had significantly larger mintages, around half a million each, but again these coins were mostly returned to the Mint in later years for melting. All Booker T. Washington halves minted after 1946 aside from the 1950-S and 1951(P) issues are better coins price-wise due to their significantly lower mintages that range from 6,000 to 8,000 coins each."

Typical prices are about $50 to $100 but coins dated after 1946 might bring more depending on condition. In my opinion, these values are on the edge of whether or not it is cost effective to have the coins authenticated and graded by NGC. Scans do not present enough information to make good grading judgements, so there might be a really nice piece among the coins you have.

Others on this message board are much more involved in the "slabbing" routine than I, and can probably be of greater help to you.

Unfortunately getting a grade from ngc or pcgs seems almost impossible due to the cost and the coins worth. At least i dont have that kind of money.

[Shadow Rose]

6 hours ago, Just Bob said:

Before collectors, dealers, and third party graders began using all 11 mint state grades, Gem Bu (GBU from your fist post) was usually considered the equivalent of MS65. At that time, MS65 was a pristine coin with very few marks. I don't honestly see any of these coins as MS65, even by today's more relaxed standards. Most would be MS63 or below, in my opinion. Other members may have a different opinion.

That is not to say that I don't like them, though. I have always had a thing for commemoratives, even though I only have a few in my collection.

By the way, judging by the pictures, I don't think that any of these, or the gold commems from your other post, have been polished.

 

Thanks!

 

1 hour ago, gmarguli said:

Overall they appear to be MS63-MS65 quality. The TPG are very loose on grading commems, especially the BTW which frequently come poorly struck so what look like marks on the portrait is just areas not fully struck up. 

This is one coin that dealers frequently can't grade and will buy them at low generic UNC prices (and sell gems at lower unc prices). If you're looking to sell them, consider running them through Great Collections who have discounted grading fees with the TPG. 

 

Ah there's one that doesn't have extreme grading costs that are accepted as a good grader? I didn't know that. Thanks!

[RWB]

15 hours ago, Shadow Rose said:

Unfortunately getting a grade from ngc or pcgs seems almost impossible due to the cost and the coins worth. At least i dont have that kind of money.

Consider taking them to a coin dealer or a local coin club and ask their opinion. We, here, are commenting based on scans, and that is into the best way to get into the details of grading a coin. There might be a high quality piece for which NGC authentication and grading will be the best way to get the maximum value.

[James_OldeTowne]

I have collected multiple sets of these.  Considering these appear to be high-resolution scans, my interpretation is that they are average to somwhat-above-average UNC pieces.