Is a new coin pulled straight from the press "MS-70?" 1 1

[Henri Charriere]

On 7/26/2023 at 3:30 PM, VKurtB said:

Sounds like a British seller’s standards to me. 

Very informed guess. I checked the grading standards and they are indeed British... to some extent.  "Mint State" is limited to MS-63 and MS-64 followed by "UNC" which corresponds to any piece "from MS-65 to MS-70." NOW I know why Chard's in Blackpool was never able to accommodate me! I was just another meshuga American with set registry fever. 🤣

[Henri Charriere]

On 7/12/2023 at 4:30 PM, RWB said:

A post on another forum asks this question. I pose it here because it begs understanding of old and modern minting practices, and is dependent on the definition of MS-70....

Anyway - what's your opinion on the question?

Upon reconsideration, "Is a new coin pulled straight from the press..."  FULL STOP!!!

It is the very wording of the question which lends itself, unwittingly perhaps, to unnecessary obfuscation with the operative term being "pulled."

If my recollection is true having viewed old newsreel footage of the coin-making process posted on this very Forum in addition to a striking remark about "severed fingers" made by a fellow member in reference to his eyewitness observations of the Royal Mint operation, that all but constrains me to suggest a Time-Out.  Why?  Because coins minted for circulation fall after being struck whereas proof coins not intended for circulation are taken, or pulled from, the press. I still contend an MS-70, however unlikely and implausible as regarding circulation strikes, while possible in a technical sense, cannot beat the astronomical odds of emerging from a mechanical process involving tons of pressure and moving parts, unscathed.

(If so much as a single member -- distinguished, seasoned veteran, newbie or guest/lurker/loiterer -- begs to disagree, I shall have no choice but to relinquish my honorary title, Rising Star, forthwith.)  

[RWB]

"Pulled" as in "taken directly from the press immediately after striking; pushed, pulled, shoved or bullied around, but plucked by gloved hand off the lower die bby someone willing to risk losing a finger or two."

An old toggle press can be run at any speed and produces the same force regardless. A few manual turns of the flywheel would have satisfied Louis Comparette.

Edited July 27, 2023 by RWB

[VKurtB]

On 7/26/2023 at 9:10 PM, RWB said:

"Pulled" as in "taken directly from the press immediately after striking; pushed, pulled, shoved or bullied around, but plucked by gloved hand off the lower die bby someone willing to risk losing a finger or two."

As I did in Llantrisant one December morning in 2019?

Edited July 27, 2023 by VKurtB

[VKurtB]

On 7/26/2023 at 5:40 PM, Henri Charriere said:

Very informed guess. I checked the grading standards and they are indeed British... to some extent.  "Mint State" is limited to MS-63 and MS-64 followed by "UNC" which corresponds to any piece "from MS-65 to MS-70." NOW I know why Chard's in Blackpool was never able to accommodate me! I was just another meshuga American with set registry fever. 🤣

Every bit as American, and every bit as meshuga, but maybe that explains my over the counter experience at Chard’s. I bought a coin as “XF+” that NGC graded as an MS65.