Circulated Indian Head Pennies and Full Diamonds

[Here]

What's the lowest grade I.H. penny that you have seen that still has full diamonds?

 

 

 

Jerry

[Bruceswar]

AU 50 is about the lowest grade you will find with FUll Diamonds.

[James_OldeTowne]

I have never believed in using "full diamonds" as a criteria for any kind of grading. Many UNC coins don't have even close to full diamonds. It's kind of like using a full horn to grade buffalo nickels!

 

To answer your question, I can't imagine a coin below VF having full diamonds, and even EF or EF-45 would have to be a remarkably well-struck coin to keep it's diamonds after 15 or 20 points of wear.

 

James

[relicsncoins]

It depends on the year. Some years were weakly struck and even the ms coins don't have full diamonds. On fully struck coins the lowest you typically find full diamonds is XF-45.

 

JJ

[QuasarComics]

I agree with the poster who said XF45, although, for my money, a well struck coin in XF40 will be nearly there. I am "old fashioned" regarding grading so I do always evaluate a coin purely on its merits to me which, for better or worse, means I am buying coins described at one grade (and yes, this includes those in major slabs) that are nice coins to me but truly lower grade that what they are being sold at. For example, rememebr when an MS65 Morgan in a PCGS slab was a consistently stunning coin with next to no marks? Back then anything over MS65 was nearly a miracle!!

[Here]

I understand about the grading part. But, without full diamonds, I just can't appreciate the I.H.as much.

 

 

 

Jerry