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Worth grading?

Started by Derrel,

24 posts in this topic

Mohawk

Mohawk

Posted
Posted

Hello and Welcome!

As for your coin, all I see is a regular 1959-D Lincoln Memorial Cent that appears to be in AU condition.  1959 cents from both Philadelphia and Denver are very common due to large mintages and large-scale saving of coins due to it being the first year of the Memorial design.  From a financial standpoint, that coin would not be worth sending in for grading.

I hope this helps!

~Tom

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Mohawk

Mohawk

Posted
Posted

And Bob is right on the money with the second cent.....post-mint damage and worth no premium.

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ngcmember2018

ngcmember2018

Posted
Posted

I recently bought a roll of 1959 Philadelphia uncirculated cents for $5 in a plastic container.  They were jammed and it took me hours chipping away at the plastic to pull each cent out one by one. Out of 50, I have picked out the best 12 to possibly have graded.  I would like to know what anyone seeing these photos thinks as far as if you believe it has value being graded?  I have included two different sets of photos for light variation viewing.  The coin in these photos wasn’t chosen out of the best 12 I plan to have graded, but your opinion will help me to decide whether to send in the best 12.  Thanks!

E51AD181-DA2F-4CA8-B08F-6A9C7A5F8A22.jpeg

04FA5F8E-1471-4BB0-95E0-3881FDDDACBE.jpeg

BC778CFA-154E-405B-9DA8-ACF3F260BFF8.jpeg

707AAFDB-4FEC-412B-8015-4E0EEF98FDC4.jpeg

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Mohawk

Mohawk

Posted
Posted
On ‎9‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 8:27 AM, Mk123 said:

ngcmember, honestly not worth the extra cost

Agreed.  As I said to Derrel, 1959 cents from both mints are extremely common, even in Mint State grades.  According to the NGC Price Guide, the 1959 Lincoln Cent is only worth $40 in MS 66.......you'd have to get an MS 67 or higher grade to make grading a 1959 Lincoln worthwhile and I don't think either of your coins would make 67.  The first coin has spotting on the obverse and the reverse and, in my opinion, there are too many bag marks on both coins to make MS 67.  However, they are attractive coins.....I'd say leave them raw and enjoy them.  Don't spend the money to have them graded as, from a financial standpoint, it's not worth the expense.

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Mohawk

Mohawk

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, ngcmember2018 said:

The two photos are of the same coin.  So, what helps you determine the difference between a 67 and 68 grade for coins that you may or may not submit for grading?  

Ahhh.....I did not realize that they were the same coin....in reviewing the pictures, I can see the same spotting on both sets of photos.  Sorry I missed that before.  First off, if you are considering submitting a common coin with the goal of making it more valuable, you need to look at price guides and figure out what grade level you would need to reasonably hit to make the cost of grading worthwhile.  In looking at the NGC Price Guide for a 1959 Lincoln Cent, that level is MS 67.  After establishing that, I try to look at the strike, the surfaces and the number of marks on the coin.  For a 67 level, you would need to have no spotting, first of all.  Secondly, your coin would need to be reasonably free from bag marks.  The obverse of your coin has several small bag marks scattered across Lincoln but the one that really would deter me from grading your 1959 cent is on the E in One....there are two very pronounced, deep gouges on there.  As far as strike, your looks pretty average, but it's so hard to tell on these 1950's and 1960's Lincolns as the master hubs for the obverse were so worn by 1959 that there is a considerable loss of detail just from that.  If I were to submit a 1959 Lincoln for grading, it would have to have no spotting, very few and very small bag marks with no gouges, and amazing color and luster.  As I said before 1959 Lincolns are just so common in almost all grades that it would have to be a very special piece to make the cost worthwhile as they are so available in nice condition.  Your coin is a nice coin, but it's not one that stands out from the large crowd of Mint State 1959 Lincoln Cents enough for me to consider rolling the dice on.  However, every coin is different and there are some dates and varieties which are worth grading at an MS 64 or 65 grading level.  I hope that this was of at least some help to you.

 

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Just Bob

Just Bob

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, ngcmember2018 said:

 So, what helps you determine the difference between a 67 and 68 grade for coins that you may or may not submit for grading?  

Although not a detailed description, this is the guide that our hosts have given:

Click here

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ngcmember2018

ngcmember2018

Posted
Posted

Yeah, I’ve been told to look at other ms67 and ms68 coins on ebay.  But I use the auction realized sales from the price guide to look at such coins.  And, I have found more than one ms67 with more than 3 countable imperfections.  The difference I am seeing is that these imperfections can exist and still earn a ms67 grade.  Not because of how noticeable they are; but how they blend into the coins design when a balanced and represenive photo is seen.  Surface preservation is %60 of a numerical coin grade.  I have read the guide, as well.  What makes the difference to me is the color, surface preservation, strike, and eye appeal (or luster).  And luster is what can make it so subjective.  Quickly, I hear about no marks on ms67 graded coins, and definitely on ms68 grading comments, but imperfections that are not noticeable when factoring the rest of what is considered in grading can still exist and not reduce the final numerical grade.  It’s incredibly challenging, but this is just my opinion.

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KarenHolcomb

KarenHolcomb

Posted
Posted
On 9/7/2018 at 1:09 AM, Derrel said:

I also found this 1958 wheat penny in better shape than the 59 I previosly found. Out of curiosity what do yall think it would grade as just for knowledge sake. 

CM180906-193104001.jpg

CM180906-193243002.jpg

That's a nice ghost you have there. I'm not here to grade your coins for you but thought I'd offer a couple of sites that have been beneficial to me as a newbie and will help you too. There also an app for grading, PCGS Photograde, that is available in your app store.

lincolncentresource.com And 

wexlers at doubledie.com

 

 

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ngcmember2018

ngcmember2018

Posted
Posted

Since we are on the grading subject, can anyone tell me why this coin would not receive a PF68?  It looks like NGC took the photo before conservation was performed because I own the coin and the white milky bleed from cellophanes was removed with no residual.  I simply don't understand given the coin even seems to have FBL.  I can send a photo, if needed.  It looks much different than the NGC online cert photo.  Any help is appreciated. 

https://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/4703445-006/67/

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Mohawk

Mohawk

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, ngcmember2018 said:

Since we are on the grading subject, can anyone tell me why this coin would not receive a PF68?  It looks like NGC took the photo before conservation was performed because I own the coin and the white milky bleed from cellophanes was removed with no residual.  I simply don't understand given the coin even seems to have FBL.  I can send a photo, if needed.  It looks much different than the NGC online cert photo.  Any help is appreciated. 

https://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/4703445-006/67/

I looked at the NGC photo and, yes, different photos would help.  First off, I want to say that while I'm not versed in Franklins (I never collected them nor are they a big part of my resale venture), I'm familiar with Proof Sets of this era through other coins.  Before seeing your photos, I'm going to hypothesize that there are hairlines on the coin that you missed.  The cellophane packaging of Proof Sets of this era often causes hairlines on the coins that are only visible under certain lighting conditions and by moving the coin around under illumination as some of these hairlines are only visible from certain angles.  While these hairlines can be easy to miss and seem like they would be a minor impairment, they can cause a coin to lose one or two points in grade when submitted to NGC.

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Mohawk

Mohawk

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Posted

Yeah.....hairlines are a real pain in the butt...I know that when I was learning about US Proof Coins from the 1956-1964 era, I took some hits because of them myself, and I still miss them sometimes too.  One thing about numismatics is that the learning process never stops.  I've been doing this continually since 1999 and I still learn new things all the time!  Just take this one as a learning experience and keep going!

~Tom

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