What Makes Difficult Coins to Grade...Difficult to Grade?

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As you probably know, especially if you watched Coin Grading 101, coin grading isn’t necessarily a walk in the park; it can be a tedious process that often takes years to master. But like anything in life—and in hobbies—there are varying degrees of difficulty. That’s why we covered some of the notoriously difficult coins to grade, from Early (pre-1809) copper to Indian Quarter Eagles, in our latest two-part webinar series, Difficult to Grade Coins (Coin Grading 102).

As always, we provide detailed explanations and highlight each portion with eye-catching, imperfection-enlightening graphics to enhance the educational process—because even the most avid of coin graders are always learning.

Here’s a brief wrap up of the two-part series, but for the full experience, you’ll have to watch it yourself!

A Tour that Takes you from 18 to 1900s

Similar in format to Grading 101, this series walks you through a detailed timeline of some of grading’s most fickle coins, one by one. You’ll learn what exactly each imperfection is that makes grading the coin so difficult, how the tricky coin compares to other less tricky coins in its class and interesting, useful facts about each coin.

The Coin Grader’s Problem Children

Whether it’s the planchet quality of a pre-1816 copper or the innate friction of a Capped Bust Half, the following coins are covered in the series and tend to present a challenge to graders of all skill levels.

• Early pre-1816 copper
• Pre-1809 silver & gold coins
• Three cent silver pieces
• Proof vs Mint State issues
• Pre-1925 Standing Liberty Quarters in low grade
• Capped Bust Halves
• Type II One Dollar Gold pieces
• Indian Quarter Eagles and Half Eagles

Much Adieu About Incuse Design and Clipped Planchets

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What exactly makes these coins so fickle, so tricky to grade? Many things. Various nuances of a coin can drastically impact its grade, and with these eight coins, the nuances are so subtle that detecting them effectively can take years to master.

Take an Indian Quarter Eagle, for example. With its lack of raised outer rims, the surface of these coins took an uncharacteristic amount of damage when stacked, even under ideal circumstances. That, coupled with their incuse (sunken) design, led to diminished details and, ultimately, a headache for graders.

But it isn’t always an issue with the design that creates the grading problem; sometimes it’s the planchet. (The what?) The planchet is the metal disc the coin is placed on during the minting process. If a coin is misfed in the mint, the resultant coin will appear as if it were bitten into—much like pre-1816 coppers, a type of coin known for its planchet ailments.

Determining if these characteristics are caused by wear and tear or simply the intrinsic qualities of the coin is where the main problem lies. Other coin imperfections include die clashes, weak strikes, color impurity, and porosity, among issues.

Practice Makes Perfect

Yes, coin grading can be difficult—really difficult. But that’s why we continue to produce educational videos like our Coin Graders series: to spread and grow the knowledge of coin grading and give back to hobbyists like us. If you’re an aspiring coin grader, stay tuned for future videos in our web series and practice as you grow your collection. And if you’re the lucky holder of one of these difficult-to-grade coins, submit your coin for grading.