I saw the slabbed grade first. In this review I am going to show the photos without the slabbed grade first. When I looked at the obverse my first impression were nice coin, good strike, likely original surfaces, slight indications of wear. Probably an AU58. Close inspection reveals an “L E” graffiti to the right of Miss Liberty’s head, underneath the star and to the left of the Liberty Cap. This is not noted in the slab grade noted below.
Looking at the reverse I was some what surprised. Much more notable indications of wear, especially on the Eagle’s feathers. Strictly speaking, enough wear there to make this an EF45 (at best) although I can easily imagine it being pushed to low AU.
Since I had already seen the slabbed grade, I was very disappointed. It is hard to believe this coin can be assessed the grade it was given by one of the two major slabbing companies. Is this the state of “market acceptability” in 2021 for the grade given or was the company having an off day that turned out as a windfall for the person who originally sent the coin in? I would love to hear your opinion.
You know what I think of the coin (a beautiful original higher end circulated piece), so here is the NGC verdict:
