I have a circulated 2009D formative years Lincoln Penny MS 68+

[Tomahawk]

MS 68 or Better

[JTCC]

Question?

[Iceresistance]

We can't have an grade estimate on the coins since we simply don't know the grade based on pictures.

[Earle42]

Some advice:
Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life. Here is some beginners fishing tackle. Its worth your time to read.

Following is info concerning the actual nature of grading companies that can help people make better educated decisions.

Thinking of Slabbing? Make sure you understand the Facts...or You Could Lose Money.


1. The grading companies are not a way that the majority of people, even those with a great deal of experience who know what they are doing, are going to be able to use in order to make huge personal profits. Many people start using grading companies thinking they will find a way to finance their hobby, but they learn a hard lesson quickly.

2. Watch some of Daniel's videos where he gets pieces back form the grading companies. Note even people who live, eat, breath, and deal coins for a living (like Daniel) can accurately predict what grade the companies will give. And...the "fault" (not really a fault) is in a widespread mistaken perception people get from being exposed to all the slabs being sold nowadays.

Coin grading companies are a business out to make a profit - this is why they exist. They use a system where (allegedly, but in reality its normally two) three graders look at each coin and give an opinion. The company videos showing the process make you believe this is a relaxed paced process of studying each coin. In fact one PCGS video shows a number of guys sitting around a table discussing what they think a specific coin should be graded as (on youtube somewhere - sorry no link). Uh uh.

If you take a PCGS graded coin slabbed as MS64, break it out, and resubmit it to PCGS, you are never guaranteed the same grade again. The slabbed coin might come back MS62 (bad day for graders), 63, 64, 65, 66 (great day for you!). This is b/c the process is all subjective: No scientific/verifiable standards or methods are used. Personally having talked with former graders (granted - its been awhile), the process is very rushed since they told me graders are paid by how many coins they can get through in a day.

But..this is all hearsay without proof. So...
Grading the Coin Graders

Here is another good read from someone there at the start of the grading companies:
Hobby negative impacts from slabbing companies

3. People also seem to think grading companies will examine a coin to see if they can find an error and then slab it as such. But again, they only ONLY GRADE coins. The companies will NOT try to find ID an error for you. You must first ID the error yourself, check to see if the company you want to use recognizes that specific error, PAY them to verify the error on the label, and then you may or may not actually get what you pay for! The companies have a bad reputation for attributing errors correctly.

Link to and read (download if you want it) the pdf link in my signature as an eye opening example.

The verifiable data presented shows trusting people have spent thousands of dollars on many slabbed coins that are not what the companies claims/slabbed the coins to be.

You don't have to throw in the towel over these companies...but education about the reality of them will put you on the right pathway to dealing with them in a legit way without losing money in the process.

And…if you just like to collect slabbed coins for what they are, which makes losing/making money from slabs irrelevant, then of course enjoy them!"

[Daniel]

Until it's in a PCGS holder with that grade it's not that grade.

[finalfantasy]

Agree with Daniel on this one. If I had to eyeball it then it would grade between 66-68. It becomes tougher to grade something high without microscope photos of all the details of the coin and even then it is subjective by the grader/grading company.