Grading Guide For Half Cents

[Bailey]

We have descriptions for each grade point for each category of Large Cents(Early Dates, Middle Dates and Late Dates) listed in the Guide given to new members. But we do not have descriptions or a grading guide for each series of Half Cents.....why not? Is this Topic already in discussion and someone or a committee is looking into this matter or do we need to address this issue!!!
I would be interested if this has been done already and where I can find it...Thanx.......
Take it easy.....Leo

[fagaly]

Baily,

A bunch of us are working on an EAC Grading Guidelines book. We presented the concept to the EAC board at its 2012 General Meeting. The proposal was that a committee be formed (to include those members identified at the bottom of this proposal) for the purpose of compiling, and eventually publishing a Guide for Grading Early U.S. Copper Coins. Early U.S. Copper Coins, in the context of this work, will consist of:
• U.S. Colonial Copper Coins (dated from 1760 – 1793)
• U.S. Half Cents (1793 – 1857)
• U.S. Large Cents (1793 – 1857)
It is the stated goal of the grading guide committee to produce a set of guidelines that generally conform to EAC standards for grading. For this purpose, all relevant aspects of EAC grading standards will be described and discussed in the grading guide, including:
• The amount of wear due to circulation of the coin
• Condition, as it pertains to the quality of the surfaces of the coin
• Color of the copper on the surfaces of the coin
• Impairments (mint-caused or otherwise, pre-strike or post-strike)

It is anticipated that the grading guide will include numerous illustrations and photos of actual copper coins.
The committee hopes to have a draft grading guide available for EAC board review by Spring 2013, in time for the EAC convention that year. The committee members are:
Bob Fagaly—coordinating editor
Bill Eckberg—half cent editor
Dennis Fuoss—large cent editor
Kirk Thomas
Tom Deck—photography editor
Ray Williams—colonial editor

This concept came out of a CopperTalk thread http://www.eacs.org/region8/showthre...ing-Guidelines

We are well on our way to completing a 90% (hopefully more) draft by the end of the year which will be accompanied by a short article in Penny-Wise describing our progress. Hopefully, the EAC Grading Guidelines will satisfy your need for grading half cents.

Regards, Bob Fagaly

[Bailey]

Bob, thank you for the update on a Grading Guide For Early Copper Coins. I had heard a little bit about the committee you are a member of and your goals of a complete grading guide. I wish you and your committee you are on a thumbs up on this project and trust that soon a published guide will be in our hands. It would also be great if once this Guide is approved that it be available in written form such as a book or pamphlet and also available on a CD/DVD. I'm sure that whatever it would cost there would be other members like myself who would gladly pay for a guide.....especially when it comes to Half Cents!!!
Take it easy.....Leo

[fagaly]

Leo,

It definitely will be in book form, similar in size to Cohen's American Half Cents, but thicker. Other media may follow (we'll worry about that after we've finished writing it).

[Bailey]

Great...the project you and your committee are doing sounds fantastic and is definitely filling a void...in our chosen areas of study and collecting interests. But please keep in mind that if the book is too large it will be cumbersome to carry around to Happenings and Coin shows and Bourses. It might be a good idea to split up the work into volumes such as one for Colonials, one for Half Cents and one for Large Cents. Then it could be sold as a set only.....also having the whole set on a disk would also be convenient so we could download it to our Home Computers and then on to smart phones and Tablets.....of course there would be an additional cost for this CD/DVD.....
Thanx...for your time and considerations.......Leo

[weckberg]

As a part of the project that Bob discussed, I have put together a SHARPNESS grading guide for half cents. It is a PDF file with photos from Goldbergs and Heritage with EAC sharpness grades assigned by Goldbergs' and Heritage's graders (all used with permission). I will be happy to send a copy to any EAC member upon email request. Please contact me at halfcent@mac.com.

Bill Eckberg

[Bailey]

Bill, thank you for the file and information on grading Half Cents.....it looks great from my standpoint. I made a copy of the Guide and the color pictures add a really nice touch to the project. I do realize and know it's a working copy which may in the future be possibly revised. Does the committee you are a member of going to get input and feedback from the leading dealers of Early American Coppers who are also members of EAC(as they do attend all major Auctions and National shows)? And will you solicit these same leading dealers for their input on Large Cents and Colonials? Also getting feedback from EAC members who share their collections in the different volunteer reports(such as Boys of 1794, The Score, CCR and others).....I think would be useful as well. Also tapping into the Colonial Collector's Club(4C's) for input I'm sure would also be a benefit to your committee's project. Your committee's task of compiling all this information I'm sure is a daunting task but one which will be appreciated for years to come.....

Also I'm sure it would be very difficult to compile a listing of each coin by year and their respective Die Varieties plus all the Die states as the Volume(or Volumes) would be immense. But these thoughts and ideas do factor in and affect/effect the sale of and pricing of individual coins. Good luck in your pursuit of knowledge and I wish your committee success and a Guide gets published to aid newcomers and old-timers(as Well)...as well.....

Take it easy.....Leo

[weckberg]

Leo-

We want this to be a tool for learning. We welcome input from anyone who cares to give it. We are not specifically soliciting any of the dealers, but their input would be welcome just as anyone's would be. Remember that these coins have already been graded by well-respected specialists who are catalogers for major auction houses.

With respect to the question about die varieties, the comments at the end of the descriptions of each type indicate varieties that are unusually struck and so need some compromises in their grading. Beyond that, I think a grading guide that listed all varieties in all conditions would take a lot of the fun out of collecting.

Bill

[fagaly]

<snip> Beyond that, I think a grading guide that listed all varieties in all conditions would take a lot of the fun out of collecting.

Bill

Not to mention, the joy of having to select and describe well over 2,000 photos required for just half cents. I hate to think of the number of photos required for large cents .

Seriously, many die varieties only exist in a narrow range of grades. Most varieties have minor (or as my non-collector wife says, trivial) differences, a generic type photo should be sufficient to describe condition.
However, if there are certain varieties whose die and wear characteristics are so different from other varieties of that year that they require separate description(s), please let us (the grading guidelines committee) know (via Copper Notes, Region 8 or directly e-mailing me) and we will seriously consider your comments.

Bob