■ How does strike quality impact the condition on early US coins?
The quality of strike was inconsistent on U.S. coins until technological advances allowed the quality of coinage to be consistent. There are no flawless coins of certain early issues. Likewise, the quality of many early planchets was lacking. For these reasons, a coin is not penalized by third-party certification services when assigning a grade.
■ What was the first coin certification service?
It appears the first certification service was Walter Breen’s Institute of Numismatic Authenticators established in 1962. Coin dealer Don Taxay and numismatist Lynn Glaser joined
