Personally, I would grade that EF details. The overall detail is easily VF-30 and possibly EF-40. The creator doesn't take any of that detail away. Reducing the grade because of a singular defect makes no sense. Better to grade it where it belongs and then highlight the problematic feature.
EF-40. Too bad about the crater on the obverse though I would note that the reverse is excellent. The 1858 20 cent was plagued with weak reverse strikes, particularly through the date....that one is strong and clear.
@Everest agreed. Barry thinks this one will catch up with the 1946 or the 1873H 5c. It is certainly a rare one and it's a very clear variety - you can see it without magnification.
Hi Everyone, Here's an update on the 1945ND Newfoundland 5c; likely one of Barry Borselino's most important discoveries. Thoughts on grade? Given the selling price, any thoughts on where this one is going to end up in the pantheon of NFLD varieties?
VF20 as well. Not sure about whether it's been cleaned - I think not chemically cleaned. But maybe rubbed down at some point catching the high points and the more exposed fields.
I have what I believe to be the highest grade double die variety of the 1880 Newfoundland 5 cent. It's easily AU-55, well above anything in listed in Charlton or Trends. I was contemplating sending it to PCGS but decided to not do so because they could not guarantee that they would recognize that particular variety. Personally, I think that's bad scholarship. As a result, while I still respect PCGS, I'm wary of sending things to them that aren't bog-standard.
The options are tricky. ICCS has a tendency to mis-grade copper; CCCS is on the conservative side.
I would put the reverse at AU53. The obverse appears to be EF40-45. My experience has been that obverse/reverse variation gets more common the bigger the coin gets. It's all about what it's been sitting on for the last 50 years and which side was facing down.
I was told that some coins have unusual toning - particular copper - as a result of being stored in locations where there was a great deal of tobacco smoke. Picture the old chain-smoking guy running the coin store in the 1970s....