Question about those little field marks

its4real

I have several very nice morgans but they have small marks in the fields. Not gouges or slices, just small - I guess they are what you would call contact marks?

I have a couple that the ONLY thing on them are a few small field marks and that's it - no other wear or dings. The coins are perfect except for a few of these marks in the fields.

How much will these types of marks effect grade, if any, and what are these types of marks from?

Here is an example:

ldhair

Some call them contact marks or bag marks. Morgans were banged around in large bags. They will effect the grade. The more they have the lower the grade.

kranky

Contact marks affect the grade based on quantity, size, location, and what caused them. A reeding mark (where the reeded edge of one coin contacted the field of another) doesn't hurt the grade as badly as an equivalent-sized manmade mark - because the reeding mark is considered a natural byproduct of the way coins were manufactured and handled. Coins banging against other coins will cause other types of scrapes and dings also.

That mark you illustrated would hurt the grade more if it was on the cheek or in front of the face.