Help a newbie *grade* his Morgan

CharlesDarwin

Alright,

I picked this piece up at an antique store the other day. I thought it was in real good shape for it's price, but seeing as I'm fairly new to the upper level grading game, I could have been way off. I know pictures are hard to judge, but if a few people wouldn't mind giving me their rough estimates, I'd appreciate it. I won't post what *I* think it is, yet, because I don't want to bias anyone. A couple of notes...

The darkness over the cheek and jaw is really shadow, it doesn't actually look like that on the coin, likewise with any darkness noticed on the top of the coin. There are two carbon/tone spots, one on each side.

Let me know!
Thanks!
Charles Darwin

mgoodm3

Little rub? I'll go AU58.

Shamika

I don't see any rub (though I could be wrong). I'll say MS64.

KoolCoin

The first place I look is the cotton leaves. I compared the flatness of the leave's edges to my PCGS grading set and I would give it a grade of AU55. PCGS does an excellent job of grading Morgans in AU grades (Love those AU58 PCGS coins!!!).

Koolcoin

davewang202

My WAG is 63 to 64.

rlawsha

I agree with the AU-58. The cuts on the eagle's breast on the reverse, the obverse looks rubbed on the cheek, rim ding and the overall amount of wear all add up to about a $15 coin. Charles, keep asking questions, that is how you learn. The graders seem to really look at the overall originality of the coin and they seem the to concentrate on the cheek when going over MS63.... This coin has several marks and cuts and the grey cheek can happen after thumbing. Thumbing is when someone rubs the coin with fingers to remove marks. After a while the coin turns dark in that area.

nwcs

I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, MS-63.

dorkkarl

au-58. definitely not unc, imo.

K S

jhar

Did you scan this coin on a flat bed scanner or did you take a digital photo of it?? My first guess is that you scanned it. Scanned Pictures are terribly difficult to grade by. You can't get really good enough resolution of the key area's to look at when grading. You also cannot scan or photograph the luster flow or cartwheel effect.

My best guess is that your coin is mint state. I can pick out a little flatness just over Lady Liberty's ear that looks like a bit of a weak strike. I can't really see the eagle's talons or the tips of the wings from this picture, but the breast looks ok as does the eagle's head. I can't relly see any other "Wear" as such the others are seeing. Perhaps they can point out what they are seeing.

If the scan isn't hiding something I would guess the grade of this coin at 63-64. Just a guess however.

poorguy

I would also agree that the coin looks AU58. The cheek looks rubbed and the eagles feathers are a little worn. Usually the 1887 series has really really strong breast feathers, and they just aren't up to UNC par on the coin I am seeing here. Also, the fields closer to the center of the coin are darker, indicating frost has been removed either by circulation or light rubbing. Just my opinion though.

Stuart

AU-55 to 58 -- I agree with PoorGuy's analysis...

anablep

I'd say AU-58
The eagle's right wing seems to show some flatness near the breast, which seems to have some rub.

jbsteven

no rub on that coin. it is 10 times larger than the real thing which makes it look different.

64

ElectricEye

MS63 all day long

Bochiman

I'm right there with Stuart...hard toss between AU55 and AU58.
It's the eagle's breast that makes me say that the most.
Otherwise, if it hits an UNC grade, I would go MS62-63 due to some of the hits...yes, they are larger in a scan but still there).

ksteelheader

MS62....

Kriek

AU58