What's the diff between a 68 and 69 MS Sac$1

Manorcourtman

Does anyone have a 69 that can explain the difference between these two grades. If eye appeal is equal I would like to know the technical difference besides the obvious nicks, strike etc. What are they looking for for the lofty 69 grade?? Thanks.

wondercoin

Overall, the MS69 Sacs are spectacular specimens, with well above average luster, minimal marks, wonderful eye appeal and great strikes. While the MS68's come close in some cases, what usually separates them from the MS69 grade is the number of marks on the coin. It is not uncommon at all to have a few decent marks on both sides of an MS68 coin. On the MS69 coin, while there are marks, they are often "mini-pinprincks" (relatively tiny) in nature and fewer overall.

As with most things in life, until one tries to slab MS69 Sacs, one can not appreciate the difficulty and, in many cases, the rarity of the coins. For example, I personally slabbed 2/3 Denver Mint MS69's ever graded in the entire Sac series (those being 2000(d)) - bascially the result of nearly 4 years work in the series by me in searching out the very finest coins from all mints and years. While "p" mints are easier to slab in MS69, I do not believe anyone has been able to slab a fresh 2000(p) MS69 in several years now. 2002(p) has proven very tough as well.

Wondercoin