Incorrect grade? what to do?

DesertRat

I recently purchased a 1999 silver eagle in MS-69 (NGC) to fill out a full set of MS-69 eagles. In looking at the coin you can see obvious nicks on the obverse in the lower part of the dress and small milk spots at 4 and 8 o'clock also on the obverse. Since these detractors are visible with no magnification I find it hard to believe this could rate a MS-69 (maybe 62/63 but 69??). The slab appears to be intact and untampered. What recourse is available to the gullible newbie who bought this sight unseen? I am at a hotel right now but will see if I can post photos soon if needed.

MrEureka

The grade might be correct. What would the coin grade if it were a Morgan dollar with the same defects?

airplanenut

First off, that doesn't really sound like a 62/63, then again, definitely not a 69.

You can call NGC for the specifics (shipping/handling costs, etc.), but they offer a free grade review if you believe a coin is overgraded. Their site is NGCCoin.com.

Jeremy

PS- You can also try returning the coin if you bought it online.

DesertRat

Hmmmm, good question Andy. I hadn't thought of comparing the grade to a "what-if" Morgan. In a Morgan it would definitely grade better than 62/63 since I have a 1921 in MS-62 and it is worse off than the Eagle. I would venture to say 66/67 tops if I were to have to guess based on my 1921. I just have a tough time accepting it as 69 with the visible detractors.

Since I am still new to this I have tried use the definitions of grade as mentioned in "The Coin Collectors Survival Manual" by Scott A. Travers. He defines MS-69 as; "Coins graded in MS-69 must have no visible imperfections on either obverse or reverse under a 10 power glass. However under higher power magnification, some flaws might become obvious. Under 10 power magnification, one or two imperceptible rim flaws might be visible."

Good book by the way.

JrGMan2004

Not quite the standard that the services use. Like, for MS70, it must have no flaws under a 5x glass... for MS69, it's only 1 or 2 very minor flaws under 5x...

Rampage

The advice Jeremy gave you is the way to go. Also, what Andy said is true, too. If it were a Morgan, it would grade at least MS67.

roadrunner

Sounds like it should be an MS68. I've seen any number of NGC and PCGS morgans in MS68 with cheek scuffs and obvious hits, stains, carbon flecks, etc. The overall look of the coins is still superb if you don't put a glass to them...which is probably how they got to be 68's in the first place.

Whether a silver eagle is MS67 or 68 or 69 is sort of arbitrary at times imo. To pay a whopping premium for a an extra point in this range is not good value imo. If you can put a 5x glass to the coin and find no faults in less than a minute, you have a pretty clean coin worthy of MS69 or better. You can toss what Travers says out the window with respect to market grading. Every classic MS69 coin I've ever seen graded, I could find flaws without a glass. In many cases the defects were extremely obvious, such as facial scuffs on gold coins or high point luster breaks on seated coins.
The standard does change from a older to newer coins. An MS 69 Morgan might be equivalent to a MS67 or 68 modern silver eagle. Consider the difference in care a silver eagle receives vs. what a Morgan went through 100 years ago.

roadrunner

coppercoins

All worried about silver bullion having the wrong grade in a slab...hmmm. Slabbing is an opinion, not a fact. Why people insist the grade is right or wrong is still beyond me. If they can grade so well, why bother paying the fees?

DorkGirl

coppercoins, all you have to do is watch the Coin Vault to find your answer!! Graded ASE's are the single greatest numismatic investment a person could ever make.......

mdwoods

Sell it cheap and find another that you like. They aren't too expensive.