bought a 1881-S Morgan...any opinions?

Geoman

I just bought an 1881-S PCGS Morgan. I liked the look of it. I am thinking of re-submitting it to PCGS. What do you think the chances are on an upgrade? I have never submitted a coin for upgrade before, and do not know what to expect?

First, I am looking for some advice. I am not a paying member of PCGS, but am planning on joining so I can start submitting a few coins for my collection. I only plan on submitting ~10 coins a year. What level do you think is best for that number? And, how do I go about submitting a coin for possible upgrade? Should I crack it out first, or send it in still intact in the holder.

I am totally new at submitting coins. Give me your advice! Thanks!

airplanenut

Very clean coin, but the pictures look soft--no way to see if there are small, scattered ticks. Regardless, the 81-S has it's advantages and disadvantages of upgrades--it's good that there are lots of high grade pieces, thus a 66 isn't as big a liability as a rarer date. On the other hand, they come so nice, they have to be just that good in every respect to get the upgrade (ie, they can't get by with a little weakness where a typically weak date could).

Jeremy

Wolf359

Very pretty! From the photos, an upgrade is possible. I suggest you browse Heritage Coins and do some looking at the large photos of PCGS MS66 coins. That will give you some idea of what PCGS looks for.

coinbuf

Thats very clean but I'm thinking the hair above tha ear is just a touch soft for a 66.

Chris

Goober

I think the obverse is definitely 66 range, the reverse looks inbetween and may be what brought it down.

UncleWiggly

Looks 65. Against other dates I'd say it could go to a 66. Some of my 1881S MS65s look of a higher quality than my 81S MS67s. Just the way it is with 1881S Morgans. I'd still send it in anyway without cracking it out. What did you pay for it ?


Jerry

Geoman

Thanks for the comments. I paid $122 for it.

It is actually my first PCGS Morgan Dollar. For some reason, it just caught my eye, and I decided to buy it for my first piece.

UncleWiggly

You got a great price. I collect nothing but 1881S for my Morgans. They are the best struck Morgan and plentiful and fairly affordable even up through MS67s. Even the PLS are reachable. There's a NGCMS67PL up on DLawrence's weekly auction right now and a NGCMS66PL realized a price of $425 tonight on Teletrade. Even the pops for MS68s both PCGS and NGC are 75 and 74! NGC has even graded 12 MS68PLs. Two of those sold at the last Long Beach Show at a avg of $5K. Nowhere near rare, but in the scarce category. PCGS has graded only one, but two MS69s! If I remember correctly, I saw a last sale price of $40K on one of them a few months ago. I guess that's rare. There's even a couple of 68 DPLs. Also, if you liked toned Morgans, the prices will be somewhat lower with 1881S.


Jerry

coynclecter

A real beautiful coin. That one has a lot of luster and I love the rim tone. If the face is as clean as the photo its a good upgrade shot.

Monstavet

No matter what the holder says, it looks like a nice coin, and the price is good, too! Ask yourself this: if you resubmit it and it comes back as a 63, will you still like the coin? If your answer is yes, don't resubmit it, be happy with your coin and the price you paid. If it comes back in a a 66 holder, it is still the same coin.