Is there a simple way to distinguish between a MSPL and a PROOF 1865 quarter?

coindeuce

In the course of the past two days, I've seen two high grade examples of an 1865 quarter. One raw, presented as Proof 64, and one graded by NGC as MS-64PL. I don't have the luxury of having had the NGC coin in hand. Is there a published resource for specific diagnostic markers on the Proof that would set it apart from the business strike,or vice versa? BTW, the PL business strike is priced at 3X the ask price of the Proof. I would certainly want to be dang sure that the NGC coin is not a Proof.

LanceNewmanOCC

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from what i can tell thus far without extensive research it seems this is quite a challenging areas in numismatics

not just for quarters but for many series

i remember my first few months into numismatics i read about many-a debate about 19th century proofs for American coinage

from what i have gathered, A LOT has to do with consistencies in strike/quality

look for well centered coins with very sharp edges like MPL lincolns with full strikes in known weak areas for business strike coins

my best advice is either look at high-res large images that you can zoom in on and/or use a VERY good loupe to study some at shows and/or purchase a couple
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