Best way to tell AU 58 or MS for Peace Dollars?

moosesr

Can someone give me some help on the best way to tell a AU 58 from a MS Peace Dollar?

I bought these coins as a BU on eBay... The first is now in a ANACS AU58 holder. I haven't sent the second one to be graded yet. They both look MS to me.......... what am I missing?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice on this subject!

david3142

I do not collect Peace Dollars but I do collect Morgans. There is no way to tell much of anything from the first picture, other than it looks to have a fair amount of chatter. The second coin looks like it has been cleaned - see the tiny lines to the left of Liberty's mouth? Also, the high points appear a bit darker and duller than the surrounding fields and lower points of the devices. This is the best way to tell an AU from an MS coin. The luster on an MS coin will be unbroken, which is usually easy to tell on a bright white coin, but can be much harder when luster is muted and/or the coin is a darker tone to begin with. The third coin looks dirty but there is no luster apparent in that picture at all. It might be there, but it's impossible to tell. It looks like there might be some wear in the high points on the hair, but I can't say anything definitive.

Also, there is no reason to get these coins slabbed unless they are MS65 or better. If you want coins in holders, it is best to buy them that way until you get very comfortable grading the series.

moosesr

The coin is a Top 50 semi-rare VAM, that is why I bought it raw. I have compared it to several other of my AU58 Peace dollars, and I am pretty sure it will also grade AU. The main difference I can see between these coins and my MS graded coins is the hair which seems to have some light rub instead of a few ticks. I don't think that small difference would show up in an average quality coin picture. I just went mainly by the sellers description which was uncirculated.

lasvegasteddy

luster break or uneven color could be the difference

the 2nd image down...i see the au58 clearly with the concerns above

jmsiefring

I think the best place to look for wear is on the reverse right on the eagle's wing/shoulder.

SethChandler

As you learn grading - its one of the hardest things to identify. AU to BU.

I'd suggest using a very strong light and start rotating the coin under the light. Think about it - if you put a BU Peace Dollar in your pocket and carry it around for a month. What should it look like? What are you going to see? A series of small hairline scratches on the hight points and throughout the fields. Its hard/near impossible to see this from an image or looking at a coin straight on. It takes a while to figure it out - but just keep looking under a strong light.

Just my two cents.

Seth