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Grading $20 gold

What makes this coin a PCGS MS63? It looks like it's got very few scratches and great luster. Is this just a series that is very conservatively graded?

I could make a birth year registry set out of pocket change.
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I'd wager that if it's graded 63, taking a glass to the fields will explain it,
I think I can see some patches of friction here and there that might add up to a point or two
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Pop 1 coin in highest PCGS grade, they probably were conservative.
Auction link
My interpretation of those images would be that they do not reflect the coin in-hand
+1
Obverse fields especially seem to be scratchier than the photos lead on
I've not seen the coin, but I bet it works out something like this:
Luster MS65/66.
Strike is 65/66 (slight softness to a couple of star centers).
Surfaces - Loads of hairlines in the fields, likely mostly obscured with this photo technique (borderline cleaned?) = MS63
Eye appeal - excellent at first glace, but again, limited by the distractions in the fields = MS63/64.
CoinFacts lists 19 Uncirculated coins from both TPGs (likely fewer with re-submissions) but only 1 nicer than MS62. The status of this coin as the finest known is more important than the exact numerical grade.
I bet if you saw it in hand, you'd see it as a 63 too.
I've not seen the coin, but I bet it works out something like this:
Luster MS65/66.
Strike is 65/66 (slight softness to a couple of star centers).
Surfaces - Loads of hairlines in the fields, likely mostly obscured with this photo technique (borderline cleaned?) = MS63
Eye appeal - excellent at first glace, but again, limited by the distractions in the fields = MS63/64.
CoinFacts lists 19 Uncirculated coins from both TPGs (likely fewer with re-submissions) but only 1 nicer than MS62. The status of this coin as the finest known is more important than the exact numerical grade.
hard to grade by photos...but i think you nailed it.
Hairlines in the obverse fields.
Didn't notice those were hairlines. Looked like die polish to me. The picture probably doesn't hilight that flaw. Mystery solved.
Thanks for the responses everyone.
Looks awfully nice for a 63 from those ideally-taken pictures.
That's what I was thinking. That pic almost looks 'photo shopped'.....
I bet if you saw it in hand, you'd see it as a 63 too.
I've not seen the coin, but I bet it works out something like this:
Luster MS65/66.
Strike is 65/66 (slight softness to a couple of star centers).
Surfaces - Loads of hairlines in the fields, likely mostly obscured with this photo technique (borderline cleaned?) = MS63
Eye appeal - excellent at first glace, but again, limited by the distractions in the fields = MS63/64.
CoinFacts lists 19 Uncirculated coins from both TPGs (likely fewer with re-submissions) but only 1 nicer than MS62. The status of this coin as the finest known is more important than the exact numerical grade.
This. The coin's 63ness probably becomes apparent when you tip it around in the light and look at surfaces with a glass.
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see ing this 51-o made me think about it because it is not even close to a coin out there somewhere. And I am not knocking this coin at all, it looks nice!
That
I can see a lot of bag marks in there although that picture blends them well!
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This 1851-0 $20 also has the look of a presentation piece. Either that or extreme juicing of the photo.
Some auction houses can play games with the marks on coins in their pictures. I've learned that the hard way.
If the OP's photos are of the same coin as shown in the Goldberg Aucition link then it is amazing how those scratches in the left field of the obverse vanished and only a few are seen at 2-O-Clock in the auction photo.
What is equally thought provoking is how little difference there can be between a "cleaned" coin that only gets a Details grade and one that can be graded finest known as a MS-63.
By the way did the coin sell, and if so at what price?