So wait.. AU58 > Ms 60/62?

Good question !

First, let's recall that wear and nicks are two very different things.

Yes, Unc should have no wear.

But think of a coin's journey from the die to your hand. Let's take Mark's example of an uncirculated Morgan. How many things have happened to it since it was minted in 1881 ?

First, it was ejected forcibly from the die into a large hopper. Then, many others were ejected onto it. These were business strikes, so the mint was crankin' em out just like Ford stamps out parts for cars. No special care... just keep them presses rollin'.

Then, our 1881 was thrown into a bag, and that bag was shipped around the country. Again, no special handling... it was thrown into the cargo compartment of a train bound for a bank somewhere. Maybe it was in a Pony Express stagecoach, banging around a thousand miles of dirt road.

Imagine being the silver dollar at the bottom of the bag !

Yes, it's uncirculated... but it's pretty banged up. No rub, but plenty of marks. And the year is still 1881 !

Throw in 128 more years of kicking around in treasury vault bags and bulk rolls. A lot can happen to a coin which never entered circulation !

 

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Thanks Mark and 900. I'm still very much a novice as I get back into this great hobby but thanks to people like members here I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Your explanations make perfect sense.