I was at the local dealer and this just caught my eye. I snapped a pic through the case and was hoping that I could get some thoughts on what it would grade. I sadly didn't get a reverse pic. I know the grade that the dealer put on it, and I just want to see if anyone else agreees with him.
From the single photo you've provided, I can say nothing more than this: It looks like it's been polished to death! -Brian
How's the reverse? I don't want to be a negative, but does that Morgan looked whizzed to anyone else?
From those pictures, MS69 PL. But you and I both know that is not the case. It is impossible to see any contact marks at all on that coin, nor can one really tell how lustrous the coin is. Seeing the price on the flip leads me to believe the coin is probably in the 63-64 range. If you need assistance in grading Morgans, my signature line provides a link to a great thread on the subject.
That's the thing, there are NO contact marks on the obverse. Not any real noticable at least. The dealer had it marked as MS-61. I personally think that it is undergraded, but that is why I brought it here. So, I have to ask, would you buy for $55, assuming that the reverse is of the same quality as the obverse.
Based solely on the pictures you have provided, no. Those pictures give the coin an appearance of that of a coin that has been tampered with in some way. (Polishing, whizzing, etc.) Unless you can provide better photos, I say stay away!
I'm new to Morgans, so I couldn't tell you if it was cleaned or whizzed. I can tell you, though, that the dealer seems some what honest. He has a lot of coins marked cleaned and such, but I don't know if he just does that so he can pull the quick ones on the more expensive coins.
It also could be that the dealer isn't experienced enough to know any better. Did that ever cross your mind? Polished/Whizzed/Tooled coins can be very deceiving to some... -Brian
It doesn't look polished or whizzed to me, it just looks that way due to the lighting. Just ask to see it, the reverse may be hideous. If it looks in good order, that may be a nice find. Just compare it to other Morgans that he has, if you think it doesn't look correct, move on.
Could be, I guess I'm farther off buying slabbed coins. If I get a few nice examples of each MS-60 through around 65, I should be able to learn how to grade and determine cleaned and such coins myself. Then I won't have to bug everyone on here.
http://www.cointalk.com/t115123/ I'm pushing this for the second time only to help. Anytime I get into a new series I try to learn about how to grade the series and get a feel for the market for that particular series. Great! Then straight up ask the dealer his opinions on that coin. I still say stay away from that coin, but ask his opinions on numerous coins if you want. Get a feel for his knowledge. He could be very knowledgeable, or he could be a sleaze-ball. Just gotta talk to him more.
I wanted to check the link out that you had said tmoneyeagles, but I couldn't find it. Thanks for posting it. The dealer wasn't in the store himself, and I found that his employees tend to know nothing about coins.(He doesn't let them buy, they are just there to sell) I know that the pic is bad, but it is the best I could do with an iPhone through the case. I plan on going back tomorrow, hopefully he will be there and I can ask him what he thinks. It looks about the same compared to his other Morgans, it just has more details than the others. I really need to see what is up with the reverse.
