I wanted to try to grade and value something so I picked the Morgan dollars I have. I compared mine to PCGS photograde for grading. I'm also posting the values I found at Numista (NUM), USA Coin Book (USACB), and PCGS (if slabbed). 1886 Morgan Dollar: My grade: AU53, NUM: $41, USACB: $64, PCGS: $52 1888-O Morgan Dollar: My grade: VG08, NUM: $26, USACB: $47, PCGS: $36 1921 Morgan Dollar: My grade: AU58, NUM: $32, USACB: $60, PCGS: $41 Am I close on grading? Also those are some varied values. I know the PCGS is only supposed to be if it is PCGS slabbed. However, is NUM or USACB more accurate for market value? Or would I get closer if I averaged them?
I’ve found NumisMedia/FMV to be closer to market value for raw coins…imo…Spark NOTE: Any coin can sell for more or less than market value depending on what the buyer likes or dislikes. One buyer may forgive some contact marks while another will not.
The world of Morgans lie in that mysterious place that understanding women lie in my mind…. I am sure the resident Morgan experts will be along shortly to offer their critique…… I do believe you were very fair and honest with your judgement and probably not far off the mark at all.
I agree with the grades except the '21. My grade is XF45. 1886 $45 This coin may benefit from conservation. Black spotting on reverse. 1883 O $29 1921. $32
On the 1921, is it the color that brings it down? The level of definition seemed to be there but wasn't sure... Also by conservation, are you meaning professional cleaning? (Still learning)
I believe the 21 has been messed with. The luster is gone. That's pretty important for an AU or higher grade.
If it was messed with it would have had to have happened a long time ago. I'm not sure how to tell on that though (or what you mean really). But yea, I can see only a few spots where the silver color even shows through. After re-reading some descriptions of the grades, I guess I would agree with Dynoking now - may only be XF45 even though the level of detail is higher.
1886-Almost 20 million minted so it’s considered common. There’s slight wear on the Eagle feathers. As for the obverse, there’s too much wear on Liberty’s hair lines to be CF. Closer to a VF-20 or 25. 1888-O-I’m closer to a grade of 4 or 6 on a good day. 1921-Very common date. My LCS would sell all of these in there junk silver bin at about $30 each. I haven’t been to see him for 4 months due to my surgery but that’s about average for a price in my opinion.
I'm comparing against PCGS photograde examples. If I look at the hair on the 1886, I'm seeing more lines of detail in mine than the XF45, let alone the VF-20-25. VF-20-25 have large areas of no detail at all in the hair coming from the hairline and much less definition in the area behind the neck. Also the leaves and flowers show much more detail on mine. That's what I based my grade on. On the 1888-O, their example pictures for G04-06 are significantly more worn than mine. Given the above, I'm guessing you don't agree with how PCGS grades, which is fine. I picked them to compare against as they seemed to be the most prominent one, though I know opinions vary on which one is better.
I think PCGS grades fairly well. My grades are based from photos, experience and what I see in the market place for these types of coins.
Despite the tendency to arrive at the same grades for the 1886 & 1921-D based on design details on the two coins, I'd flip the grades of the two, as the luster is substantially preserved on the 1896, and not so on the 1921-D.
