I call this one "Swamp Thang" because it looks like someone dropped this in a swamp for a period of time. I made these a little larger so they could be checked out better. I'll give the answer around 10 to 11 PM Central Time.
Nice Obv. toning. You stated in your post that you will give us the answer. My question is, The answer to what? You did not ask a question. AU-50 due to wear.
Toned coins like this can throw me for a loop. I see what looks like wear on the cap and hair above the ear. Also on the breast feathers. I could be wrong because It is an O and New Orleans was not know for their strong strikes. I'm going to go: AU-58
I'll be conservative on this one and go MS64 only because the obverse toning is making it impossible to read the surfaces. Pretty toning on the side you want it on...
Typical weak strike, I don't think that is wear on the obverse. I think it's from contact with the material that caused the toning. It has a very decent sized strikethrough on the reverse. I'd call it a technical 65 because of the strike and the luster does not seem to be strong. I think PCGS gave it a color bump to 66 though.
I would say 63 with a possible 1 pt bump. Note how weak the crows feet are, not wear, just a weak strike
A weak strike may explain the lack of detail to the reverse,(breast feathers etc...) but it looks to me like some rub/wear near the ear, and surrounding hair area on obverse. Of course, I could be wrong. As hard as that is to believe.
I certainly could be wrong as well. The images are very difficult to read as the surfaces seem to really lack a lot of luster. But, from what I have seen @ron_c post, he likes the higher graded coins. So I am going with my gut that the luster is there and that those "rub" points are just breaks in the toning.
Close, in order to buy the coin I really wanted, this one: I had to also buy the 1883 O. Normally, I wouldn't buy a coin like this. I shot this one, to show the color instead of the luster. As everyone knows, you can show the color or the luster but, as a rule, not both.
I'll go MS64 CAC. These are tough. I have four 83-O's out for grading right now and they all have a similar "wear" look on the hair above the ear, but it's the strike. Curious how they graded this one.
The obverse is such a weak strike I would not be surprised if the TPG felt the need to constrain it to 64. The colors are bright and varied enough to make me think any serious marks would, in fact, show up in the images. I lean 65 but offer only 64 (undoubtedly "Plus" and likely CAC) because of that obverse strike. The ear and hair above it are on a single plane, and it's rare to see such a weak obverse paired with a (relatively) stronger reverse.
I'll calling this a little early. This has been a most interesting post, compared to the other ones I have posted.
I really don't care for weak strike coins myself and the main reason I didn't collect raw Buffalo's back before the grading companies. Ok, I'll put up an exceptionally sharp strike Morgan then.
How did you do that??? Put an AU coin in a 64 slab??? I wasn't even close on this one. I need a new pair of...