I was asked to post some more Morgans, as a few newer collectors to the series want to learn more. Note, the eye-cheek thing is a reflection—can’t get better light today, due to overcast.
I distinctly remember you saying you wouldn't post anymore of these. J/K...they are fun post as many as you like. The strike on this coin looks outstanding. It almost looks marked up but I suspect based on the strike and your tendency to have really nice Morgans...that is not the case. It's probably just reflecting your clouds or something. I'm going to say MS65 on this one as a conservative guess. But, it could be higher...I just don't trust the photos.
See...I wouldn't be surprised if this coin is MS66+ I was just too much of a coward to be the first post and say that. At the risk of being made to the look the fool...I would like to change my answer. MS66+
Hint for newbie collectors: You will often see photographs like this, especially on eBay, with bright Morgans. I purposely did a shot of the reverse and obverse on a very overcast and rainy day, under lamp light. Often, these will be the photos that are advertising the coin. I did not seek out to take a lousy picture—it happened. So, what does a would-be buyer do? A tip from a Morgan collector who has cherry picked lots of really nice Morgans from deadly pictures. So, what is Morgandude telling us? OK, a tip. LOOK AT THE FIELDS. Repeat that 3x. Morgans are baggy by nature. The devices are prone to bag marks on the obverse. Don’t count bagmarks. Look at the strike. Is it sharp? Look at the hair and wings on the reverse. Are the details sharp? Is the luster there? Bright Morgans are oft times very reflective. If you have ultra clean fields, sharp strike, and lots of luster, chances are that you are looking at a solid gem Morgan. Don’t count bagmarks. All Morgans, even the highest grades will not be bagmark free. Also, look for frost. It sometimes photographs as if it was a bunch of lines. Ok, hope that helps when you purchase Morgans.
Thanks. Once again, it is a hard coin to photograph. It is extremely reflective, verging on PL. The + grade was because of the reverse, which is a clear 67. The obverse is a solid to high 66.
At first it looked like a 64 but you responded back. Looking again and listening to what you said I bumped up to a 65. It is difficult to photograph as you said. The reverse looks so much better than the obverse. The case may be part of what I'm seeing. At any rate it's a beautiful coin and the photos do not do her justice. Thanks for sharing.
Try putting a coin or casino chip under the bottom edge of the slab in order to slightly angle the coin into the light source. That should help eliminate the problem you are having capturing the beauty of this coin.
