I just bought this from a dealer last week. He had it rated at about MS-65 but I'm thinking it could be around MS-66. Just wondering what others might think?
Just too hard to tell from your pictures. I think this is certainly MS - 64 or 65 - but I do no think a 66. Morgans are tough to grade with pictures and seeing the remaining luster - your pictures just do not show the way I think this and the other coins probably look. Certainly looks like a nice coin.
I say 65 is about right, based on the pictures. I keep avoiding the 81-S because it is the most common Morgan of all and available in incredibly high grades for ridiculously cheap prices. You could pick up a 67 for like $400, maybe less. Hope you didn't pay much more than $100 for this coin. I've seen some sellers try and pull a fast one on ebay because of the appearance, almost always nearly flawless and well struck, yet very very common in all uncirculated grades.
I'm a little confused here. Are you coing off a dealers sheet with that price? Cus I did spend over 100 for the coin. Around 150 actually. My coin values magazine and Black book put the coins value at around 200 or more. So that obviouslly must be to high. It's just so confuseing!!! With each grade there seems to be a huge spread of price and value. And within each price quote and value there's another spread. So how do you know whats a good price and what's not? And how do you know if a seller is trying to rip you off or not? Cus it seems to me that latelly i've been getting some really good deals. But maybe some of these are not such great deals after all. I don't think i've exactlly OVER spent on some of this stuff. But I didn't exactlly get it at a cheap price either. Not that I'm TRYING to be cheap. I have a real interest in dealing coins on the side as a hobby, and have been trying to semi stock up so that when I do sell this stuff. I can make a little money off it. But I don't want to ruin it for myself right out of the gate. A dealer told me the other day that this buisness is all about SMOKE and MIRRORS. And I'm starting to beileve him. So what do you do if you want to get started the right way? Meaning beyond just learning to grade properlly.
Jtrader what price guide are you using as a reference? Try Numismedia Morgan Dollars NumisMedia Price Guide-MS61-MS70, there prices are usually pretty close. I would also take a look at Cointrends.org too, it shows the prices of recently ended auctions. Btw what's going on with the rim, it almost looks like it's rounded, and smooth?
My local dealer has three 65's priced at between 80-100. Book prices are a bit inflated (which I learned early on) generally. You are right, there are substantial variations in pricing. $100 is a fair price, not a bargain, but something I would feel comfortable paying for this particular coin. That is of course if I was going to keep it, if it was for resale that is obviously a different story. Keep in mind there are high and low ends to every grade, some will command a much higher price than others depending on how visually appealing they are (and even the the phrase "visually appealing" differs depending on the collector). There are some who froth at the mouth over beautiful toning while others wont look at anything that isn't "blast white".
Mike I still think those prices are a tad inflated. Just comparing a few of my recent purchases i see a difference of as much as $50. Maybe I have a great dealer lol
I agree you can almost always get a coin for lower than the list price, but I just use it as a general guide. Probably the best way to see prices is to check CoinTrends, and other recently ended auctions. And it sounds like you have a good dealer too Jim:thumb:.
Yea it is a pretty good guide at least. There are plenty of online auctions which at least meet those prices. The thing is I have learned you don't have to pay nearly that much if you do your homework and shop around. You partially taught me that lol I've made a few mistakes, and damn have I learned my lesson.
For prices check recent auctions , HA.com is a good place it gives several price guide quotes and also tells what the same grades sold for in their latest auctions . rzage
Btw what's going on with the rim, it almost looks like it's rounded, and smooth?[/quote] What do you mean by smooth and rounded. Would that bad or good? Are you talking about my coin or the other gentleman's coin that's been slabed by pcgs.
Sorry my mistake Jtrader, I was looking at a different Morgan, nothing wrong with it. As for your coin, from the pics I would say 65 sounds about right.
I would say that 1881-S is an MS64...it might slide to MS65. The coin is a typically well struck 1881-S and it is a very clean coin. But, there are too many field marks for the coin to grade any higher. With the 1881-S, the coin must be extremely clean to exceed higher than a 65 because of the quality they were produced. It's a nice coin, but I would say a MS64.
