GTG '34-S Walker... There will be a follow up question..

I'm still not any good at photographing coins. And although I occasionally hear Trueview photos called "Glamor shots" the one for this coin is surprisingly accurate. So I'm using the TV with the cert number edited out.
I'll have another request for opinion at the time of the reveal. Saying it now might influence the guess. I may have posted this coin elsewhere, so if you've seen it, please no cheating posted
In hand the coin is fairly lustrous with the typical "white" look of MS silver.

 

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I feel like I would also see this coin as an AU58.

 

MS 63...there might be some "acceptable" wear that was market graded up to mint state

 

55 or 58

 

AU58

 

I'll be the outlier here and say 64. I always look at the reverse first (faux pas, I know), especially at eagle's breast and tips of his right wing. All those details seem to be there, which I expect to be more faded for an AU. I think the obverse shows good bust detail, good skirt lines and nice curls for the head and good sandal detail for both feet. Distracting marks for my eye on the right field and I am not so certain how booming the luster is. For these reasons, I am guessing a conservative 64.

 

I'm with the 58 crowd.

 

It is alright...watch the reveal be 65. We can both cut our losses. lol.

The only reason I guessed MS is that I was recently shopping for some AU Walkers and I felt this one was a bit better than the ones I was looking at, but who knows. Part of the fun in GTG threads is trying and learning.

 

AU-58 I say

 

Quite a wide range of guesses here! Some of the comments and observations have me inspecting it with a loupe again lol
I will post the reveal tonight.

 

The follow up question I mentioned is: Would you try to get this upgraded? Maybe send it to NGC and see if it gets a 63.

Of course, all of the AU guesses have me second guessing that. But CAC agreed.
Also the 34-S isn't known for a strongly struck specimens, although they do exist.
I saw it as a 63. The dealer I bought it from thought it was undergraded, though he has reason to be biased obviously.

At the same show I found 2 in MS63 holders, which I inspected. One looked pretty similar to this one besides the price tag being over $900 more than I paid for the 61.
The other was kind of ugly for a 63 and was still over $700 more than my 61 in price. So there is some incentive there for me to consider trying for an upgrade.

The Trueview does a very good job of showing all the marks on this coin. The chatter on the right field and the hit to the upper left part of Liberty's skirt are the main things that catch my eye, and those are not that bad. I've seen 64's with more marks.
I don't see wear, but perhaps evidence of a weak strike on parts of the obverse.

Edited to add: The luster isn't necessarily booming, but it looks duller in the pics than it actually is. There is luster there. I need to do more work on taking my own photos.

 

The photos look much better than 61 to me. Maybe it's the muted luster as the marks look pretty minimal. Either way, that's a heck of a nice coin

 

I said AU-58 but I’m glad for you that she got a MS-61 and a CAC to boot.

 

61 is a weird grade and the green CAC (technically meaning A or B for the grade) leaves me wondering too. The coin does not look beat up like you would expect on a 60/61; if it was a slider with market acceptable wear, I'd expect a 62 or 63 (62 if the luster is weaker).

In terms of regrading, it's a toss-up. You could easily get a 58 (out the grading fees but not much of an overall difference) or a 62 (will likely cover the grading fees but again not much of an overall difference). A 63 would be harder (2 point upgrades happen but are certainly not something you often go in expecting).

 

Definitely.

 

My un-posted thought when I first saw this thread was AU58, due to perceived wear on the eagle and chatter and loss of luster (again, perceived) in the right obverse field. MS61 is such a bizarre grade for this example, since they usually have the crap beat out of them. The other perplexing thing is the price guide shows a $500 difference between 61 and 63, and your dealer's spread was $700-900? And then CAC only gives it a green bean as an A or B for the grade? Like it's a better than average 61? Way to stick your neck out, CAC!

Is your intent to sell it? I wouldn't risk a resubmit and just sell it on the merits. Otherwise if you're keeping it, why bother. It's a nice coin in a holder that sucks.