grade this Mprgan

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by The_Cave_Troll, Aug 10, 2006.

Page 2 of 2
  1. The_Cave_Troll

    The_Cave_Troll The Coin Troll

    I expect that you are correct, I think I need to view more uncirculated pieces in person so that I can see the difference. By the way I graded this particular coin as AU in my initial analysis, although I am by no means an expert.
     
    The_Cave_Troll, Aug 11, 2006
    #21 + Quote Reply
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. The_Cave_Troll

    The_Cave_Troll The Coin Troll

    That photo reveals all of the marks it has. It has the zit on her nose, a mark in the field in front of her eye, and a mark between the U and the M of UNUM, plus some light marks in the fields, but that is it. It is a nice coin, but I think it is AU none the less.
     
    The_Cave_Troll, Aug 11, 2006
    #22 + Quote Reply
  4. sf340flier

    sf340flier New Member

    I'm getting the same wear dilema in a coin I have posted in another thread. It is my (limited) understanding that luster/frost can be worn and still be MS, so long as the wear was caused by other coins (rubbing). The way a grader can determine this is by looking at other technical aspects for wear, such as hair above the ear, hairline, cotton, etc.

    In your case, I think the slight wear, which could be from a weak strike, would actually work agaisnt this coin getting a MS. If it were MS, I'd give it a nice 63, but I would grade it as an AU 58.
     
    sf340flier, Aug 11, 2006
    #23 + Quote Reply
  5. zaneman

    zaneman Former Moderator

    CT, 87's frequently come with strikes similar to yours. They also IMO come with a cleaned look typically, so without seeing your coin in hand, I don't think I could grade it.
     
    zaneman, Aug 12, 2006
    #24 + Quote Reply
  6. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    I would grade it as MS63 - as has been mentioned the hit on the nose is holding it back from a higher grade. And yes it does have a weak strike.

    As to your other question CT - there is more than one type of luster when dealing with Morgans. The normal cartwheel luster which is the most common and is typically found on nearly all unc coins - and then there is frost. Frost is also a type of luster, but it is not found on all Morgans. It is caused by the way the dies were prepared, not by metal flow like ordinary luster, and is typically only found on coins struck with fresh dies. And frost is much more fragile than metal flow luster - it can be rubbed off quite easily by two coins coming in contact with one another in a coin bag or in the mint hopper as they are being struck.

    But with ordinary luster, caused by metal flow during the strike, if two coins come in contact with one another the luster is rarely impaired. Yes there may well be a mark or ding but that is the extent of it - it will be a small mark or ding. It won't look like a large mark like it does on a frosted coin. In fact if two coins without frost come together flat surface to flat surface there may not be a mark at all - but if they are frosted there will be one.

    So you might now ask what about a frosted coin that has seen circulation ? How can you tell the difference then ? Well, it's not as hard as you might think. For since frost is so fragile, if a frosted coin enters circulation the frost disappears very quickly and other signs of wear show as well. So instead of seeing a coin with frost breaks like the one posted here, you would see a coin with relatively few small patches of frost remaining. That is the easiest way to tell an unc frosted coin from a circulated frosted coin.

    Hope that helps.
     
    GDJMSP, Aug 12, 2006
    #25 + Quote Reply
  7. The_Cave_Troll

    The_Cave_Troll The Coin Troll

    It does, thank you. I think part of my problem is that I have never been interested in Morgans and now that I have a box full of them that I need to grade I am struggling with a steep learning curve whereas the other series that I am grading I already have some experience with and so I am not facing the entire learning curve all at once. I appreciate your description of the differences. I think my next step is to sit down with my dealer on a dead afternoon at the coin shop and ask him to show me lots of AU/MS Morgans so that I can look at them under a loupe and in hand with someone explaning exactly what I'm seeing and what I'm looking for.
     
    The_Cave_Troll, Aug 12, 2006
    #26 + Quote Reply
  8. AdamL

    AdamL Well-Known Member

    I'm no expert, but I see alot of Morgans. Thats a nice coin you've got there. I do think the strike is a bit weak. And I would give it a 62 or 63.
     
    AdamL, Aug 12, 2006
    #27 + Quote Reply
Page 2 of 2
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page