What would you grade this 1902 Indian? Also, do you think the toning is artificial? I am still having trouble telling the difference between high AU coins and low MS coins. Does anyone have a link that shows high-points on each coin series to see where the first wear would be? I know the reverse is blurry, but please give your best guess. Thanks.
Get the ANA grading guide book - it usually points to where wear can be seen. In this case the very first thing I noticed was all the rim chatter and/or tic marks - made me think AU. As for the toning - not sure how representative the picture is versus the coin. I can't get a feel for the luster left on the coin. So I stick will stick with AU.
The toning is re-toning. It looks cleaned to me, and I would agree that it is a details coin. AU 50 seems reasonable, although I am not a Copper coin collector.
This guide on grading and pricing IHC by Rick Snow is still one of the best for the series http://www.indiancent.com/grading.pdf
