I came across this coin many years ago in it's original blue pack cello. I could not believe it's condition as I had always realized that some Mint Set coins were crappy but nothing along the lines of this one. I wanted to submit it but was hesitant since, I could not tell for sure if PCGS might give it a genuine designation due to its damaged looking condition! So..................I simply sat on it for about three years. About 5 weeks ago, I was scraping together a submission and came across this coin. To (hopefully) avoid the Genuine, I submitted the coin in the original mint cello. The result is below: The coin didn't grade any where near what I thought it would and IMO, is over graded by at least 1 point!
Others may disagree but I don't think PCGS grades many coins MS-60. That may be because very few people submit uncirculated coins that look like they spent time in a parking lot (which is what MS-60 really is) or because they don't like that grade. I agree with MS-61 vs MS-60 because for it to be MS-60 the coin should look like a parking lot coin. Your coin looks too nice for MS-60. It is still a cool find.
I think the MS61 is fair. I might even go 62. The obverse is rather dull, but not without attraction. The reverse is rather nicely struck with the islands off Florida nicely defined. It is usually in the higher MS grades that I will disagree with a TPG.
I agree and meant to say that in my reply above. I have seen a lot of MS-61s that look a lot worse than this coin (not necessarily Ikes).
LOL! Those are some rather "distracting" marks on the obverse aren't they! But then, marks don't determine AU over MS. Wear is what makes that determination.
