Hi all, Starting to dabble in the large market of Morgans. Picked up this GSA Morgan off of eBay (raw) thinking it has a good shot at 65 and/or "+" grade for the PL reverse as well. What do you guys think (seller's unaltered pictures below): Thanks all! -CB
GSA's always get favorable grades. Tough to tell from picture #1 what that cheek looks like. From picture #3, I can see there are indeed some bag marks the seller was trying to hide in picture #1. Looks like it has good luster. Semi-PL, but not PL. Reverse looks nice in picture #2. I'll guess it gets MS64, but with better pictures and coin in hand, I'd likely change my mind.
Could go pl not dmpl but has prooflike qualities as to the grade depends how leinient their feeling but I'm gonna call it a good solid 64 but that's without seeing in hand
I see what appears to be many bag marks (rubs). IMO MS-63, maybe -64. And my understanding is that you don't get PL attribution form only one side of a coin. BOTH sides have to be PL.
Kanga's right. Both sides must have PL or DMPL qualities or no designation. The reflection in the fields, on both sides, have to have 2-4" of clear reflection for a PL and at least 6" for a DMPL. The TPG gauges that by holding the coin by it's edge at the end of a ruler and look at the reflection. As JP stated, GSA Morgan's generally receive favorable grades from the TPGs and this one is a nice looker.
Here's mine I picked up last week of Ebay as a buy it now. Loved the toning. Two of the real closeup pics I took with my digital microscope cam with an ottlite so the lighting is not the best and shows some cheek marks you don't see as much with the naked eye under a light. Plus the toning goes into the cheek area on this coin. For some reason Ebay is not working too well in the purchase history and I can't get the pics from the original listing.
Thanks all for the responses! I think it will come down to how dinged up the field in front of Liberty's face is. I think the reverse and cheek is clean enough for 65, though I'm certainly no Morgan expert. I'll be posting some more pictures when I receive it in the mail!
Just received it in the mail! You guys were correct, the seller's pictures definitely hid a lot of bag marks -- none were really "harsh" dings, but there were a multitude of minor scratches that would keep it from getting past 63. On the bright side, the reveres does appear to be a full PL, with the obverse a semi-PL look.
Looks like the VAM 6 like my 1884 CC. Here are pics to look for on yours: http://www.vamworld.com/1884-CC+VAM-6
Do the ruler test I posted above. Both sides have to have equal amount of mirror reflection for either a PL or DMPL designation from a TPG.
