Does this look ms65 to you???

What?? No way no how... ive NEVER looked @ the date of a morgan dollar BEFORE i examined the cheek and fields directly in front of the face...

 

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Lehigh......OK, first I made a typo. I wrote: "....if they are both MS-65*, right ? The 2nd one has much darker/noticeable blotches on the face, even I can see that. If the 1st one is a 65, the 2nd should be 65."

I MEANT to say if the 1st is a 65, the 2nd should be a 64. Or if the 2nd is solid for a 65, then the 1st should be a 66. My point being, I THOUGHT the 1st coin was nicer.

Now....you have corrected me by saying:

Where are you seeing "much cleaner fields" ? Focusing, now I am seeing more white/frost/shine/luster/whatever on the 2nd coin....but I'm looking at both fields and I'm not necessarily seeing much fewer bag marks in the 2nd coin's fields.

OK...I'm seeing MAYBE a bit less...but doesn't that darker 'blotch' in Liberty #2 offset that ??? Isn't that a noticeable hit and in a very noticeable location ? Do a few less bag marks and/or more shine offset that ?

Inquiring minds want to know !! And novice graders, too !

 

The face and date are primary, fields are secondary. Diagram below is from PCGS OFFICIAL GUIDE TO COIN GRADING AND COUNTERFEIT DETECTION.

 

Both coins have luster grazes on the cheek. You don't penalize a luster graze for intensity because the frost is better on the second coin, it doesn't work that way. The second coin has cleaner fields, better mirrors in fields, and better frost on devices. It is a superior coin to the first. But proof is in the pudding. Here are the buy and sell prices for both coins.

First coin: Buy $175, Sell $210
Second coin: Buy $250, Sell $300

 

Great info, thanks Lehigh !! I am learning alot...though at times it seems like the more I learn, the less I know.

My ANA book arrives tomorrow, same time as my new Morgan !!

 

Lehigh i should of known better than to argue with you... you have backed up your statement with facts which is a rarity nowadays... I even recall seeing that chart b4 and my slight color blindness is probably why i missed it.. altho i believe thats why the colors are so close on the chart, saying the other areas are a close second and almost. as important... either that or my color. blindness is kicking in again and the two. colors are more easily distinguishable to others... i believe in the future i will keep that in mind..... although i will still look to the fields to grade morgans because it has worked well for me in the past

 

Damn, I wonder if I should have ordered this one instead of the 7th ANA guide....hope it has pics like this one.

 

I don't believe this either.

 

These pictures are available here (for Morgans): http://coingrading.com/surfpres1.html and here (for pretty much everything else, except, strangely, Roosevelt dimes): http://coingrading.com/others1.html

 

Here is a MS65 from an older NGC holder. Again, I'll say i have seen coins with gouges this deep get bagged years ago... also saw them pass too. Point is, to me, that gouge/scratch/whatever is -.5 to -1 grade in my book because it is too distracting. I graded the coin 64 with the gouge, less 1 grade for significance of hit and it's effect on eye appeal (to me).. then accomodated the grading inflation and we have 63+1

 

Overgrade over price. Like everyone said 64 is probably best you can get.

 

...some are only the nozzle and some are only the bag...very few are both...congrats

As to the OP's coin in question, I agree with others that it's a low end 65 or high end 64...either way, its a beautiful better date Morgan IMHO.

Erik

 

Thanks for posting this. Very informative.

I think @heavycam.monstervam also had a point about the Morgan fields though. According to the PCGS guide, they are indeed in red. I've never considered the date a prime focal area, but I've learned something today. I've always concentrated first and foremost on Ms. Liberty's "face" and then on the fields in front of her face. I've looked at the dates for over dates, but now I'll focus a little more on them for other reasons.

 

There is nothing high end about it; it looks like an average 64 by modern TPG standards.

 

No, the fields and neck are orange, the face and date area red. The same diagrams are in Jim Halperin's useful little book, "How to Grade U.S. Coins."

 

Got it. I didn't see the hue difference on my PC.

 

The coin looks good! I would say it is probably a MS64.

 

The marks on it bring it down a bit i think.