I thought this would be an interesting coin to get a concensus on! 1881S Beamer.... Grade away! Much thanks to coinman for editing the images!
Yes. This coin has an exceptionally sharp strike with above average luster. Check out the talons and hair above ear
I'm seeing middle to late dies and exceptional glow on her for it, enough to make a young man dizzy with infatuation. They're all exceptional strikes in that early part of that decade, so that's hardly a distinguishing factor. Those carbon spots are going to hurt her market more than the scrapes and frost grazes, in my opinion, as they're like eye-magnets, the strongest being the one smack up against her nose. This is just how I'd size her up. For my money, and I don't blame her if she hates me for it, I can't see her in gem: MS64.
Thats not a carbon spot.I guess i over did the lighting. Maybe i should have posted this photo as well. This is what it looks like in hand>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> You will NOT see a cleaner cheek on a ms64 anywhere on the planet!
Theres always one ______ in every crowd Dont feel too bad. I know quite a few long time collectors that cant grade a high ms morgan to save their life.
This coin would grade no higher than MS 64 given the number of "blazers" available. You can compare that pic to any number of graded examples. It is a solid $75 coin.
Or maybe its you that over grades. The obverse is fugly, and remember were going off of sub par photos on the net and not seeing it in hand
Newbe here, I think the Morgan looks exceptional. So you all are saying that any mark will automatically knock the quality of the coin down a little like a scuff mark on a check as an example ?
I voted 64. I am not saying it will not be lower or higher, but based off the first set of pictures that is what I think. And the more pictures you post the worse the luster looks - the coin looked polished in those last two photos, but I do not think it is.
What THEY are saying is the coin has a couple scratches in the field (true) its fugly(false) has carbon spots (false) possibly polished (false) an ms61 (false) blah blah blah.... It goes to show that when you have a. mixed mosh of collectors on the net the info u receive should be taken with a grain of salt. No offense coin family What im saying is if you EVER see a graded ms64 that looks like this>>BUY IT!!! Im not saying the guys claiming 64 are way off the mark,its just ive seen worse 65s by a mile! And yes ive heard that 79-80-81s get scrutinized more so than other dates but a gem is a gem is a gem and thats the bottom line here
IMHO, too much chatter in open field to left of face to catch a 5 ** (see below). the cheek looks beautiful in the gold-toned photos. But the un-toned photos show splotchy marks. These are less distracting than scratches or gouges, but... ** but this is an 1881-S, a super-common coin, and common in very high grades. You might catch a break, and get the 5, as the bump in value is not huge ($75 or so up to $170 or so). Contrast this with an 1881-O, where the bump from 4 to 5 is $175 to $1250 or so). The graders would look more closely at the 81-O