Outguess; Outwit; Outgrade; Side note: the gigantic obverse scratch is on the holder NOT the coin.... I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!
Agreed, in the AU range and nice toning, but that vampire bite on Mercury's neck is very distracting.
I'm in at 58 , though a MS-64 grade wouldn't surprise me only because the toning and pic make it hard to tell if it's a weak strike or wear .
Common sense would tell me a late date AU merc wouldnt be worth getting slabbed.... but i guess common sense just isnt that common nowadays
I don't know why it's so weak in spots, then. But, OK, then it's gem. There's nothing holding it from that.
Same with me, I hate the scratches on my slabs, it kind of makes it harder to do the coins justice. My dealer had some MS-65 graded morgans, said, "I don't like slabs" cracked them out and put a $60 price tag on each one.
Just because nobody's taken it yet, I'll say MS65. (Though I think MS64 is probably a better guess.) BTW, I have a 1940 Mercury slabbed by ANACS as AU58. It does happen.
seems like NGC graded all the mercs with that same toning pattern at either 67 or 68. This one looks like it falls under the 67 group to me.