Help Grading a 1904 $20 Gold Liberty Double Eagle

Not at all a problem

 

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For comparison, my only gold coin is also a 1904 Double Eagle.

I estimate my coin's Obverse is similar to the OP's coin. (The lighting hides some marks, especially on the right half).



But I think my coin's Reverse is nicer.





To The OP: According to a Dec2015 Greysheet, the price spread from AU58 to MS62 is only $45. So the exact grade hardly matters, price-wise.

But I'd still submit it to a third-party grader. Then it'd be authenticated as genuine -- important if you're trying to get top dollar selling to inexperienced folks like me.

 

I do plan to submit it to NGC - for the authentication and the nice holder. I'll let you guys know the results when I get it back. I'm going to guess MS62 - only from looking through a bunch of eBay listings and seeing which were comparable.

 

MS 61 or 62. Doesn't make any difference , really.

 

I like it. Thank you for sharing.

 

The coin is genuine it doesn't matter if it grades 58-MS61 worth about the same $$$

 

I think this one has enough hits to limit it to 61. It is a common coin, and it isn't until you get to the 64-65 level that you really start to get much premium.

Unless, of course, you start talking about prooflike coins Not to completely de-rail the thread (I feel like we've answered the OP's question well enough).... but here's my 1904, NGC MS-64 PL:

 

very pretty, and I know that gold PL's are tough to find.

 

How do you check the weight, do you guys use those digital scales sold on Amazon ? Any model you recommend ?

What do you do if it's in a slab -- do we know how much an empty slab weighs to add it to the weight of the coin?

 

Define "big money" ? How much of a premium to the underlying 1 oz. of gold are we talking about ?

Some raw coins that are sold as lower-60's you probably don't have much downside if it's a Double Eagle commons. However, rarer dates/mints or something sold as higher graded you need to know your stuff or buy one that went to a TPG. True for Liberty's, Saints, and other valuable gold coins.

Ditto Morgans !

 

Ditto....I thought it COULD be as high as MS-63. It has good luster but it also has what appears to be lots of bag marks on both the cheek and fields on the obverse.

Reverse has bag marks at 3 and 9 PM.

It's funny....the reverse has hits in those 2 areas of the fields, but doesn't appear to have damage between the 3 and 9 PM areas. It's like something deliberately hit the 2 fields or was positioned to only come into contact with those lower parts of the coin.

 

Does NGC or PCGS actually use the PL designation on classic coins ? I'm surprised a coin that old can pass the "proof test" with the mirrored distances.

 

1. NGC applies the PL designation to any coin which meets the standards: US, new, old, foreign, etc.

2. PCGS applies the PL designation to Morgans and select moderns (UHR gold particularly). As a general rule, PCGS will not designate any series except for Morgans. This policy makes no sense at all.

I literally have no idea what you are trying to say here? What is a "proof test"? Why does it surprise you that old coins can have prooflike surfaces? My PL $20 posted above is quite a bit newer than many/most of the PL Morgans that are so common.

 

No, it looks great, I agree. And aesthetically, it does look "proof-like."

My question was addressing the fact that the TPGs will NOT give out the PL designation unless you can read letter writing from a certain distance from the coin's surface, 4-8" or so. I guess you CAN see letters on some of the PL or DMPL Morgans, it's tough for me to say because mine are already in the slabs which makes the reflectivity reduced.

 

Just got the coin back from NGC for anyone who's interested -

 

Your guess was right on the money!

And a well-timed buy too: When you started this thread Feb 2nd, spot gold was $1128. Right now it's $1272.