Small White Anacs Holder Morgan "grading" set (progress thread)

Having seen a display at a coin show of a grading set of Morgans in the new yellow slabs, I was inspired to create one of my own. I have long been a fan of the small white Anacs holders and decided to make the set more challenging, so I opted to have all of the coins be in those holders as opposed to the more modern ones (I could have made it even more difficult and went with old NGC fatties or PCGS rattlers, but I'm not that crazy ).

I decided that if this were to be closer to an actual grading set, I would need to have all the coins be from one mint (now I know that still has its flaws since different dates have their own intricacies but that is as close as I could reasonably do without collecting all of the same date). The chosen mint was New Orleans (why-simply because I already had some of those).

The goal of the set is to have one of each from Poor 1 to MS 67 (I'm fairly certain there is no 68 or 69 in these holders and if there was, it would be too pricey for my budget; even a 67 will be a stretch). There are also some additional pieces, like a PL, a DMPL, an UDM, a details grade (maybe several for different types of problems), and anything unusual that catches my eye.

The small white holder had a fairly long run, including the early ANA days. I am not excluding any; so there will be ANA, 6 digit, 7 digit, etc. For some grades there are so few options available that it would not make sense to exclude any generation.

And as many collectors know, the empty spots can be a bit bothersome. So some “hole fillers” could be used or some rules might be stretched.

Please follow along in the comments of this thread to see the progress of the set as well as additional comments about the journey.

More to come...

 

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I have a 67 Jefferson. I am not sure that I have seen a 68. That will be a fun set.

 

I have owned a pre-1964 MS 68 Washington Quarter (silver) but never saw a Morgan above a 67 (even the 67s are scarce as I’ve only seen a few by searching auction archives).

 

I’ll start from the top (highest grades) and work my way down as I go through what is already in the set. After that, it will simply be whatever new is added.

First up are two nice coins, an MS 65 and MS 64. These coins have the typically nice cartwheel luster and minimal bag marks. Both are solid for the grade in my opinion. The 64 is in the more popular (scarcer) ANA era slab. The 65 is a later generation 7 digit slab. There is some toning that is a net positive to me but isn’t something that would garner much of a premium (nor would it cause the coin to be discounted-unless you are someone that purely collects blast white). In general these two grades are fairly easy to find in small white holders.

 

Always put a bid on the older type, they usually go for a premium at Great Collections

 

Do you know how long ago ANACS stopped using slabs like this? I have a 1950 Roosevelt dime in a slab like this and very curious when these slabs stopped being used. Any help appreciated.

 

Larden there are many different generations of the soapbox slab.
Here is a good link to figure out which one you have.
ANACS Slab Generation Showcase - Google Slides

 

What a great idea. Wish I had thought of it. good luck.

 

Thanks a lot I reallly appreciate your assistance.

 

Great looking coins. Nice acquisition, and good way to start a set.

 

Thank you @Pickin and Grinin for the link...that is the best resource that I know of and gives a good history.

 

Looking at the link provided, the MS 65 is a Gen 1 from 1989-1990 (ANA issued, predates the purchase by Amos) and the MS 64 is a Gen 6, the last of these holders, issued between 1999 and 2006.

 

Moving along, we have two Gen 4 (1991-1996) slabs. They are somewhat different with the text being more bold on the MS 62 and the reverse logos being positioned higher on the 62.

As far as the coins, the 63 is nicer (as one would expect). Although my photo does not show it, the 63 has strong luster and the reverse is semi pl (has mirrored surfaces that again aren't shown the way I took the photo). It is actually baggier than the 62 but that coin has a duller obverse (reverse luster is ok). Despite neither coin being super premium (although you can make a case for the 63 being better than average for the grade), I think both grades are fair.

 

Next up comes a Gen 6 MS 61 and a Gen 5 (1996-1999) MS 60 slab. The interesting thing is that the Gen 5 is fairly close in cert number to the Gen 4 MS 62 shown earlier, but you can tell the slabs are different styles-plus the MS 60 slab is larger in size.

These are slightly more challenging grades to find than the 62 to 65 range. And that is reflected in the fact that I paid close to MS 63 money for both. Fortunately the spread from raw uncirculated to MS 64 isn't huge, so I was ok over paying a little to get these in the set.

The MS 61 is a typical baggy Morgan with plenty of hits. The luster is strong. The MS 60 has fewer hits, although there are several bigger marks. What lowers it is the more dull nature of the luster-it is there but isn't as strong as needed for a 62 or 63 (which it could have made if judged just by the hits). I believe both coins to be fair representatives of the assigned grades.

 

Entering the circulated grades, we have a Gen 6 AU 58 plus AU 55 and a Gen 5 AU 50. This is the first grading tier where I have a gap-the AU 53 is one I'm still searching for. I saw one on eBay but was not willing to pay the $100 ask, especially since the coin had poor eye appeal (if it had good eye appeal or was about half the cost, I would have added it to the set).

These are tougher to find but still doable (as you can see I have three of the four and the last one is out there if I really wanted it).

The AU 58 is the best of the group. It has strong luster and a hint of wear. There are hits, so it isn't an "AU 65" but more of an "AU 62" that was properly called a 58.

The AU 55 has more wear, duller luster, and a bigger hit on the cheek. It's not as common of a date as some of the earlier coins featured in my set but that might explain why someone sent it in (although this is still not an expensive date until you get to MS).

The AU 50 still has luster (as expected) and has hits scattered throughout. This is another less common (while not expensive) date.
Note that the slab is not cracked; there is a shadow in the photo that gives that impression.

I think the grades are all appropriate. None are problem coins (you will see why I made that comment when the next group is posted).

 

Continuing the journey, we have a Gen 6 EF 45 and a Gen 5 EF 40.

Both coins are obviously circulated with wear. The EF 45 is low end-not only does it have the appearance of being cleaned, it also has a significant gouge to the left of the chin (near the stars). I would have figured it to be EF details (scratched and cleaned). This was certainly an example of me buying the slab and not the coin since they aren't easy to find. At some point, I might upgrade to a better example for the grade. The EF 40 on the other hand is a decent coin. Luster is minimal as circulation has subdued most of it but there are no issues. I think the grade is fair.

 

Enjoying your thread and the idea for your project. Thanks for sharing it.

 

As we enter the VF range, the offerings become sparse. There is just one VF 30 in a Gen 4 holder. There is no luster on this coin but it has a nice circulated look with sharp details (not quite CircCam but still pleasing to my eye). I think this one is respectable for the grade.

 

Last up among the core of the grading set is a Gen 6 F12. This is the lowest grade I have among non-details pieces.

 

Now for a "filler" coin, here is the "AG 3" in a Gen 6 holder. It is actually a details piece where Anacs provided a net grade. This coin is also my example for a cleaned coin. At such a low grade, I am not bothered by the cleaning. The scratch from the E to the L of "E Pluribus" is more bothersome.