I was wondering if you would have this talk with your dealer. Say it is a coin that you want to buy, butt. What do you think this coin is graded today, but please also state what YOU think it grades.
MS64+ I think the few small, but obvious, contact marks on the chin and neck likely keep it from 65? Reverse has a few very tiny marks on the fields, but boy that eagle is sharp and well struck. Fields and luster look very attractive; wouldn't be surprised if this is revealed higher since it might look even nicer in hand and those few minor marks might be unnoticeable to the naked eye.
I think it is 64. I don't think the flatness above the ear is wear. It looks like weakness in the strike to me.
64 pushing 65 but just shy of gem... appears to have great luster/surfaces (a few too many lil bag marks though imho) so.... 64+
Very nice coin with beautiful luster. The typical hits on the devices and the fields, a little flatness on the curls put this coin at MS63.
So where do we stand on this? How wrong were we? I'm typically awful at guessing grades, especially without comparing images on my phone, but I tried the old "ready, fire, aim" approach here and am curious if I was close. The suspense is killing me!!