Question about graded 1895 o morgan

I would like to know feedback on the following 1895 O morgan silver dollar, which is graded by pcgs. I see hairlines, but the coin is not identified as cleaned

Your input will be appreciated.

Best Regards

 

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Good question. I see what you see, but I also see areas of original undamaged luster adjacent to the hairlined areas. My guess is, PCGS decided it was not deliberate cleaning but incidental contact, seeing no evidence of reason to clean the coin. Could be it's technically of a higher grade, but downgraded for those hairlines.

Not all hairlines are cleaning. In their shoes, though, I'd have to have seriously considered a Details grade if the hairlines are as bad as they look (digital imagery is notorious for increasing the visual effect of hairlines).

Then again, they could well just have screwed one up.

 

I'd bet if you cracked it out of that OGH, it would probably come back in a Details slab.

Chris

 

Leave well enough alone and don't crack that coin out. That coin with that grade is nothing to sneeze at.

 

Market graded at 50 is my guess. It has the details of a 55/58.

 

The pictures are unclear. Can you take any better pictures?

When a coin is circulated, it is going to pick up marks from contact. That's just the nature of circulation. Now, when you take a circulated coin and shine a very strong directed light on it, it can often appear to be extremely hairlined and unattractive.

I can't say for sure that's what is going on in your picture. PCGS slabs cleaned coins, sure, it happens. But, I'm not going to instantly say that it's cleaned based on one really low quality picture.

 

Thanks you all for the feedback.

I am providing an additional picture for evaluation.

 

Wow.

The reverse pic - especially thru AMERICA - seems to have toning which could indicate a reason for an idiot to brush the coin, and appears to be a more convincing indicator of deliberate cleaning. The technical details are far better than AU50, that's plain, so I'm left wondering what exactly PCGS was thinking with this one.

 

I maybe seeing things but I don't think that coin is authentic.

 

The ONLY way a coin will appear HAIRLINED under a strong light is if it HAS hairlines or if it has parallel die polish lines.

The "what" is real easy...Grading 101. As a previous poster wrote, the coin has very little wear. AU50 covers a lot of defects so...the TPGS has net graded the coin down from its "technical" wear grade. Hopefully another member can explain it for you.

Great call. Some friendly advice, don't apply for a job at a TPGS.

 

The details on the reverse of that coin match none of the 3 known

 

Interesting, that's going to be news for the VAM collectors.

 

It was to me.

 

Well, there are six VAMs for 1895-O, not three, and the reverse details cannot be determined with any accuracy from angled images such as presented here. Which doesn't matter much, since only one of the six is identified by a reverse detail. Nor can the date location, which is key for all 6 (the one reverse tell is to differentiate two similar date locations). The barcode on the slab scans accurately (very few slab counterfeiters get that right). I don't see any real reason to question its' authenticity, and it's admittedly possible that the imagery is exaggerating the marks on the coin.

 

I think it is possible that the coins semi PL surfaces along with the strong light source are exaggerating the hairlines. Could be that it was net graded to 50 because they felt the hairlines weren't cleaning, but some other kind of wear/friction, and wanted to reflect the market grade(value) of a coin that does seem to have some issues.

 

Leave it. You are playing with fire reslabbing a great date like that. It honestly looks cleaned to me. Who cares what I think. All that matters is what the slab says. I have a 34 S peace AU, and the obverse looks obviously cleaned but it is graded AU 50.

 

Check it out

 

I don't see a patch of highly orderly hairlines on this coin. The lines that show up the most in a photo with a hard, direct light will be those that are perpendicular to the direction of the light. This does not mean that they are or aren't problem hairlines. It merely means it's not possible to be certain from these pictures. This is also why you look at coins by tipping or "swirling" them in the light to get a good read on the surfaces. Problem hairlines tend to really "pop" when you do this.

 

I was going off the fact that there are two identified reverses, the upright O and the slanted O, then there is the rusted die, which I believe to be a 3rd.

 

You may need to update your library.