Not an AU coin. I see no signs of circulation. There are many bag marks, but no signs of circulation. Wing tips and hair clear. Some breast feathers. MS 61, due to the bag marks in key spots on the cheek, but not circulated.
Your friend is grading everything at least 1-2 grades far too high. If you have doubts, send them in to a TPG, and I think you will be surprised. I've seen thousands of common date Morgans, especially with toning, and that is very low level MS.
I think a 61 is harsh. As far as number of marks is concerned, this has fewer than most 62's I have seen. There are some marks on the cheek, but there aren't that many even under 10x magnification. There is some mottled toning texture on the cheek, and I can see how that can look like bag marks. The marks around the date area appear to be where a piece of paper or cloth accidentally wiped away the toning. I see no digging into the surface nor luster changes.
Cheek and eye. Multiple hits in key areas. The toning of the coin is really attractive. However, if one looks closely, there are several prominent hits under the toning. It could easily go as high as 62, but I tend to be more conservative on toned coins, as nicks can be easily hidden beneath toning.
63 with poor eye appeal. Boy, did someone open a treasury bag and sell it a we buy gold place or what. Same date/mm and same type of color on all these
I have no idea. From the looks of the coins, it looks like they were wrapped in paper together with a bunch of other coins. #1 has the perimeter of a quarter on it, while #3 has the perimeter of a half on the obverse and a dollar on the reverse. This one (#2) looks to have patterns akin to being in contact with paper. But yes, I got them at a We Buy Gold place for $17 each.
New picture of the obverse, plus a screenshot from photograde. I think my coin is quite obviously better than a 61.
Then why ask our opinion when you believe you know better? We give you an opinion because that's what you asked for, now your unhappy because it's not what you wanted to hear.
Sorry. It's not the fact that it is not what I wanted to hear (I was at AU-58 originally), but that I see more bagmarks on MS-61 Morgans than on my coin. That's all. I'm not wanting it to be a higher grade, but I am seeing a qualitative disagreement between the amount of damage on my coin and others graded MS-61. Maybe your expected level of perfection for MS-61/62 is different from mine, which is where opinion come in. I do agree that MS-63 is probably out of the question.
Area around the neck and date are scratched. Looks like someone trying to see if toning could be removed. Too much damage in one place and two different directions to be normal bag marks. Even rub marks disqualify a coin to details. IMO
I looked at that area under a 10x loupe expecting to see scratches. However, I was surprised to see no movement of metal whatsoever. I guess it got rubbed with paper or cloth or something. Given the paper-like toning pattern on the reverse, it wouldn't be too surprising.