Guess the Grade 1888 Morgan

I'll do the reveal tonight.

 

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Ok, drum roll. A lot of people are going to be surprised. Now you know why I jumped on with feet first into the wood chipper. More comments after the shock has worn off.

 

Looks like a potential CAC submission candidate. Of course, make sure you inspect it from all angles when you get it, sometimes a seemingly undergraded coin has an issue that's difficult to spot. I once saw an MS-61 Walking Liberty Half Dollar in a "rattler" that looked like a MS-64/65, but once the light hit the obverse just right, a large patch of hairlines would reveal in a prime focal area.

 

See I told you, I'm a better grader than they are, never doubt me, yeah right...

 

Ok, now what? I don't collect old plastic. (well, I do like old soap box ANACS holders but doesn't apply here). Do I risk insulting the highbrows and send it in for reconsideration? Do I send it to CAC and hope for a gold bean? Does that compensate for a minimum of 2 grades? Do I crack it out and send it to PCGS raw and hope someone sober grades it this time? It is a dilemma.

 

Honestly from the photos, I see only one small flaw. On the obverse there is the tiniest of tiny rim ding on the bottom edge of the coin between the 8s. That's it. I've got 3 Morgan coins in 66, 66, and 67 and this is just as flawless as those, maybe better? Grades are always an opinion, but I feel like my chances are better than good for an upgrade. I've seen MS64s that look like a minefield with moon craters compared to this one.

 

Wow that does seem low. I noticed a few dings, one on the neck truncation and a couple above the eagle's head. But it's hard to tell from just a couple photos, since you can't see the areas in the glare.

No matter what number is attached to it, though, it's one fantastic coin!

 

I would leave that for a CAC submission only, a gold CAC and that slab would send it to stupid prices without paying too much money for a new submission.
Also is the ear doubled? and is there a N clash under the chin?

 

I'm going to give it a hard look under my scope when I receive it. Good points you make here. When it's a rare VAM, it's always nice to have the designation on the obverse spelled out, but I've sent a lot of graded slabs to VSS, and they are probably the best of all of them at identifying the VAM.

I was going through my collection a couple of weeks ago and discovered ANACS misattributed a 1878 P. The reverse is all wrong for the VAM they assigned it.

 

This one has since gone to town with toning bit if you zoom in you can see the clash arks at the lips The main pick up is the doubling of the ear. The N xlash is hard to see in this photo but it is there. 

 

The decision is yours to make, good luck. I do believe the coin will score!

 

It will be interesting to see how it looks live. I suspect the lighting is hiding marks. There are marks across PLU, on the neck, below the lips going back to the ear and it looks like in the field in front of S8 and S9.

It is a beautiful coin that I was going to guess MS-65.

 

Well I had a choice. I decided to win the auction at $220. My second choice was this that I passed on. Which one do you think looks better based on photos? This one has just recently been marked down to $6800.

 

Too much chatter on the cheek for my liking. Not to mention the price.

 

Yours looks far better, hence my 67+ .

Z

 

Doubtful. And PCGS is highly protective of their existing registry members. It got delivered today but I'm out of town and won't see it in hand any earlier than a week from now. The suspense is killing me. I've only gotten one similar lucky break on a coin deal and PCGS graded my raw coin MS67. Can lightning strike twice in the same spot?

 

That one has the 67 luster, I wouldn't have called it a 67 though.