I just picked this up today. I could not pass up the beautiful luster and clean fields with a light touch of gold and blue rim toning. What is the grade?
MS 66 ...lovely example too! A few scattered hits I believe prevent a higher grade (but the eye appeal more than makes up for the grade).
Wow. That is gorgeous, but I've had too much bourbon to accurately describe this coin. I'll GTG in the morning.
I'm surprised you picked up on it. I noticed something with the Mint Mark after I imaged it. It appears to be a possible new RPM. It's hard to tell from the image above, but I see what looks like the top serif of an S inside the upper loop of primary S. I will be sending this one in to James Wiles. It does not match anything on Wexler's or Variety Vista. Here is an image of the Mint Mark.
Au 55. Reverse doesn't look normal to me. Lots and lots of lines. Or highly polished die. I'm no expert.
I am at a 67, The MM has a lot going on. I think it is an early stage of excess die deterioration. There is already one die chip present. Color and surfaces bump. Nice coin!
Strike: This is clearly a late die state, so the details are significantly eroded from the die. However, the strike appears to be strong - I see only minor high point roughness on the eagle's legs. Strike score will be 65 Luster: The luster appears to be bright and flashy on the obverse, although it is probably somewhat coarse from the pronounced flowlines. The luster appears more subdued on the reverse. Luster will get a 66. Eye Appeal: Very attractive rim toning on the obverse, but the spot on his temple really hurts it. The speckled toning on the reverse is neutral. I'll go 66 on the eye appeal. Contact marks: Obverse, a few minor luster grazes and inconsequential marks in tertiary areas. No marks in primary focal areas. Reverse, there are a couple of marks in the eagle's wings, a scrape on one leaf, and a couple of tickmarks in the fields. The mark on the eagle's thigh is prominent and distracting. Overall, contact marks will get a 67 obverse, 66 reverse. Everything seems to be pointing to a strong 66 on this one. I think the reverse luster, obverse spot, and mark on the eagle's thigh keep it from 67.
It looks like it could be a late die state of RPM-003: http://varietyvista.com/09b WQ Vol 2/RPM Detail Pages/1947SRPM003.htm