Hello, I recently acquired one of these dollars in the original GSA encapsulation. I sent it to NGC to get graded and received it back Purple Details Grade. Usually a details grade is due to cleaning or something done to the coin, but since it is uncirculated has anyone ever heard of this happening? Here is the coin description: 1883/1883 CC VAM-4 GSA HOARD $1
Did they indicate why they gave it a details grade? I don't know if they put it on every holder but I've seen a lot of coins with the reason for the details on the label; e.g. XF details, cleaned; AU details, reverse scratch; Altered surface, etc.
Yes. Not even all that uncommon. One has to understand a few things. First of all, the GSA coins were not all uncirculated to begin with. Ya see, the coins didn't all come from bags that had sat in the mint vaults undistributed for years and years. Many of those bags were bags that had been returned to the mint by the banks - after they were distributed and in circulation for a while. And the bags contained both uncirculated and circulated coins that had been gathered up by the banks and put in a bag. Then returned to the mint because they simply didn't want them. But even that wasn't enough. When the coins were checked, packaged and readied for sale to the public in the GSA sales, the people who did the actual checking had no idea at all of how to tell a circ coin from an unc coin. In other words they had no expertise whatsoever. So many circ coins were placed in unc holders, and many unc coins were placed in circ holders - then they were sold as such. Now anyone who collects these coins should know all this - before they ever buy any !
Do you know if they grade circulated coins in GSA holders? Or would it have to be cracked out of the GSA holder before sending it in?
Don't remove it from the GSA packaging - that erases all linkage to the GSA. NGC "certifies" them by putting a label around the edge. PCGS has an over box. Years ago, PCGS & NGC would crack them out and put into standard holders with the GSA reference on the label.
The government did not grade this coin as "Uncirculated" when it was issued. If it had, the word "Uncircualted" would have been on the GSA holder. This does not mean that the coin is, in fact, something less than Mint State. The people who graded these coins for the government placed toned coins in plain holders that were Mint State pieces. They are called pieces with a number of bag marks less than "Uncirculated." I can't tell what the problem is with coin from the photos because you have a big white spot runing though the most important part of both photos. I am guessing that the coin has been cleaned and that the luster is impaired.
The "Purple" label is retired https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-grading/labels/standard-labels/standard-labels/ Here's the NGC page on GSA https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-grading/holders/gsa/
Is it just me or does this coin look like it is damaged from being in some sort of jewelry holder or maybe a belt buckle?
100% leave Morgan GSAs in the holder, and get the NGC ribbon, if you want a GSA graded. They are much more valuable in the original GSA holder. Cracking out a GSA is a mistake.
I'd love to see a GSA holder with an NGC details label on it. They always send them back to me as 'ungradable' with no label affixed or adjectival grade assigned. They do however include a separate label with the primary surface issue indicated. A straight on photo with no glare may reveal a wheel mark or such on the coin.