Did ANACS have really low standards in the old days. I spotted this coin and it looks anything but MS61. The fields and cheek are super clean, however I can't tell if it is AU wear making it smooth or not. Thanks for any help.
You may not like the total coin, but I believe if you're objective you'll determine that coin to be at least MS61. I can go on eBay virtually any time and probably find a MS62 - MS63 NGC or PCGS with bad toning and WEAR on the breast/hair. Please go and look. In my opinion ANACS was one of the better original TPG. I can no longer assess grading qualities of any TPG since it appears there are no uniform grading standards. JMHO
The coin appears to have a dipped out appearance with some peripheral secondary toning. The assigned grade may be a little low but I think it maxes out at MS63, and it would be low end for that grade.
I think the blue writing ANA, pre-anacs tend to be a grade lower vs today standards. Most eBay sellers know it and price those coins at least a grade higher than what the slab says.
That coin is also dipped with a secondary toning but the luster looks good, I could see that getting a gem grade, it looks much nicer than the OP coin.
As a general rule, I place more trust in the grades assigned in the old holders from all of the major TPGs. Over time, standards across the board have slipped. That said, buy the coin, not the holder.
Compared to the 1886 Morgan it looks just like that. MS61 seems to be the net grade for a dipped MS63/64.
Unfortunately, most of what’s left in the old holders is the stuff that won’t upgrade today or were overgraded. I’ve seen too many coins with ugly altered surfaces in old straight-grade ANACS slabs to blindly trust them. And that is much of what’s left in those slabs
I've often wondered whether or not, graded silver coins might tone further after they're in the holders. Might this be part of the issue here?
The old ANACS did a fairly decent job with its grades, but it never got much respect from the a lot of the dealer community. At times it under graded coins, especially gold, but most of those coins got cracked out and sent to one of “the big two.” Other times they goofed up and missed a cleaning or over graded items, but so did “the big two.” Overall the old ANACS could never get by the lock “the big two” had on the grading market, and that continues to this day.
I own several of the old ANACS graded Morgans, and when I bought them in the 90s they were all brilliant surfaces. The material in the label tends to harshly tone silver coins over time and they are still toning today.
Given the technology of today one would think TPG's would be better than ever but not so. Send a coin to the top five TPG's and you may get two to agree that is not a majority to me. The coin speaks to me and between the both of us our 2PG is the best of the best... Our opinion only!