GTG: 1881-S Morgan Dollar

My guess/vote is MS 66 as it looks fairly clean and mark-free (but I could see a 65 if an older holder).
Based on what I'm seeing the last few years, quite a few 65s look much worse than this coin.

 

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Not a 38 D buffalo nickel?...in an old rattler,or fatty slab? ....the cheese is in the trap lol.....
Another Great pick Justin I'm at 66 on this one... as always great eye.

 

You know what... I had completely forgotten about a purchase I made back in March. So technically my first purchase in over a year was a 1937-D Buffalo in an old NGC Fatty with the gold embossed reverse!! HA! You know me to well. It wasn't a 38, but a 37 had to do this time. I'll post it in another thread.

 

Anymore guesses before the reveal?

 

I will post the reveal later this afternoon/evening when I get home.

 

I think he is off base. That ding will lower the grade. But I cannot possibly see how that takes it into the "details" category. I have a ton of graded Morgans from MS63 through MS67 from PCGS, ICG, NGC . . . . Including several 1881-S's of which there are a lot of high end examples out there (I have an MS-67 1881-S, and at various times have owned other MS-67s). These coins often have dings like that . . . this one is just in an unfortunate place.

I really like the clean cheek and neck on the obverse. But this one looks MS64 to me, or maybe MS65 with luck - especially with NGC. In my experience, PCGS is noticably tougher on Morgans. Wouldn't quibble with either grade. The obverse fields are not clean enough for me to go higher.

 

A large gouge on the surface of an otherwise MS coin can certainly move it into the details category. In my opinion, this hit isn't severe enough, but it's also not a long way off.

I would not have added this coin to my collection because of it.

 

I have to admit, this one has stirred the hornets nest a bit. The Eagle's breast on the reverse has a decent hit, but, it's not really deep and is shiny similar to the tops of the breast feathers, which is why it appears dark and over exaggerated. I am including a 100% crop of the breast area.

You can see in the red circled area, is the initial hit. The area circled in blue is superficial and had a light scrape. I took all this into consideration when buying the coin. I have most definitely seen much worse looking hits on Liberty's cheek that still received numerical grades as high as MS-63.

The fields of this coins are a stunning semi-PL. The obverse is even brighter than the reverse as far as reflectivity and so any minor hits are amplified. The cheek, neck, hair and cap of Liberty are as clean as any MS-67 I've ever seen. Taking all that into consideration, if I ever come across an MS-64 that looks as good as this one does, I will buy it in a heart beat. For $65.00 I am willing to wager that anyone who had a chance to examine this coin in hand, would have snatched it up. I'm glad I did.

I thank you all for your comments and critiques.

 

Very choice! I was at 65. Nice buy.

 

Nice deal. I nailed the grade , but Morgans are something I have collected for decades and seen literally hundreds of graded coins, including dozens of this very date and MM. Would not have a chance of GTG for most other coins. And yes, I think that hit on this coin was very far off from causing it to get a "Details" based on all of the graded Morgans that I have seen over those years and all of the marks like that which I have seen on them. YMMV.

 

It looks like the area in red was more grade limiting than I thought. If this coin had strong toning, it would have been market graded to a 66 or 67.

For the price paid, you got a great MS 64!

 

I guessed MS65 before I saw the reveal. Lovely surfaces, particularly clean cheek. The breast marks are noticeable, but quite nicely hidden in the feathers. Very nice coin for MS64.

 

I think this coin had a huge grade deduction due to that hit and the date. I think this is a lovely coin at MS64.

 

Fair price for what you got.

 

Thank you all for your comments. I really like this coin, even with the hit to the Eagle's breast. The obverse in hand is just drool worthy... I can't count how many times I've seen an obverse that looks like it was hit with a cheese grater paired with a reverse that you would find on a 67. For me to find an obverse that looks the way this one does with a reverse that has a hit the size this one does, it's a no brainer as a 64. My favorite side of any Morgan Dollar is the obverse anyway.

 

MS-65 .

 

Looks like a typical MS 64 for that date. It has really nice luster. However the hits made it unlikely to get a gem grade as the 81s is so common in high grades. Nice coin, though.

 

Not sure what is going on with the field under "Dollar" on reverse.. anyone else noticed anything odd there? Easier to spot if you zoom in on photo.

 

The same thing under the O in ONE. On the top it looks like the same thing over the TA in STATES and further to the right between the letters S and O. I have no idea what it is but would like to find out if anyone else noticed it and could explain it.
Maybe @messydesk knows.

 

I'm going to guess 64 because it does look like it's got some scratches and that big one on the back. Although i will say it does look like it's got nice definition. But I've learned to "round down" when guessing grades, it's the safer bet. When they grade these coins, it look to me like bad marks have a higher weight on the coin than the good details.