A high grade 1837 half dollar

Another fine example and I vote a 65.

 

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I was gonna call it a 65 but you gave it away before I got to it. It's quite a nice specimen and toning just comes with the territory as does ancient cleaning. I've been looking for a nice 1837 for some time now but just haven't found "The One".

Looks like GR-23 die marriage to me: "7" high, crack from star 10 to between dentils; "NT" in CENTS softly impressed at tops. I was going to be lazy and just ask you but decided to get Graham's book down because I needed the practice.

And just to confirm, all the 1836 and prior lettered-edge halves were struck on screw presses. The 1836, 1837 and 1838 reeded-edge halves were all struck in collars on the new steam knuckle presses. You can always tell the difference between the 1836s if only by the price, the reeded-edge is much more expensive.

 

Sometime before January 2012 when I purchased it.

 

Thanks for the response to my question. It is quite possible that a MS 64 of 8 years ago would be a MS 65 today.

 

Eh, not really as a general trend. It's entirely possible that an isolated coin might move up or down a point on any resubmission.

Don't pay a whole lot of attention to the people who proselytize their religion of "gradeflation." It's based on a whole lot of old-timers hearsay and anecdotes.

If you're comparing grading from the 60's or 70's versus today, yes, there's going to be a significant difference. The fact is, things have changed. But if you're comparing the 90's to today, things haven't changed nearly as much as some would have you believe. And *especially* not just 8 years ago.

 

For people familiar with the series the design difference in the obv is obvious. To those less familiar it can be subtle enough to not be noticed. The real difference is on the reverse. The capped bust lettered edge coins have the denomination expressed as 50 C, the 1836 and 37 reeded edge capped bust halves have it expressed as 50 CENTS, and the 1838 and 39 reeded edge capped bust halves have it expressed as HALF DOL.

 

If you have not shopped for MS-65 and even 66 graded coins recently, you might be in for a shock. Not too long ago, someone posted photos of an MS-66 graded Morgan Dollar here. The coin had a very obvious bag mark on the obverse. A few years ago, a coin like that would have never seen the inside of an MS-66 holder, but it happens today.