I'm not sure if I chose the right section of the forum to post this in. And its probably a newbie type of question. But I need a little advice. Currently, my main project is completing a set of all the Walker's from the 30's and 40's (raw) in MS condition. I'm wondering what advice you guys might have for me on figuring out the grades of these coins while I'm in the coin shop, or at the coin show. For example, the 1938-D is listed in "coin prices" magazine as $260 in AU-50, and $525 in MS-60. Now, I think I can tell the difference between these grades. But the differences can be hundreds of dollars, and I want to get it right, before spending my hard earned money. What should I do? Get books on grading, and a good magnifier? Any suggested reading? I appreciate any advice.
AU-50 has a slight trace of wear on Liberty's head, knee, and breasts; and on eagle's claw and head. MS-60 has no trace of wear but light blemishes. Also I have found it helpful to look at the sandal under the motto. You can tell a lot by how much detail is left in the sandal. The 38-D is one I don't have yet.
Your own advice is spot on. No need for me to add anything, except maybe to hang around and spend some quality time with graded examples. Even eBay, Heritage and Teletrade can be good sources for you to study the Top 3 grading company's examples. If you are lucky enough to have a dealer near you that you trust, spend some time with them too.
Be careful, a novice may have a hard time differentiating between an au-58, and a low uncirculated grade. I would suggest buying the more expensive dates last, and learning to grade walkers as you go, so by the end, you will have an easier time selecting the best coin for your set.
buy the book, and get the magnifying glass, and go to shops and grade as many as you can see, speak with the dealer, etc.
I would also add that the Walker series has some of the worst struck coins the mint has made, especially for the branch mints during the 40's. A well struck 40-S is a coin that looks AU since there will be detail missing from the skirt, and it will cost a premium to get a well struck specimen. For instance this coin is an average strike for a 40-S: So you must not only be able to differentiate a coin with wear from a coin without wear, but you must also learn to recognize when a coin is worn and when it is just poorly struck (the coin above is unc, it just looks worn because of the poor strike).
My suggestion won't help you. Since I have so much trouble separating many AU coins from low MS coins, I tend to prefer the best looking AU coins I can find to MS when I'm not buying slabs. Frequently, a nice AU with clean surfaces looks better than a more expensive MS60-62 to me. It saves money and worry. But if you have your heart set on a collection of MS coins, my suggestion won't help.
