I purchased a 'lot' of AU and UNC Washington quarters. I have the ANA Grading Standards book, and I frequent the PCGS Photograde site. I'm having a very hard time distinguishing between the AU and MS quarters using a standard glass and a loop. Does anyone have a "trick" or other method which could assist me? I really don't want to give up and just lump them all together in the same album - thank you all in advance.
Kevin, Washing Quarters have very low relief and can be difficult to grade. But the best way to distinguish an AU from an MS is to look at the luster on the central devices and the fields. If the luster is broken it the coin is probably circulated and at most AU. If the luster is not broken the coin is probably MS. (This is true for any coin.)
Unfortunately, Washing quarters may be the hardest series of US coins to accurately grade. But a quick tip for all coins is if you hold the coin at an angle, you should be able to see breaks in luster distinguishing AU coins from MS coins. Sorry for repeating you Hobo, we must have been typing at the same time.
The eagle's breast on the reverse is one of the first things to wear, too. Maybe look for some rub on that? Although with AU coins, maybe that won't work.
