help grading a massive amount of Morgan and Peace dollars

Hey guys -

As mentioned in my other thread, I've got about 1000 Peace dollars and about 3000 Morgans to sell. They were not stored particularly well and they range in level of dirtiness or nicks and scratches, but below is a scan I just took of a random sample. Can anybody give me an idea of what type of grading these would call for on average? Details are probably VF to XF for most of them from the little I know, but I suppose the other factors subtract from that? I'm not sure how much "dirtiness" impacts grading.



Thanks for any input.

Mike

 

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You wouldn't grade down for dirt. You'd grade down for things like corrosion, scratches, damage, cleaning. I'll tell you, you've got almost $70,000 in silver, there. Spend about $15 and get one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Official-Red-Book-United-States/dp/0794836771. Follow the grading guidelines for circulation wear and check the dates and mint marks in the book at those grades and see where you stand. If you want to show us some good pictures of some, we can grade them for you, and maybe that'll get you off to a good start.

 

Thanks Eddie. I never said that I wasn't searching all the coins and pulling out key dates, carson cities, etc. I'm doing exactly that. However, grading is subjective and probably more of an experience-oriented ability.

If this was all I had to contend with, I'd learn all about grading and become a zen master. Unfortunately, I simply don't have the time and need help in that regard. We've got a mess of stuff, nothing organized - US junk silver, collectible coins, foreign coins, silver bars, gold rings, gold coins, diamonds, collectible bills, stock certificates, stamp collections, etc. While still recovering from Sandy, and getting our home back in order, there are only so many tasks I can juggle.

I did the best I could for the initial go-'round on scanning the coins versus photographing, and will try to grab some better photos - but there are about 4000 of them, so I'm simply trying to get a sense of whether or not these are more like Good or more like XFs. I think that they probably average out as Fine, which I'm ... Fine with

I will ultimately post in the For Sale forum as well, but if anybody would like to be or knows of a buyer for this entire lot at realistic pricing, that too would be incredibly helpful.

Thanks.

Mike

 

I wish I had your problems lol.

 

Haha - yes, and if I were looking in from the outside, I'd say the same thing. However, if you'd had your house destroyed by Sandy, followed by the death of your dad just as you were getting things back together, and then if you knew the details of the order (disorder) of my dad's estate, combined with my already-busy life, you'd at least understand that this is a tough stretch for me, even if the outcome should lead to easier times.

Thanks for the reality check

 

It's about details, not the dirt. The coins are circulated but I don't see any up there that are too dirty. The rim ding on the 1st one second row is a problem. Other than that good looking coins.

 

you should give one to every cointalk member who likes your pic.

 

Here's some good links that I think may assist you with your grading. (PCGS Photograde Online)

Morgan Dollars - http://www.pcgs.com/photograde/#/Morgan/Grades

Peace Dollars - http://www.pcgs.com/photograde/#/Peace/Grades

In regards to the condition of the coins, a little dirt don't hurt! Details grading is not that bad either IMO as long as they're not culls.

Enjoy!

-vam78

 

edited

 

We did find some Carson Cities and some semi-key-dates. Of all the coins I've gone through thus far, I've yet to come across something particularly rare - no home-run coin just yet. That being said, I've not yet looked through the oldest stuff in any detail. There are a few 1795 coins that looked to be worth between 2-5K each, so that's kinda cool - but I'll probably want to hold onto those. There is also some foreign coin that appears to be from the 1600s - I'll have to post a photo of that one at some point.

There is also pail of about 200+ pounds of wheat pennies, so I may be looking through those the rest of my life for the copper '43 or steel '44

PM me re: the Morgans so I don't forget, and give me an idea of quantity you're interested in.

 

I will take the wheaties off your hands of you don't wanna deal with them

I will PM you shortly. Thank you.

 

So do the coins in my photo look to grade on average more like XF or more like VG-VF? How does the banged-up one get penalized - one grade less than otherwise?

 

VF-XF guess; no one wants to steer you wrong Mike & grading like that might.
Best bet is to pull a few examples by comparing to the excellent websites that Vam78 posted & like eddiespin said post a good photo of the front & back of a coin to get the overall idea of the grade.
If you can do that for a few, you'll have some in-hand examples that you can compare the rest too.

My condolences on the loss of your Dad,
JJ

 

nice looking original coins. Most look vf to xf range I think. On common date coins I don't think there is much of a price jump between those grades.

 

Except; even just a $10 difference times 4000 is enough money to do it right and not rush yourself. Do you have a family lawyer that may have an expert he can recommend? Or contact the ANA in Colorado Springs and see who they might suggest. They will charge by the hour but give you a net worth on the collection. If your time is too much in demand, this my be a viable option.

 

Provident Metals is paying $23.78 for morgan/peace culls, $26.28 for pre-21 morgans in G+, and more for silver dollars in better condition. Here's a link to their silver dollar section, and you can click on any coin and find their buy price as well:

http://www.providentmetals.com/bullion/silver/us-slv/slv-dollars.html

Might be a decent place to unload the more bullion oriented coins, I probably wouldn't sell the high value coins there. I'm pretty sure they will take as many as you'd like to sell, so there is a convenience factor as well.

 

Thanks - that's helpful. To be clear, no key-date or collectible coins will be sold to dealers. I'll deal with those last and probably will hold onto most of those, but will sell what I don't want to collectors.

The problem with Provident is that they too are far from me and I'm hoping to find a comparable dealer who is somewhere within reasonable driving distance. I might very well stick with my dealer here - I just have to work him over for better pricing on the common date Morgans and Peace dollars. He's ultimately negotiable once he realizes I'll sell elsewhere at a higher price, and he knows how much more business he will be able to get from me if he's fair.