Both very nice coins--nice luster. I'd go 63 on both of them due to bag marks on the cheek that are fairly prominent. Possibly as high as 64 on a good day. So, Ms 63-64. Reverses on both coins are nicer--65 reverses, but marks on face of Liberty bring down the grade to 63-64.
I'm going to say MS63 for the 1881-S due to the bag marks. The 1884-O I'm a little less sure about. It has nice clean fields and is a good looking coin. However, it might have a tough of wear. The area above the ear on this coin appears a duller grey than the rest of the coin, it looks like there is a luster break there. On the obverse, this is the highest spot on the coin. So, my gut tells me AU58. Now, the 1884-O is a date where the strike quality is all over the board. They are fairly easy to find fully struck and weakly struck. So, a loss of detail on the high spots doesn't really tell you anything. IMHO, this coin has a somewhat weak strike. A lot of people look at an "O" mint Morgan and buy into the "they are always weak strikes" and assume coins like this are MS. The key is to take the coin under light and rotate it and look for breaks in the luster. If you look at the photo of the 1881-S, the hair above the ear and the ear itself are the same color as the rest of the coin...because the light is being reflected equally. On the 1884-O, I see a duller grey in that hair and on the ear. This is why I believe the coin has wear...the light is not being reflected. If this coin was MS and just a weak strike...even though those areas lack the detail, they would still reflect well and be the lighter color. So, my opinion is the 1884-O has a little wear and is thus AU58. However, accurate grading with photos is an extremely difficult/impossible task. The only way to really know is examine the coin in hand.
I don't know guys, the 84O has noticeable wear in the hair over the ear, the curls at the base of the neck, and some in the hairline between the ear and base of her bonnet, and some small amount of wear on the eagle's wings and breast. The 81S, mostly bagmarks, 63.
I would say the 1881-S is MS63. The 1884-O looks to be MS64 but its a little hard to judge. The flash is washing out the details.
I love Morgans, but I am not too fond of these. The cheek on the 84 O looks like it would Details Grade and I don't like the Reverse brown spot on the 1881 S. For common coins like these that don't have a significant premium, if you can buy them graded, I would. Then you have the choice to keep them graded or crack them out, and you know they aren't details. These might have been crack outs.
I'll guess 63 on the first and 64 on the second. Both cleaned at some point. The first would probably grade but not sure the second would.
