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Message:: [QUOTE="WashQuartJesse, post: 759493, member: 18323"]Use different lighting to search for wear. Sometimes what looks like wear is just a weak strike, compare what you think is wear to the overall coin's appearance. Get out 10x magnification and repeat. After you deem the coin to have no wear, start looking for hits, nics, hairlines, spotting, and die cracks. If its got hits on the portrait its more than likely not going to go higher than a 64 if you submit it. If its got hairlines you have either a cleaned, improperly handled, or maybee mint-induced problematic coin. Hits are the easiest way to grade this series but obviously everything needs to be factored in. Luster can be deceiving because there's not a streamlined "appearance" for the entire series. Some 30's examples should look similar to Peace Dollars, they shouldn't be bright and vibrant. If you have a coin with no nics on the portrait or eagle that just looks nice, you should post a picture of it here before submitting. The best way to learn is to look at and compare examples of the same date and MM side by side. That 63 in the photo grade reference is very deceiving because it lacks any major portrait hits, its a 63 because its fields are nasty. What I don't know is what the photo is trying to imply about its luster...any guesses? Usually 63's have some hits on the portrait, have a full mint luster, and look like 65's when not under magnification.[/QUOTE]