So, am very new to collecting & am just beginning to grade. I've found my way around some lesser quality coins. But now I come across this one. It seems to be at least an MS60. But to be honest, it could easily be much better (at least to me). 63? 65? I;ve looked thru the "Grading By Photographs" book (no help) & did domparisons to the examples on PCGS. But when it starts getting this high on the scale, I just don't know where to look to differentiate the details. Any help would be appreciated.
Sorry, but your prized morgan is not MS straight graded. It will not grade, as it has been harshly cleaned. There is evidence of swirl marks, cleaning abrasion marks, and impaired luster. As a newbie, you have to learn to recognize cleaned coins. If graded, it would be MS-details, harshly cleaned.
Oh, damn. I just new it.... I can't tell the difference between much of anything. LoL. Oh well. Yes, I have heard that some places do still grade it, but then add "details" or "harshly cleaned" or "ED" as an explanatory. Would it be ok if I attempted a grading and put it in a flip with that kind of explanation on it? It that permitted? If so, would it be like an MS-60 "Harshly Cleaned"?
If yuo could perhaps point out the "swirl marks" & "cleaning abrasion marks" I'll mark them and be on the look out next time.
Learn to tip and rotate your coin under a lamp to help you pick up scratches and hairlines. Find some mint state silver dollars in certified holders and familiarize yourself with original mint surfaces....the luster, and the "cartwheel effect" an uncirculated Morgan shows when rotated under a light. It takes a bit of training your eye.
I have circled a few of the areas that show abrasive removal of metal, leaving marks. There are circular, and linear abrasion marks on both the obverse and reverse. These are just some of the more obvious signs of cleaning. Study these marks—if you see abrasions like these, the coin is cleaned. I am not even getting into the luster issues that the coin has—just cleaning marks.
It's a beautiful coin, if it's any consolation I'm still bad at spotting cleaned coins and I've been trying for the past couple years (and collecting off and on for many years). After decades of focusing mostly on lower grade coins so it really didn't matter, and occasionally picking up nicer coins on a whim or with some luck I've started to focus on the higher graded slabbed coins, but I still pretty much like anything shiny, especially if it's silver. This forum is great though, these folks know their stuff and will be honest with you. Sometimes brutally honest, lol. Here's one of my favorite cleaned coins - plus it's corroded!
Here, for example, is a 1921 MS 63 NGC certified Morgan. Notice that there are a few contact marks, where the coin touched other coins in the mint bag. However, there are no gouges, swirls, linear abrasions, and the coin has natural and consistent luster. Compare this coin, with yours.
See, here is my problem. I can certainly see the the luster difference. Mine is a totally different color. But when it comes to "contact marks" (acceptable) vs. "gouges, swirls, linear abrasions" from cleaning/polishing (bad news), I just cannot tell the difference. Ugh. I have other low-grade coins that have definitely not been cleaned, and like yours, they also have natural cuts/gouges. But they look just like what's on this cleaned Morgan. So..... I guess practice practice practice.... LoL. Thank you for your time. I'm assuming that my "prized" Morgan is not worth much more than about $5, if that. LoL. (I put up a pic of your coin's natural contact marks that TO ME look just like some of the cleaning scraps on my coin..... (Thanks for all the time you're taking to respond).
If you think they look the same, do not collect raw Morgans,until you learn the difference between cleaning, and bag marks. To my eye, there is a world of difference. Contact marks are superficial dings, whereas cleaning marks are multi directional, and one can actually see spots where metal has been eroded. Just one look at your coin, shows a well-cleaned, dull looking coin. My suggestion would be to purchase a few certified MS 61-63 CERTIFIED coins, if you want to buy Morgans. Pick inexpensive common dates, such as 1881s, 1880s etc that can be had cheaply and attractively. Once you have a few true MS coins, you will begin to recognize that look immediately in hand. Better to buy a couple of good quality, certified MS coins, than ones that have no more than melt value.
I shall do this.... Yes, this one I did not buy. I'm not gonna be buying for a while. I have a bunch of all different kinds of coins I'm gonna practice grading and reading about. This Morgan was given go me by a dear friend of many years who heard I was starting collecting. It came in one of those sets you order from TV called "Twentieth Century Coin Collection" And it came to him in a framed presentation glass box.... I'm understanding now that this is NOT how to buy actual coins of value. Thanks for all the info.
Take any newly minted coin which is uncirculated (you probably have a few in your pocket change somewhere) and tilt the coin to the light under it, watching the band of reflected light, the "cartwheel" rotate around t with the tilt of the coin as you rotate it, this band of reflected light will swirl around the coin. It is much easier to see this effect on the obverse (head's side of the coin) than the reverse side because there is usually more flat space, called the field, on the side with the portrait. Also, the larger the coin, the easier it is to see the cartwheel effect, and the better it rotates. the "luster" or " cartwheel", this reflectivity and swirl is imparted in the strike of the coin, and circulation, cleaning, wear, can deteriorate it. A "MS" coin should have this even if it's muted without interruptions, the cartwheel swirl should not be interrupted when you do it, if it is, those areas are likely rubbing, or cleaning damage areas which will get you a details grade. You also shouldn't have a clearly worn/circulated coin that is blast white clean either as it's unnatural on a coin that is clearly circulated, and the swirl will likely be gone. It's not exactly easy to detect when you are new to it, but you need to look for it and practice looking for it, because a lot of coins, especially Morgan dollars, aren't entirely cleaned, and they have only been touched up on the cheeks or areas of the fields. yours appears like it might have been cleaned with a jewelry wipe, or even a SOS pad in a few spots. There's some videos to check out on the internet and stuff to read on how to detect various types of cleaning, And articles written, I don't want to promote any certain one, because they are all useful to a certain degree, but it all comes down to having the coin in hand, and angling it under light to pick up on it. this method is also useful for seeing the hairlines and contact marks on coins with original surfaces which is going to be absolutely necessary if you are trying to buy higher grade morgan dollars, or not over pay for your purchases, you really need to know when a coin is being oversold.
