Opinions on this 1882-CC GSA Morgan..

That must mean it was a good one!

 

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I don't have it in hand yet. Probably not until Friday.

 

Let me play too. MS-65. The "struck out" diagonal lines (IMO: either alloy streaks or roller marks) and the toning that runs along them is distracting.

Foot in Mouth Dept: No chance at 66. They all should be "strung up" if it comes back as a 64

 

So you're going to wait until Friday!? I'm guessing 66+

 

Well, I'll post a shot of the full slab on Friday at the latest. I'm hoping I can get in there sometime tomorrow. Problem is they are on the other side of the city. So I have to try and coordinate with work to get there before they close.

 

Also, my 1884-CC GSA is due back from NGC on Friday as well. It's a balance. I'm so glad I can direct submit now though..

 

The second GSA came in today. I was able to get in and pick them both up and save a trip. So here is the 1882-CC. It came back MS-66.

 

That is a lot of words to say you don't like "conditional rarities."

 

Nice! Called it!

 

It was what I was thinking it would come in at as well. I'm pretty happy with it, especially with how much I am in it for. LOL..

 

While it is rather wordy and longer than it probably needs to be (like many of my posts), it's not so much about conditional rarity as it is about the validity of a graders opinion on condition.

 

Monster coin!!

 

Thank you. I'm still shocked that the shop I bought it from under valued it by so much. I will continue to shop with them needless to say.

 

You did what I've been trying to do. Closest I got was 65+, I want a 66!

 

Sometimes it's just blind luck. I happened to have time to stop in at this shop on my way up to Seattle. One of the owner's was getting ready to go to the Las Vegas show. They hardly had any Morgan's out on display because they were all packed up. But they did have three GSA's in the case. I alway's ask to look at any GSA I come across.

 

I think the graders are pretty accurate most of the time. The problem lies within the conditional rarities because whenever you see a large price jump, it also represents an "crackout" opportunity for those looking to make a buck. Many coins don't have a cut and dry grade. Take the coin in this thread for example. The consensus was that the coin was either a high end MS65 or a low end MS66. The difference in price is over $500 between the 2 grades. So if this coin resides in an MS65 holder, it would likely be resubmitted, maybe even several times, until the graders gave it the MS66 grade. You see, most people blame gradeflation on a deliberate change in grading standards, whereas I believe that it is caused by the inherent subjectivity in grading.

The fact is that if you showed this coin to me in an MS65 holder I would think that it is accurately graded but I would also think it is PQ for the grade and would probably demand a premium over the typical price for an 1882-CC if I were selling it. Likewise if you showed this coin to me in an MS66 holder, I would still think that it is accurately graded but since it is low end for the assigned grade, I would not be willing to pay full MS66 retail price for it.

And just so you understand my point, I'm saying that the same coin can have two different grades, and be accurately graded both times. Grading is subjective. To some this coin will always be an MS65 because of the mark, to others it is an MS66 because the other qualities are good enough to overcome the mark.

 

Very well put.

In short, I think you would believe the perfect grade for it would be a 65+ if I'm not mistaken?

I would have graded it a 65 if it were outside the GSA holder. But inside it, the grade seems to get a bump because of the GSA holder. I knew this full well when I bought the coin. I was almost 100% certain it would come back in a 66 band.

Would I have bought the coin if the shop owner was asking $1200 - $1400 on it without it graded? No. Would I still pay that much for it with the grade? Probably, but not for my collection, but to try and make a profit on it. In the end, the coin will not remain in my collection. I will sell it and use the proceeds to add other coins to my collection. That is pretty much they only way I can afford to add decent coins to my collection is off of the profits of coins I flip.

 

Now who's being wordy! hehe, just joking. Seriously that was a great post and very well explained. It's a very good point you mention about how grading is subjective because certain features/marks have higher (or lower) precedence among different graders. I take from your post that grading is the combination of technical (objective) analysis and opinion (subjective) by the grader. I understand the process better now. Thank you.

 

You did a good job of calling the grade. So did some others. I have not been collecting long enough to feel confident of calling a grade with such high confidence. I do see that with time and experience though it gets easier.

One of the things I wonder about is the necessity of having a coin graded for a very experienced collector. My guess is that they don't need it graded for themselves and only do so because they are planning to sell it soon - since the market pays a premium for it.

 

Thank you @Endeavor, It does get easier after looking at a lot of coins. You do start to get a feel for it. But grading from a photo online is far different than looking at the coin in hand under a good light with a decent 5x loupe.