Show me your MS63 Morgans

"Choice Uncirculated" makes me feel like I should be eating caviar in my Bentley. Right?

Or is it the Rodney Dangerfield of collected Unc grades?

Show me your favorite MS63 Morgans. I'll show you mine when I get it in the mail.

 

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OK.... Well, the packaging says MS64. Certainly is up for debate though!

 

I'm a terrible picture-taker, but I took your request as a chance to take another look at my slabbed Morgans. Five of them are MS63, but there's an MS64 and two MS61s in the box, too. All of them are my favorites.

 

My Morgan collection range from Almost Crap to high MS. To me they are the better part of Americana so I keep them all no matter what they look like. I am currently working on my third complete set.

 

MS 63 tends to be a grade where Morgans can be baggy and covered with marks. You can definitely find nicer than average examples with a little patience.

 

One of my nicer looking 63s is the following:

 

Pretty coin!

 

Here is another 63 where the focus is on the color (this one just missed my box of 20):

 

And one more that did make my box of 20:

 

I, too, have an 1881 S MS63. I got it with an 1880 S MS64. Recently I got a 1978 S MS64. All of them are very nice as is yours. I bought some gold several years ago and got a "Western Collection" (1882CC, 1883CC, 1884CC) MS65. I also have several Raw coins. I didn't really get started with Morgan Dollars until I got my 1879 S coin. Thanks for sharing your coin. It is beautiful.

 

I wanted to add that someone looking for just one nice Morgan (say for a box of 20) or a type set, should keep all grades between MS 63 and MS 66 as options. The spread in price isn't super big.

Below are greysheet numbers from Heritage for a common date 1881-S Morgan (a date that is often seen on the market). With a little bit of searching one can find a nice example in any of those grades for plus/minus $10 from the greysheet number.

MS 63: $55
MS 64: $67
MS 65: $125
MS 66: $200

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Never type in a post and then have it disappear because you weren’t logged in? Yeah, that’s me.

Anyway, Great Coins! I agree with your choice about which one made the cut and which one didn’t. I tend to gravitate toward the lighter colors, but not too light. It’s a really fine line.

For what it’s worth I especially love the toning when it’s on the obverse. That’s part of the Morgan that I like looking at the most. And I love an uninterrupted cheek, even if it’s a lower grade coin.

I hear you on the ‘81-S. They are common enough to be affordable in higher grade and it seems like they tend to tone nicer than other years. And like your list subconsciously shows, the MS63 is the low end of the “keeper” or “box candidate” scale for me.

I have a nifty 63 coming, but I don’t want to use buyer photos. It will have to wait.

 

I didn't think I had any MS-63 graded Morgans until I remembered this one. This 1878, 7 over 8 tail feathers in an NGC graded MS-63. This is the last coin that was in my dealer inventory, and I still have it. I had a dealer have the brass to me that this coin is over graded.

 

I like Morgans regardless if the toning is on the obverse or reverse, but the market favors the obverse.

One can find nice color among all the common dates (in particular: 1879-1882 "S" / 1883-1885 "O" / 1886-1887 "P"). I prefer the early San Francisco minted coins because they tend to have the best combo of color and luster.

And you can find nice coins in all grades (I've owned attractive AU 58s and MS 60s-62s). If one is looking for blast white, my recommendation is to go for an 1880, 1881, or 1882 San Francisco MS 65 as that tends to offer the best value for the price (usually solid surfaces, minimal hits, and great luster).

 

John and Pat...you’re now in the club. You may or may not receive instructions on our secret handshake.

 

Here's my group of PCGS MS63s....

 

Ddddd,

Regarding your “made the cut” toner...how the hell did that not get a gold bean or a higher grade???

 

Ike now has us surrounded with superior numbers. (nice coins!)