I reached a point where I thought I would not achieve my ambition of a complete run of Morgan Dollars and in January traded all my graded Morgans for a gold shipwreck coin. I held back 50 ungraded coins as bullion and because I wanted to keep them as iconic coins. A couple of weeks ago I did a stupid thing. I saw a Morgan Dollar mint case over here in the UK with no bids on it and bought it for $20.00. I thought I would fill it with ungraded coins for novelty and a hand me down. I then decided that what I really needed to do was fill it with graded coins.... This is where it turns bad. This is the case. Of course my first coin had to be a Carson City Dollar. I've visited Carson City, read all about the USA Potosi and needed one. I traded several slabbed Carson City coins but always liked the GSA Hoard coins and regretted trading my GSA MS 64 coin. I love the history of the GSA release and it’s the ultimate numismatic paradox: a "corrupt" administration providing the gold (well, silver) standard for provenance and fair dealing in the coin market. I decided to buy one for the case. BIG MISTAKE. In my youthful enthusiasm ( I turned 70 last week) I made an offer on a GSA coin at a great price that was accepted and it turned up today. Slight problem with the slab size and no chance it will fit. I would love some ideas on a run of graded coins from the question of affordability and possibility. I know Denver will be out of sequence but I could for example go for a 1879 to 1873 run. Any ideas for an affordable high grade run? I have a fair few raw coins I could consider grading and this is where in the past it turned sour for me. I've had a few coins come back as detailed which made them probably worth less than the grading fee. My grading skills on USA coins is about as useful as a dog lover being seconded to judge a horse show and I've had some embarrassments in the past. This is what I have left and I have picked out two coins and wondered if they are worth grading ( they were all bought at gun shows and no more than $50 each) or should I simply buy pre-graded slabs in the run folk suggest ? These are the coins I picked out.I chose them because they have cartwheel lustre and good eagle feather breasts. If you can't suggest a grade from my admittedly poor photography I will try and do better. I intend to pick over the rest. Grading over here ends up at about $70 + a coin as they are sent to the USA . It also takes about 3 months if you are lucky. I'd welcome any ideas on this project and thanks in advance.
First, I would not spend the money to have coins graded if your grading skills are not great. Given the current grading fees, you can waste a lot of money very quickly, and, since it takes three months, a lot of time time. I would buy the coin already graded. It appears that you are looing for NGC graded coins, but I am not 100% sure. PCGS holders might fit. The 1879 dollar you have has not been professionally graded. It is in a "home made" slab. Here is a list of commen date dollars and mint marks, you might consider. Carson City - 1883-CC is the most common date, but 1882 and '84 will work too. Denver - 1921-D is the only date New Orleans - 1898-O is very common. 1884 would work too These dollars are usually well struck, which is often a problem with "O-mint" dollars. Philadelphia - Many dates to choose from in the 1880s. San Francisco - 1881-S is really common, but 1879 and 1880 can work too. I hope this helps. Here is a raw set I have in my collection. I put this together many years ago. These coins are pretty nice, but they are not worth the current high grading fees.
