The MS67 Morgan Dollar (Grades within a Grade)

Paul- I love all your posts. More info than I can process. I have to really focus and lower my ADD to read your in depth analysis. Me thinks you have a lot of time on your hands. I like the John Albanese line. You and Mark Field should get a bonus. I don't own any CAC coins, but if I did I would be happy with it, but don't think I would pay extra for it.

 

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Also you have influenced me toward liking toners of which most of my new purchases have been such. See "Post some Lincolns" for my 31 S and the 57 D.

 

Wow! Great post and very informative. I have started a grading set of '82-S Morgans and am up to MS66 in PCGS holders. My next quest is a 67 and hopefully in a PCGS holder, so I find this post a great help. Thank you!

 

Could you apply the same theories/reasonings to other MS grades?? I'm still new to this.

 

Yes, this applies to most all of the MS grades. The CAC uses letters A,B,&C which basically stand for PQ, Good for the grade, & low end. The reason I say most of the MS grades is because in the lower MS grades for common material, there is not a big enough price difference to worry about the difference. For example, nobody cares if an 1881-S Morgan Dollar is an MS62 A, B, or C because they all pretty much suck.

 

Very informative post but I would not say anything about the CAC on the PQ coin unless you know for some reason that CAC declined the other three.

 

Normally I would agree, but that particular coin is a no brainer. It is as close to an MS68 as you will ever see in an MS67 holder, IMO. Showing the CAC sticker really doesn't matter much, it just gives confirmation for those skeptical of photographs.

 

I agree that the coin even from the photos looks light years better than the others but if CAC were to award all of them with a CAC sticker then the original post seems kind of skewed since they give a green bean to good for the grade up to great for the grade and a gold for exceeds the grade which that one did not get.

Anyhow, it's a great post with or without the sticker, I'm just thinking out loud.

 

It does surprise me that the 1881-S ended up with the green sticker. It sure looks awful close to a MS68...you'd think CAC would have given it the gold.

 

There is no way to make a grade decision in the high ms range based on those photos. There are a magnitude of things we can't see that would affect the grade.

 

The high resolution pictures give a decent view of the coin...but it is true, it's very hard to make that decision in a photograph. But, this coin is very clean and is an excellent example of a 1881-S. I have studied many Morgan Dollars and I feel this coin certainly walks the 67/68 line. However, my experience tells me that TPGs are a little harder on coins when it is a date that is typically found in high grade (this is the opposite phenomenon seen with CC Morgan's and key dates). 1881-S Morgan's are very common nicely struck and in excellent condition, had this been a coin where that wasn't the case it might have been given the 68.

 

Paul,
I love your posts, and I always favorite them and save pictures with detailed explanations of the coins on my computer. This has joined the rest of your threads in my bookmarks, thanks. (just ask Jack and Mag about this...)
Your posts like this are incredibly informative and I love going back over Nd reading them again.
Thanks for making me use my brain and learn something new, I haven't had much time to be on cointalk lately (sorry all you guys that are still waiting for me to reply to your PM's, I'm working on them) so to come on and find a post like this is nice.
Shawn

 

That PQ MS-67 is now on my dream list.

 

I read this post several months ago and have since used the study as a guide in my purchasing decisions. I have only been collecting (Morgan toners) a year and a half. Another thing I do is have my coins CAC or PQApproved to insure that I have what I think I have. In turn I have obtained some really nice Morgans. Pictured is an 1881-S NGC MS67+☆ CAC I call Galactica.

 

If that is true, is it safe to say that "good for the grade" confirms the grade and "exceeds the grade" suggest having it regarded up by NGC or PCGS? I have never seen a gold sticker.