Well, this coin always bothered me, so I got rid of it..... and got this one to replace it..... What do you think?
It's ok, the other one was business as usual, weak strike made worse by darker toning all over. This one is MS-65 and a nice solid strike, and the darker toning is mostly towards the edges.
I concur. I could never warm up to the old one because I felt like it was just mediocre with the weak strike and the toning pattern. Could I potentially do better than the current one? I'm sure I could, but I can honestly live with it and be very happy with it. So as far as I'm concerned, it's a keeper.
That is a really nice Monroe. You should not have to upgrade that one. The Monroe is rated as one of the ugliest commemorative half dollars. First, it was no well made at the mint. The relief was too low. Second, the pieces that did not sell were released into circulation. There are lots of "sliders" (Almost Uncircuated) piece available. Many of them are not attractive. Here's the one in my set. It is graded MS-64.
@Sallent - greatly improved! Nice upgrade. Yes, the low relief on these makes finding a nice looking example challenging.
Monroes are notoriously hideous, so one that looks nice is definitely a keeper. Your upgrade looks nice. Well done! Here's mine (PCGS 63)
Very nice upgrade! I’d have made that switch, too. I don’t care for that hazy looking toning that your first example displays.
Finally received shipment from the dealer, and in hand it is quite the upgrade too. With the old one any details in the portrait was very hard to see through the toning that it had, and even the reverse with the light strike and the toning was not very obvious at all. This one is also toned, yes, but it has a much deeper strike and the toning does not interfere with appreciating the design. So definitely a huge upgrade for me and a keeper.
