The pictures were emailed to me and are the only ones I have. Maybe there should be a "Whats it grade?" section in addition to the "Whats it worth?" section. I of course have my own opinion but I enjoyed the other threads about a coins grade.
This is not a very good photo to attempt to grade a coin. The coloring and light throws the prespective way6 off. Having said that I would grade it an XF-45 or an AU at the best. catman
The photos don't show much. Without a better picture, I'd have to say the grade is anywhere from CH XF to MS66. It looks like it could have nice luster, there might not be any actual wear, and there doesn't appear to be many contact marks, so it could be MS66. On the other hand, a more detailed photo might show defects not visible in this photo. I grade the photo VF...
The reverse appears to in much better shape than the obverse, XF-40 net I dont think it can go AU with the wear on the obverse the hairlines above the brow and over the ear appear flat,,, unless it is the pictures it appears to be a high relief 1921 ?
Metalman, that brings up a very good point about 1921 Peace Dollars. A very knowledgeble dealer told me once that some 1921 Peace dollars were high relief. But I've read and believe that all 1921 Peace dollars were minted within three or four days in the last two weeks of December, 1921. I've never seen a 1921 Peace dollar that wasn't higher in relief than a 1922 and I've never seen a PCGS 1921 Peace that wasn't labled "High relief" Do you have a specific reference that describes varieties of relief for this issue? I would have thought it would at least be a VAM. BTW, I think the pictured coin is at least a high grade AU. But since the picture is bad it may be better or worse. I'm going to take a chance on this one, knowing that I may get burned or that I may end up pleasantly surprised.
pcrdnadave I went back a looked, it appears that you are correct in your understanding ,1,006,473 peace dollars were struck in december 1921 there is no mention of two different designs for that year, and this is where memory failed me, the two designs High and normal or low relief were produced as proofs in 1922 both the satin and matte proofs are considered rare. Good luck on the coin,,Hope it meets your grade ! Thanks Rick
I'd could buy a new car for the price of the Satin and Matte proof Peace dollars. Unless there is a dramatic, unexpected change in my financial situation, I'll have to settle for pictures of those and the 1895 Morgan.
Truly tough with that pic - but there appears to be a good deal of underlying luster. Gorgeous toning though ! I'm gonna go with AU50.
I don't reckon I need to say that the pictures aren't the best (not to be taken wrongly ) I think the image isn't too bad, but the lighting is what throws it off. (I recommend GE Reveal bulbs) It also looks like you may have tried to correct the lighting with a photo editor, I may be wrong. Personally, I try to avoid as much processing of the image as I can. I'll usually crop it down to size and then "Enhance" it, which actually just re-aligns the pixels for a clearer image. I doesn't effect the coloring/tint/lighting etc. The 1921 has always been a very tough coin for me to grade, PERIOD! Actually, I find the whole series one of the hardest to grade, but I'll give it a shot. I think that the toning is natural, and that it still has attractive luster. But there looks to be just a bit of friction on the eagle's wing that stops it from being MS, then again, it may be the lighting. The obverse never is as sharply struck as the reverse from what I've read, so that explains what looks like wear in the hair. Relatively free of any distracting contact marks, unless they are lurking in the shadows. It's not an ugly coin, by any means, but I don't think it has positive eye appeal either. More of a neutral I guess. (Is that crud in the rays on the reverse, or toning?) If what I am seeing is rub on the reverse, I'll have to go with AU 58. If it is in actuality mint state, I'll go with MS 63.
pcrdnadave, I made a copy of the coin and used other software to change it to grey scale and enlarge it so I could get a better look at it. I would have to agree with catman and GDJMSP. I think it would depend on the person grading the coin but it would be in the high XF to AU grade. coinsngolf
I wish the pictures had better lighting. The reverse looks AU, but the obverse shows a fair amount of wear in the hair (by the pictures). I see the overall grade for this coin EF45.
