Would you grade this 1893 Morgan slider as an MS or AU?

Look at this 1884-S, you can’t get much closer to MS than that - AU58+ w/CAC :-D
https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-c...ng-morgan-dollar-numismatics-steve-roach.html

 

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Maybe, but it looks like two professional grading services agree that it is not MS rather it is AU.
As a general statement a AU58 may have better surfaces and preservation than a MS06-MS61.
It comes down to this, it either circulated (AU) or it didn't (MS).

 

I agree, many of my coins are AU58s and eye-appeal is my #1 criteria when adding coins to my collection. And yes, wear is wear… now we have to find an AU58+ with a gold CAC bean to take this discussion to the next level :-D

 

There are many...the "famous" 1909 Barber originally in a 58 ANACS Soap, as an example.
There are many others in other denominations.

At one time, Ms. Sperber was the undisputed Market Maker for 58 Sliders, and she was VERY good at it and had more re-graded as MS, than not.

What CAC is conveying when a 58+ receives a Gold, is that it was under-graded, and is at a minimum 1 Grade higher. Since there is no 59, that means it is a MS 60 minimum. There are many of such pieces in various Series.

 

Here are three comparisons to illustrate the difference between a AU and MS60-MS61. I don't know what really happened but my guess is the 60 and 61 were the first out of the hopper and into the bottom of the bag. They received the hits from the rest of the coins. The AU was last in and first out (of the bag). It went into and was quickly pulled out of circulation. That takes it out of the MS designation but it still received better handling than the MS coins.
IMO I'd take the 58 over the 60-61. What Ms. Sperber did to get a 58 into an MS holder I can't explain. I'd chalk it up to coin grading is a subjective opinion and collectors should learn to grade for themselves.
YMMV.

AU58

MS60

MS61

llustrations courtesy of PCGS Photograde.