Rainbow Alligator Eye... U Vs PCGS... ***updated Grade***

The degree of coverage - coin about completely covered including devices - and the splotchy progression of colors are both red flags for a TPG. The color progressions of toning as it deepens obey the laws of physics and are known, and generally the "known natural" toning on a Morgan develops by patterns related to where the toning happened, in a Mint bag or an album.

There are exceptions, and if I had this coin in hand I'd be prepared to consider it natural.

Oh, and does it give this coin even more of a premium having complete rainbow coverage being slabbed ms?... is there a premium being a highly collected VAM in such colorful appearance? Do all these factors add up to a huge premium?

It's about the *amount* of coverage. You don't see Morgans so completely covered in color that often, and when they are the pattern doesn't usually look like this. PCGS obviously saw it as OK; good on them. As to the grade, though....

It's really difficult to shoot colorful Morgans at a gradable level. The ding below the eye is so prominent as to be worth maybe half a point itself, but with what I have here I don't see a 62 either. Highly doubtful it would break 64 under the best of conditions, conserved or not. It made a righteous PCGS slab; that's all you need here.

Seek out Todd Pollock of BluCC Photos. He posts here occasionally. He's based out of Sacto but hits all the major shows, and nobody alive can bring out color in a coin any better than he can. I'm betting that coin doesn't really need to worry about a grade to make you some money if that's your wish. It's a popular VAM because it's common, on a major List and available in high grades. Yours is toned in a good slab, and your thinking that the color will attract a premium is accurate. As long as it's depicted as favorably as it can be.

I'm unsure what those areas are - I'm seeing what you are - but worried that conserving the coin will cost the color. I would like to say "no way PCGS would slab that with true "crud" on it," but I can't.

This is one I'd keep exactly as it is. The more I look at it - including the area you're worried about - the more I wonder how it got into a good slab.

Just giving this a bump to get ppls thoughts on if the O is a grease dill or ?

Oops missed that. You would think it would be a minor diagnostic for the 12a being so prominent.

Minor diagnostic, but perhaps just a partial Grease Fill (what it looks like to me). Could have filled three or thirty thousand examples in varying degrees of depth - I'll bet money there's one out there with a complete fill. So, maybe just a note in the VAM listing. All the same, yours looks to be a stronger fill than the plate 12A, indicating a progression. This ought to be a topic at VAMworld, to clear that point up and get any necessary edits on the page. As they describe it, VAM-12 is a "gateway" coin and the listing needs to be as accurate as possible.

I don't often recommend bringing coins over to VAMworld, but this is one.