Morgan Challenge (Please Indulge Me)

Arby96,

Thanks for doing this. I have been trying to work on my grading skills for a few different series - Morgans, Washington quarters and Lincoln Cents. It is a long learning curve.

I have come to understand that while grading (an opinion) is always subjective, there are consistencies in the process. The markings on these three coins couldn't be more different but they all fall within the acceptable range for the grade.

A LCS owner who has become a good friend of mine once gave me great advice. Just because it's in a TPG holder doesn't necessarily mean it's a great coin for the grade. Others have emphasized "Buy the Coin, not the Holder." In fact, in addition to the monetary factor, this is the primary reason for the CAC certification.

Too many collectors are impatient in that they will settle for the grade and not search/wait for the better coin with more eye appeal. There are A LOT of really ugly 64's and some really great looking 63's. If you took them out of the holders and placed them side by side, it would be very easy to reverse the grades.

Your contest is the perfect example of this. The range of grades from AU58 to MS65 are reasonable estimates of grades.

The bag marks in the fields and on the cheeks on coins 1 and 3 are common and do not detract from the technical grade. They do affect eye appeal as #1 looks gouged and #3 looks lightly touched. That's where the opinions might vary.

At first I thought that the appearance of wear on the cap/bonnet on the second coin warranted a lesser grade, perhaps even AU58/MS60, but I think it's more likely due to a somewhat weaker strike.

Based on the PCGS holders, it also appears that this may be the evolution in grading practices over the years. Some credence is given to the theory that coins in "Old Green Holders" (OGH's) were graded more strictly and why they are sought out for re-submission.

If I were to rate these coins in order of eye-appeal, then it would be #2, #3 and #4.

Thanks again for the contest!

Singer

The CAC is just another opinion. I think the grade on a third party holder should be a technical grade using the Sheldon scale,a MS64 is a MS64 is a MS64...
John1

I think the big difference is from the labels, all are very different timeframes in PCGS history. The grading standards are constantly changing and evolving according to them.

I have to agree.

So I have a question... I have a bunch of morgans in PCS slabs (not PCGS) most say brilliant uncirculated and such... should I be wanting to pay to have them graded? Is it really worth paying all that money to swnd them in?

What's your plan with them? Unless it's a high $$ coin, I would not send them in. I crack a lot of mine open and put them in folders unless they are big $$. Saying that, I rarely buy raw coins any longer, only PCGS or NGC, then crack.

Arby96,

I sent a reply to your email with my address information as a reply to your email on the 4th. Not sure what happened. Just PM'd you again.

Thanks,

Jeff

PCGS.
61
61
64