Grade Of 1921 Morgan

Pennypusher- yeah I was thinking high EF or low AU. Honestly the dealer told me at the time that it was maybe an AU58 or ms60 with a flat strike. The head of the eagle and the wing tips do look a bit too good for just an EF.

I'm going out on this limb by myself and call this MS61. Although the hair and breast look flattened, that was common on the 21's and due to the over use of those dies. I see no evidence of circulation in the fields and the only distraction (other than the weak strike) is the cheek chatter.

I think I'm going to agree with Seatednut, but of course will have to defer to Superdave when he strolls along. If this is a weak strike, it is very weak. Looking at the reverse, I see no way this is circulated, but the breast is really flat. The fields look awesome on both sides. I think the chatter on the cheek stinks, but I don't think it would keep this out of the MS62 range if this is indeed a weak strike.

It's circulated. Not much, but circulated. Check the lower, two largest leaves on the reverse - the weaker the strike, the more unlikely you are to see the center lines in them. However, they don't wear quickly in circulation. On this coin, they're plainly visible. For a 1921, it was a fairly good strike to start. OTOH, the cotton bolls are still strong, and they wear quickly.

Verdict: Fresher obverse than reverse, 80% strike, AU55 but for the skritches on the cheek.

AU50

Edit: to address SeatedNut's observations: Marks on the fields happen in the bag as much as/more than in circulation - I can easily wrap my mind around a circulated coin with excellent fields. Indeed, it's as easy to find an EF45 with great fields as an MS66, for which fields factor prominently. That was my reasoning.

Thanks for your input, everyone!