1798/7 16 Stars Dime (You Vs PCGS)

just my 2-cents on AU vs MS. its not full proof but it helps

it hard enough to determine wear from strike then add heavy toning to the mix. the only real way to tell would be to have the coin in hand, rotating it to see through that toning and looking for those original surfaces underneath.

on these early pieces I look at the highest devices which can help determine AU from MS. on this coin I looked at the edges of the hair bow and star 12 both are fully defined as well as the L in LIBERTY. the date can help (that 8 still cracks me up and is so interesting with the overdate). there is just too much toning across the cheek to use that imo unless you had coin in hand.
the reverse is a different animal all together. the stars are sharp and appear to have no wear on the tops. cloud 2, the feathers on the right wing, the arrow tips and the leaves on the olive branch. there is still the fine details of the tips of the tail feathers. I dont think you would see that on a circulated coin.

i looked at that scratch and the toning (which was not even) and narrowed my grade to AU58 or MS62 as I thought the eye appeal would have held it back from a 63.

i think westernsky may have nailed it that the coin was probably sent in by a big house and I think they pushed the grade to 63. I'm wondering if they compared this coin to the other handful of 1798's they graded and placed the coin where they felt its actual value stood vs the others and the auction sales. thats my best guess